Towards fairer trade
As markets for fair and green trade products are expanding, we look here at some of the issues faced by LEISA farmers. The articles in this issue of the LEISA Magazine were chosen to show current practical experiences with fair and green trade, reflecting the variety of initiatives that have taken shape in recent years. By presenting some of the current debates around this topic, we hope to provoke further discussion.
Table of contents:
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4 - 5written by ILEIA editorial teamTrading is part of life for most farmers, with markets being the hub of the community. Farmers who depend on local, regional or global markets for the sale of their produce are always looking for ways to increase incomes through trade, and overcome many of the obstacles this brings. Small scale farmers are mostly subject to the terms and conditions of market transactions, especially when selling in the global market.The articles in this issue of the LEISA Magazine were chosen to show current practical experiences with fair and green trade, reflecting the variety of initiatives that have taken shape in recent years. These include efforts to influence mainstream global trading chains as well as efforts to set up alternative trade relationships. We have also included articles which explore the impact of fair trade initiatives on small scale producers, as well as the problems and issues that arise during the complex process of putting fair trade ideas into practice. By presenting some of the current debates around this topic, we hope to provoke further discussion.
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6 - 7written by Dave BoselieThis article presents the challenges that come with growth, and the dilemmas regarding the expansion of the organic and fair trade export markets, based on the experiences of Europe’s foremost Fairtrade fruit importer, distributor and marketing agent: AgroFair Ltd. AgroFair was established by a Dutch NGO in 1996, and was the first company in the world to apply FLO’s Fairtrade standards to the fruit export industry. By its nature, it is a service-providing company that co-ordinates and facilitates the logistical flow and processing of products without actually owning a fleet of trucks or ripening facilities. The company represents the interests of producers from developing countries in the European market. It is based in Barendrecht, the Netherlands, and has subsidiaries in Italy, the U.K., France, the United States and Finland.
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8 - 9written by Hans-Willem van der WaalMany small scale farmers in Burkina Faso own mango trees, while European consumers increasingly like fresh mangoes. How can they be linked? This has been tried in different ways for almost a decade. In 2000, Burkinabe farmers’ organisations were encouraged to form a co-operative, and sell to AgroFair, a fair trade fruit importer in the Netherlands. This experience failed for different reasons, so AgroFair decided to help establish a local company, Fruiteq. This company provides an export service to farmers, dealing directly with various farmers’ organisations. This article describes the model built around Fruiteq, highlighting the importance of considering all stakeholders involved in the mango trade - in particular, including fair conditions for the contracted fruit harvesters.
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10 - 11written by Jean-Sebastien Levesque , Christina KeysEl Ceibo is an active member of the Fair Trade Platform, a national initiative that groups 18 producers’ associations and lobbies the government to meet the needs of small producers. The Platform was founded in March 2007, following the initiative of the National Network for Community Commercialisation (RENACC) of Bolivia.
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12 - 13written by Cindy D'AuteuilThe Union of Women Producers of Shea Products of Sissili and Ziro (UGPPK-S/Z) counts members from 53 clusters of 38 villages in the provinces of Sissili and Ziro, in Burkina Faso. It is commonly known as the “Léo Union”, as its headquarters is found in Léo, 165 km from Ouagadougou, the capital. The Union is proud to have recently gained organic certification, in addition to the Fairtrade certificate they obtained in 2006. This dual certification gives this organisation a definite advantage to penetrate the international market. The labels and the quality of their products justify a higher price. This higher price, together with increasing volumes being sold, will allow 2300 women members to increase their income, their standard of living and that of their families.
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14 - 15written by Pedro Jorge BF LimaThree years ago, Veja Fair Trade, a French company, went to Brazil in search of organic cotton to make sports shoes for the European fair trade market. Visiting the ESPLAR website, they found information about the agroecological cotton produced in Ceará. One of its directors immediately went there, agreeing to buy three tonnes of cotton from ADEC. A new contract was eventually signed for the following three years, and negotiations are currently under way to renew this contract for another three years. Simultaneously, a sewing co-operative in Porto Alegre, in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, organised a network of co-operatives and associations of workers, eager to make clothing according to fair trade norms. One of the co-operatives, Cooperativa Nova Esperança, decided to produce organic cotton thread, with between three and five tonnes of organic cotton per year. The brand Justa Trama was launched in 2005.
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16 - 17written by Michelle ArtsThe Non-Timber Forest Products Task Force, in the Philippines, has been running its handicraft programme for five years. It aims at poverty alleviation and the sustainable use of non-timber forest resources. Throughout these years, the programme has faced many difficulties –for instance, meeting the volume that was demanded or having to adjust their products to the demands– but these have been solved by streamlining the production process and by expanding the number of producers. A key factor has been the establishment of the CustomMade Crafts Centre (CMCC), as an intermediary between the communities and the market. CMCC sells the products on the local market and is now targeting the European market. Included is an example of how increasing markets can help support the sustainable use of natural resources as well as safeguarding important local customs in the producer country.
