Thomas Baldwin reports on trade uncertainty as he considers Fairtrade Fortnight.
CHURCHES, schools, business and individuals are being urged to remember the producers this Fairtrade Fortnight.
The annual celebration of Fairtrade, which runs from February 27 to March 12, is happening during what the Fairtrade Foundation calls ‘one of the most uncertain years for a generation when it comes to trade’.
No-one is sure what the trade renegotiations in the aftermath of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union will mean for farmers and workers in poor countries; and the ongoing downwards pressure on price from supermarkets continues to impact on the vulnerable producers at the opposite end of the supply chain.
In its action guide for the Fortnight, the Fairtrade Foundation states: “It’s more crucial than ever that the voices of farmers and workers are heard – to combat the risk of undoing the progress of the past two decades of Fairtrade, and putting farmers in an even worse position in the future.
“The simple fact we need to get across to as many people as possible this Fairtrade Fortnight is this: that many of the farmers and workers who grow our food aren’t getting paid fairly.
“And the problem is closer to home than people might think.
“Thousands of farmers in countries such as Malawi, Kenya and Côte d’Ivoire all contribute to the tea, coffee and cocoa we enjoy in the UK. And yet many of those farmers are still living in poverty.”
Among the sobering statistics highlighted this year are figures showing that one in three people in Kenya’s coffee and tea growing region living in poverty, and one in four children are malnourished. In Malawi’s main tea growing areas, one in ten children die before their fifth birthday, and over half don’t complete primary school. And the average cocoa farmer in Côte d’Ivoire lives on around 38p a day.
Poverty means that farmers can’t provide food for their families, get healthcare or education for their children, or invest in better farming or community facilities.
The Foundation resources continue: “Fairtrade means farmers get a better deal for what they grow. This leads to a better and more stable income, and can help them break the cycle of poverty they are trapped in.
“But many companies are only buying a fraction of their crops as Fairtrade, and even more companies aren’t buying any Fairtrade at all.
“Not enough companies are doing it, not enough people are buying it and not enough farmers are benefiting from it.”
The action guide calls on Fairtrade supporters to raise awareness by holding events at church or work and by getting the local media to take an interest (among the resources is a brand new guide to holding a press stunt) and sharing on social media.
Churches are also being asked to make Fairtrade the theme of their worship, and a separate churches action guide includes readings, prayers and sermon notes for Sundays February 26 (which is the last Sunday before Lent), March 5 and 12.
There are also new short films, one showing the difference that Fairtrade has made for a couple of Malawian tea producers, their families and communities; another in which a hidden camera follows normal families discovering the consequences of buying non-Fairtrade products.
Resources, event packs and merchandise are all available through
fortnight.fairtrade.org.uk