Seed Industry Completes 5 Yrs Of Ethical Practices In Supply Chain
Industry leaders during launch of Echo brochure at T-Hub in Hyderabad
Hyderabad: Echo (Enabling Child and Human Rights with Seed Organisations), a forum established as a joint initiative between the seed industry and non-governmental organisations, held an event in the city to reflect on five years of championing decent work standards in the seed supply chain. More than 100 representatives of various seed companies, NGOs, multilateral organisations, Government, and academic institutions participated.
Formed in 2019, Echo has developed and formalised protocols to guide seed companies in implementing effective human rights compliance programmes. The forum’s founding member companies include, Glocal, Bayer, Syngenta, East-West Seed India, BASF Nunhems, Advanta, and HM Clause.
The event began with the launch of a brochure that summarized ECHO’s initiatives, since its launch. Later, a series of breakout sessions were held on the challenges and solutions associated with implementing minimum wage standards, innovative methods for raising awareness about decent work standards, effective strategies for field-level monitoring and reporting, the role of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes in supporting these standards.
On the forum’s growth, Dr Davuluri, General Secretary, Echo, said: “Echo was born out of a collective aspiration to address human rights issues in the hybrid seed industry.
