Management Tools Integrating Responsible Business Conduct and Client Protection Standards, Designed by and for Agricultural Organizations.
The Responsible Agriculture and Food (RAF) Project aims to equip sector stakeholders with management tools that integrate responsible business conduct and client protection standards for agri organizations. Cerise+SPTF works closely with partners in the agri-food sector to jointly develop management tools and the resources needed to implement them, with the aim of supporting the improvement of field practices.
Team: Maxence Soulet, Environment & Agriculture Project Officer (Cerise), Cécile Lapenu, Executive Director (Cerise).
Languages: Most tools and resources are available in English, Spanish, and French.
The RAF Project is open to all.
Project Highlights
Meetings & Events
From Mapping to Action: Responsible Agriculture and Food Sector Project & Partners.
In partnership with the Council on Smallholder Agricultural Finance (CSAF), Cerise+SPTF hosted a webinar to inform its partners and anyone interested in the progress of the RAF Project – Towards a Responsible Agriculture and Food Sector. The webinar aimed to show the progress over the last two years, including the mapping of the tools in the agriculture and food sector, which highlights the added value of the RAF Project’s approaches; the updated tools and field-tested materials co-created by the RAF Project; the experiences of partners on using the tools (speakers below); and our objectives for the future: we rely on this Agriculture Working Group to define priorities and the path towards an integrated assessment tool.
WATCH THE RECORDING | DOWNLOAD PRESENTATION
Date: February 24th, 2026.
Language: English
Speakers:
- Ben Wallingford – Risk, ESG and Impact Officer at Incofin Investment Management
- Mor Fall – Specialist in financing value chains and agricultural cooperatives, SEPM Pro consultant for ADA
- Thomas Kockmeyer – Impact Investing for Smallholder Farming, Agriculture & Microfinance, for IDH Farmfit Fund.
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Cerise+SPTF Moderators:
- Cécile Lapenu, Executive Director
- Maxence Soulet, Environment & Agriculture Project Officer
Project Presentation
Presentation Webinar (November 2024)
Watch in English:
Download presentation slides in English
Présentation du projet en français : vidéo | diapositives
Presentación del proyecto en español: vídeo | diapositivas
Background
Many factors make it necessary to work towards implementing more responsible practices in agriculture and food sector. Among others, we notice that climate change is making agriculture an extremely risky, potentially dangerous and loss-making endeavour for farmers. Existing bad practices create risks for smallholder farmers and their communities, and current international standards are not adapted. Traditional approaches of E&S risk management do not offer the level of specificity and depth that is required to assess client protection risks in service delivery.
Since 2022, Cerise+SPTF has been collaborating with partners to develop two management tools for agri organizations:
- the RAI Tool for “Responsible Agricultural Investment” developed with the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) – Learn more
- the Agri CP Tool, a specific client protection assessment tool for the agricultural sector developed with the IDH Farmfit Fund – Learn more
Our perspectives
Stakeholders have shown a clear interest on the existing tools. Cerise+SPTF and its partners now need to fine-tune the added-value and positioning of these tools, confront them with real-life situations, adjust them based on the sector needs, and create a supportive environment to promote their use and support improvement of practices.
Through our RAF project, we aim to:
- Build a RAF Working Group to facilitate exchanges between practitioners sensitive to these issues | Launched in 2025
- Develop a suite of practical tools that translate international standards into management practices | Q3 2025 – Q3 2026
- Build local capacities to assist organizations in assessing their performance and improving their practices | Q3 2025 – Q3 2026
- Support access to practical resources to support agriculture and food sector stakeholders in applying the tools and improving practices | Q3 2026 – Q1 2027
Learn more about our existing tools:
We’re looking for partners!
Interested in joining or supporting the RAF Project? As agriculture and/or food sector stakeholder, you can contribute to this initiative:
➡️ Test the tools in the field with your organization partners and provide feedback. Please fill out this form
➡️ Support the project to make this initiative sustainable and relevant to the sector!
Download our Sponsorship Leaflet below:
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Scope
Duration: 3 years (March 2024 – December 2026)
Locations: France, United States, Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and Central Asia, South and Southeast Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.
End-beneficiaries: The project will indirectly reach around 5 million people connected with the local organizations involved in the project.
Recent Publications
Research Paper
Financial Abuse Research Paper
When measuring outcomes or understanding the effect of financial services on women, financial institutions sometimes observe stagnant or negative impact. This can be linked to financial abuse. More can be done by the financial institutions to protect their clients.
Cerise+SPTF and Grameen Foundation collaborated in research to test a survey instrument designed to measure the nature and prevalence of financial abuse.
A phone survey, conducted with approximately 200 women clients each from two financial institutions in Benin (names kept anonymous), found low rates of financial abuse when women answered yes/no questions about their own experiences, but a high rate of financial abuse when the women answered a qualitative question about financial abuse challenges in their communities.
Furthermore, in a post-survey meeting to discuss the findings, the directors of both institutions stated that they were aware that some of their customers experienced financial abuse, and described how their institutions had already taken action, notably with customer training and confidentiality policies, to mitigate the risk.
Blog Post
From Outcomes to Impact
How strong outcomes management systems can help financial service providers make the right decisions for their customers
Through a blog post with FinDev Gateway, we discuss how financial service providers like Juhudi Kilimo in Kenya use outcomes management to assess and improve customer impact. By regularly collecting and analyzing customer data, FSPs can adapt services, improve customer resilience, and align with the Sustainable Development Goals, leading to new funding opportunities.
