Fairer prices and fundamental human rights are desperately lacking for global producers.

The solutions require trustworthy frameworks and dialogues.

Sheila Senathirajah, ISEAL’s Head of Social Impact, explains how complex equity and livelihoods are, revealing credibility’s catalysing power for foundational change.

Why is improving equity and livelihoods so complicated?

Imagine an African farmer. His income arises not from one crop, but many. All are differently priced. He does additional part-time labour; he needs the extra money as inflation is soaring while harvests aren’t guaranteed.

Defining his fair wage, amid fast-changing currency values set against market volatility, is complicated.

Remember, he can neither influence nor plan what his crops sell for. Multinational trading practices and supply and demand on the other side of the world dominate him from the top down.

Satellites can remotely monitor and evidence deforestation, feeding undeniable data back into NGOs and governments.

But similar comprehensive proof, knowledge or systems for defining fairer wages, living incomes, rights and risks across producer supply chains are complex to achieve.

Equity and livelihoods’ solutions demand specialist expertise, collaboration and trust for effective programmes of change.

Equity solutions require a credible framework

“The answers don’t lie with one person, the complexities demand a dedicated, collective global effort,” begins Sheila Senathirajah, ISEAL’s Head of Social Impact.

Sheila explains that common interpretations and definitions are essential to improve producer incomes and human rights. Credibility builds consensus for this shared language, shaping a sound basis against which to use sustainability tools and develop work programmes.

“Good equity solutions demand transparency, truth and trust. Credibility creates that core framework for long-term change,” she continues.

“The best foundations take time. But people are rushing to see impacts. This can have the unintended consequence of breaking trust down. You need to work patiently, building trust in the field with small producers, talking to people.

“Addressing poverty and inequities is a lengthy task. First, understand the key boundaries, challenges and definitions behind livelihoods and human rights, then build the standards and the work.

“ISEAL convenes dialogues and drives the discourse, bringing the right people together to help define the key pillars of a credible and effective framework to addressing issues such as equity and livelihoods.

“Ultimately, farmers should not have to bear risks like climate, price and demand volatility alone.”

A voice for the many: speaking without fear

Sheila believes credible approaches empower and elevate the voices of globally under-represented groups – an essential step towards improving long-term conditions for small producers.

“If you want to build good connections and frameworks for communication and dialogue between buyers and smallholders, producers must speak freely and openly, without fear or repercussion,” she says.

“Without that, you will never correctly define what’s needed to address inequities and poverty.

“Well-convened conversations across all stakeholders create a mutual belief that global buyers want to ensure benefits and risks are equitably distributed across the supply chain.

“Actions such as these set out the fundamentals of more equitable future markets, bringing hope that we’re all talking the same language, with the right people at the table.”

Credibility’s role in tackling corruption

Today’s global supply chains are convoluted, harms are often invisible. Even when the desire for change exists, corruption can insidiously destroy good equity work.

“Corruption and lack of oversight across equity and livelihoods happens because things are so opaque, and no one can pinpoint who and where it’s coming from,” Sheila says.

“Channels for reporting on this are lacking, and then no one is held accountable.

“What credibility does, and this is one thing I feel very strongly about, is put in the mechanisms and processes that define transparency.”

Sheila believes that transparency helps mitigate the risks we’re seeing with lack of oversight, highlighting further essential mechanisms that reduce opacity.

“Where you have third-party audits, for example, you develop open spaces for data and communication between different stakeholder groups.

“These mechanisms help to minimise opacity, allowing for information flow and traceability; then we can see what’s happening.

“This opens the doors to truth and curbs the ability of corruption to infiltrate frameworks for positive change.”

Fundamental human rights: raising the profile

Credibility frames equity and livelihoods as human rights essentials, making the message unavoidable to stakeholders with the power to embed change.

“Credibility raises global recognition on living wages, fairer incomes and rights in the workplace. This pushes governments and multinationals to catalyse meaningful action,” Sheila continues.

“We don’t expect them to solve the problem today, we can’t solve the problem immediately. But we can make a meaningful start. You can start looking at your supply base. You can start learning about producers, understanding your responsibilities, addressing then mitigating the basics.”

Sheila believes when it comes to equity and livelihoods, everyone has a stake: the small farmer, the NGO, civil society and companies. Credible sustainability systems help organise roles and responsibilities within an environment of heightened awareness.

“Governments and corporates all have an ability to influence change, but with different priorities. Having credible processes in place helps balance out their diverse aims more effectively.”

Don’t rush the legislative process

Many useful strategies and accompanying tools and mechanisms exist to guide improvements on equity, like premium pricing or living income reference pricing.

A good understanding of a fair household income provides greater clarity and steer, for example which strategies work best under different conditions.

“In equity and livelihoods, credibility is about that better footing, which advances good strategies and interventions,” Sheila concludes.

“Voluntary standards play a critical role in complementing legal frameworks, and regulation is pushing harder for mandatory corporate accountability.

“But before rushing to regulate, we must correctly identify the fundamentals behind the desired impact. Forging a deep understanding of the topic and creating the space for the dialogues to occur.”

The Living Income Community of Practice (LICOP) is a powerful convening space, where discourse and collaboration on themes including living income and income gaps are developed. ISEAL workshops are a crucial tool in this process.

Building firm foundations through this kind of work, and supporting and respecting global producers, are where credibility’s true potential comes to light.

“I would encourage stakeholders in equity and livelihoods to add their voices to the conversation and sign up to the LICOP mailing list, joining over 200 representatives including standards, businesses, government bodies, NGOs, finance and producer groups,” Sheila says.

Much exciting work lies ahead in 2025, including webinars on Living Income Across Sectors: Insights from Cocoa, Coffee, and Palm and workshops on Pathways to Income Improvement in Asia: Addressing Barriers and Unlocking Opportunities.

These meaningful dialogues help guide how strong, credible pillars for a more equitable world are formed.