AgDevCo

Planting Naturals is the largest organic palm oil producer in West Africa, sourcing from around 10,000 smallholder farmers in Sierra Leone and supplying organic palm oil to European markets. They work with the largest organic and Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified smallholder group globally. For the farmers at the heart of that network, certification ensures access to global markets, stable income, and a verifiable claim on their land and livelihoods.

AgDevCo has invested debt in Planting Naturals, and since 2025 has complemented that investment through its Technical Assistance Facility  — working directly with the Planting Naturals team to strengthen the capacity, inclusion, and traceability of their farmer network.

Technical assistance (TA) has spanned the full arc of farmer support, from delivering good agricultural practices and certification training, to demonstration farms and fresh fruit bunch quality control. Each activity is designed to equip smallholders with better knowledge, skills, and tools — so they can farm more productively, access markets more reliably, and sell high-quality produce, more predictably, and at better prices. This benefits these farmers and their households, and strengthens Planting Natural's supply chain.

A focus on gender inclusion has been built into these activities from the outset, with women actively targeted for field days and community-managed financial savings groups in a sector where they are often underrepresented. By end-2025, over 340 female smallholder farmers received on-farm training and more than 410 women (accounting for 45% of trainees) participated in Village Savings and Loan Associations and were empowered to make informed, responsible decisions about their money.  In smallholder farming communities, when women have greater access to skills, markets, and financial tools, the benefits extend beyond individual households. In smallholder farming communities, when women have greater access to skills, markets, and financial tools, the benefits extend beyond individual households to the wider community¹.

Protecting that progress means protecting market access. The EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) is reshaping who can sell into European markets, making farm-level traceability a business-critical requirement². For smallholders traceability is a prerequisite for continued participation in the supply chains that sustain their livelihoods. A central focus of the TA programme has therefore been supporting Planting Naturals in building a verified traceability system — one that directly protects the market position of the smallholders at the heart of their supply chain. Through this TA support, Planting Naturals has implemented a traceability software system that meets EUDR compliance requirements.

"AgDevCo's Technical Assistance has enabled Planting Naturals to transform how we work with our smallholder farmers. [...] Most importantly, it empowers smallholders to participate in verified deforestation-free markets, securing their livelihoods while protecting forests." - Jan Hein de Vroe, CEO of Planting Naturals

Download the Planting Naturals and AgDevCo Technical Assistance Facility Project Spotlight here.

1. A useful overview of the evidence in an agricultural context is available via the Evans School Policy Analysis and Research Group (EPAR) at the University of Washington.

2. The EUDR establishes binding rules requiring that commodities including palm oil placed on or exported from the EU market are deforestation-free and legally produced, with market access now directly tied to the ability to demonstrate compliance through structured due diligence and reliable supply chain information. For further details see the World Resources Institute.