Establishment of fruit puree facilities in Madagascar The local partner SCRIMAD SARL, a Malagasy trading company (mainly in fresh litchi) wishes to enlarge its fruit exporting activities in Madagascar. Together with the applicant Entreprise Coopérative Éthiquable, a French importing and processing cooperative, they will set up a joint venture to start a fruit processing plant in Madagascar. Entreprise Coopérative Éthiquable will be one of the buyers of the fruit puree.The fruit processing company will produce frozen fruit puree as an ingredient for the food processing industry, mainly in Europe. The factory will be situated in Tamatave (Toamasina), the main harbour city of Madagascar. The factory will be set up next to SCRIMAD's existing litchi handling centre.The project will also set up an outgrower scheme to produce the fruits necessary for the fruit processing (pineapple, litchis, mangos, papaya, passion fruit and coconut, to start with, later on, sour soup, guava, Chinese guava and tamarind will be added). It is estimated that 400 outgrowers will be contracted during the project period. Project partners will initially mainly work with farmer groups the project partners have already done business with. All producer groups will be GlobalGAP certified. 25% of the outgrowers will be BIO and Fair-trade certified.Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)Employees of the facility will receive salaries above minimum wage. The lowest income will be € 57 (compared to the minimum wage of € 35). Initially, 25% of the farmers will be BIO certified which contributes to reduction of environmental negative impact. Social standards will be secured by a Fair Trade Certification and GlobalGAP. Furthermore, international standards on quality and hygiene will apply.Impact•	Employment and working conditionsAll employees will receive salaries above minimum wage and all employees will be trained. Personnel will use protective clothing and receive safety trainings. Employees will also benefit from internal health care facilities.•	Innovation / Transfer of knowledgeAlthough there are some Malagasy companies active in processing fruit pulp, this project will process the fruit further into puree (higher value). Fruit will be further refined, pasteurised and frozen.Cold rooms necessary for this freezing process are non-existent in Madagascar.Fair Trade, GlobalGAP and BIO certification are not completely new for Madagascar, but for some fruits these certifications will be new.•	Chain effects400 outgrowers will be contracted and will receive technical assistance to improve production. Because initially 25% of the farmers will be Fair Trade certified, better prices will be secured. In a later stage, this number of 25% will increase. Farmers will also benefit from community projects financed by Fair Trade premiums. The project will have a positive impact on farmers by creating new markets for their fruits.Only a limited amount of the production will be available for the local market. Higher quality products will become available.•	Impact on the sectorAs there are no other fruit puree manufacturers in Madagascar, the project will introduce a new level of processing to the country. A pioneering project of this type can serve as a strong example for other companies, also in the area of social and environmental standards.Although a relatively small amount will be available for the local market, local ice-makers, yoghurt makers and juice producers will benefit very much from this project, being able to substitute import puree with locally produced puree.The fact that the joint venture will introduce GlobalGAP, Fair Trade and BIO standards in its supply chain makes it possible for local processors to extend the certification to their own products.There have been contacts between SCRIMAD and the University of Antananarivo, which will be expanded to the joint venture. The project partners agree that researchers, students and the joint venture will benefit from mutual co-operation. There is interest to undertake joint research assignments, get students for internships and offer groups of students the opportunity to visit the company and/or the producer group. The joint venture will also be open for organising informative tours for (agricultural) vocational schools.SCRIMAD is an active member of Malagasy Litchi Exporters Association. In addition, the director of SCRIMAD has been very actively involved in the establishment of a new professional group of farmers, processors and exporters of fruits, vegetables and spices (Groupement Professionnel des Agriculteurs, des Industriels et Exportateurs de fruits, légumes et épices or GPFLE), which aimed to support its members in cultivation, marketing and export of litchi from Madagascar. In particular, GPFLE aims to provide a platform for all players in the sector (small farmers, producer groups, large industries and exporting Establishment of Fruit Puree Supply Chain in Madagascar companies) in order to enable development of integrated and strong supply chains for fruit and fruit products from Madagascar. The joint venture will become a member of this association and contribute actively to its activities.•	EnvironmentThe project will have positive impact on the environment:- Farmers will be trained in good agricultural practices and will obtain GlobalGAP certificate, which entails management and monitoring of environmental impact of the project. This will ensure a responsible use of chemicals and that farmers manage their land in a sustainable way.- BIO certificate for 25% of the farmers (during the project period) will guarantee strict compliance with requirements of this organic standard.- The joint venture will introduce a solar heater (part of the boiler system) in order to reduce the intake of the electricity from the grid.•	Position of womenTwenty-six women will be employed at the company, of which four on medium positions and 22 on basic positions. On top of that there are approximately 20% women active as head of farms at producer organisations; through additional income generated thanks to this project, they will be able to improve their welfare and the welfare of their families.•	Impact on food safetyPart of the production (5%) will be sold to actors in the local market, mainly food processing companies and actors in the hospitality sector.•	Impact on waterThe project will not contribute to the availability of water. To set up a fruit processing plant in Toasamina producing about 1,000 tons of frozen fruit puree for export.