Enabling fair and just livelihoods: advancing human rights in food systems
About this expertise
In short- Supporting multi-stakeholder action
- Tools and guidance for due diligence
- Policy and intervention advice
- Methodology on human rights themes
Enabling fair and just livelihoods requires human rights to be firmly embedded in food systems, with fair pay, safe working conditions, transparent supply chains and equal access to food. Wageningen University & Research develops tooling to systematically measure and promote these principles.
Millions of farmers and workers in global food systems face discrimination, forced or child labour, low wages and other human rights violations. Wageningen University & Research supports organisations in strengthening human rights within food systems for fair and equitable livelihoods. We work with companies, governments and civil society organisations to identify and address human rights risks such as child labour, forced labour and insufficient income. Our expertise includes facilitating multi-stakeholder collaboration, developing Due Diligence tools and providing tailored advice for designing policies and interventions.
We help organisations assess the most serious and common risks in their supply chains and provide strategies to prevent and mitigate these risks. We also develop and share methodologies and good practices for identifying human rights issues and evaluating the effectiveness of interventions. One example is the Cocoa Household Income Study (CHIS), which supports the collection of reliable, standardised income data for cocoa producing households. Our work aligns with international legislation and guidelines such as OECD.
What we offer
Achieving fair and just livelihoods requires collaboration across sectors.
- Companies must conduct due diligence to identify, prevent, and mitigate human rights risks.
- Governments must enforce labour laws and ensure access to education and social protection.
- NGOs play a vital role in empowering communities and holding institutions accountable.
Wageningen University & Research facilitates dialogue and cooperation between these actors to drive systemic change.
One of the key challenges for companies and stakeholders is identifying the most severe and widespread risks in their supply chains. We develop tools to support this process and offer tailored advice on prevention and mitigation, such as improving farmer resilience and income security.
Reliable data and standardised methodologies are essential for identifying human rights issues and evaluating the impact of policies and interventions. We develop and share practical guidance and promote data sharing and learning. We also examine the effectiveness of intervention programmes.
A key example is the Cocoa Household Income Study (CHIS), which supports the collection of consistent, high-quality data on the incomes of cocoa-producing households.
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VCJ (Valerie) Janssen
Social sustainability impact researcher / Social sustainability impact researcher