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18 - 18written by Frank van SchoubroeckA three minute walk away from the ILEIA office in Amersfoort is a big supermarket called PLUS. In November 2007, two renowned Dutch NGOs, Milieudefensie and Solidaridad, awarded the manager a prize for the best range of organic and fairly traded goods. We wanted to know what drives a European manager to sell these products in his supermarket, so went along to talk to him.
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19 - 21The Fairtrade Labelling Organization International (FLO) and Fairtrade certifiers promote the idea that Fairtrade should become more “mainstream”.
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22 - 23written by Mari Marcel Thekaekara“Just Change” is becoming well known in fair trade and development circles around the world. It is an initiative which aims to establish an alternative and direct trading mechanism that will benefit poor communities. We have been successful in directly linking communities in India, the U.K., and encouraging them to trade amongst themselves. In our own way, we are standing globalisation on its head.
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24 - 27Although 85 percent of all organic goods produced in Mexico are sent abroad, the interest in organic products within the country has grown considerably. Many Mexican grocery stores now carry organic goods, and many organic speciality shops and cafés have opened. Recently, a number of local organic markets have emerged which, since 2004, have joined together to form the Mexican Network of Organic Markets. All these markets face different challenges, such as securing the necessary physical and human resources required in order to function. The Network is developing various training and education programmes for both consumers and producers, and all markets are actively searching for new products to expand the supply and to satisfy demand. One of the major difficulties relates to the process and costs of official organic certification. In response to this, the Network has established a Participatory Guarantee System, which is a local alternative standard-setting body that minimises bureaucratic procedures and reduces costs.
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26 - 27written by Tegan Renner
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28 - 29In 2001, world coffee prices tumbled to all-time lows, devastating coffee-dependent farm families and their communities, in what became known as the global “coffee crisis.” Out of necessity, many farm families left their communities to find wage labour, while others cut down their coffee plants and shade trees in favour of cattle pastures. The integrity of coffee producing communities in Mexico and Central America was strained by emigration, biodiversity was threatened by deforestation, and denuded and trampled hillsides started to wash away in the tropical rains. That same year, a group of researchers formed a network based on long-term relationships with various Latin American farming communities, all of which were suffering the effects of the crash in coffee prices. They formed the Community Agroecology Network (CAN), a U.S.-based non-profit organisation, to support each other as researchers, to share knowledge and information with the farming communities, and to promote local empowerment and biodiversity conservation.
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30 - 31written by Andreas MandlerTrading agricultural commodities on rural markets in Africa is usually a personal affair. Small scale farmers generally know their clients very well, but they produce limited quantities, and have few alternative trading opportunities. In this traditional and static setting it is difficult to generate extra profits or to handle the fluctuation of prices. Smallholder markets in remote rural areas are neither competitive nor transparent. This generally unfavourable situation is often accompanied by other factors, such as limited transport and communication, incomplete education or the lack of capital to invest, so it hardly stimulates agricultural innovation and development. The examples in this article show the changes resulting from the implementation and use of internet supported market information systems. They also show that even if a communication infrastructure and useful agricultural market information are available, some mediation is still necessary to support rural people in adapting this information. That is, finding and using locally appropriate channels through which to communicate, and supporting personal capacity building processes. Ideally, everything grows together: the infrastructure, the available information and the capacity of people. With the help of some training, farmers are in a good position to start the market transition on their own.
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32 - 34In a situation of growing globalisation of food systems, questions are increasingly being raised about the integrity of our food supply, the impact of its production on the environment and animal welfare, and the fairness of trade between consumers and workers along the food chain. These consumer concerns have led to a growing international market for fairly traded and organic products, and also to local initiatives where consumers buy directly from producers.
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35 - 35written by Oluwagbemiga Ademola DadaMr. Babafemi is a small scale farmer living in a village close to Ibadan, Nigeria’s largest city. He cultivates cocoa, yam and fruit, and on the rest of his land he raises livestock. He would like to increase the number of animals he keeps, as he has been unable to meet the local demand, especially during festivals such as Christmas, Easter and Sallah. Moreover, by keeping livestock he always has a supply of organic manure.
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40 - 40written by ILEIA editorial teamWho are you, why do you read the LEISA Magazine and to what extent do you like it? To be able to answer these questions, we sent you a questionnaire last March. Some 1100 readers from over sixty countries took the time to fill it out. We much appreciate the effort. Here is what you had to say.
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