Fairtrade Fortnight 30th anniversary continues to highlight major tests facing farming supply chains
pic: Koa
As part of its 30th anniversary celebrations, the Fairtrade Foundation is set to move its Fairtrade Fortnight to September in a move to extend the celebration of it mission in continuing to campaign for improved farmer prices in supply chains including the cocoa sector, writes Neill Barston.
Notably, as the organisation observes, its cause is more urgent than ever amid ongoing major challenges facing many agricultural communities including the impact of climate change, crop disease and wages well below international poverty standards in many instances.
With the confectionery sector, core producing nations including Ghana and Ivory Coast, which make up two thirds of supplies within the industry and its related snacks trade, have been hit with major crop disease, adverse climate and poor agricultural wages that are well below UN defined poverty levels.
The issue of sustainability with supply chains will form a notable element of this year’s World Confectionery Conference taking place on 12 September in Brussels, Belgium, given the critical importance of these core ingredients to our combined industries.
Consequently, this year, thousands of people across the UK are expected to participate in the Fairtrade event between 9-22 September from its usual previous slot in March, led by brand ambassadors under the banner of “Be the Change” encouraging consumers to purchase its range of around 5,000 products.
This includes chocolate ranges, which were significantly the first items to be released under its movement, and will underline how important the cumulative effect of our shopping choices have contributed to change, allowing farmers and agricultural workers overseas to create a better future, but more is urgently needed. As part of the initiative, retailers will also be encouraged to drive visibility and amplify its messaging in-store, online and out of home.
Marie Rumsby, Fairtrade Foundation’s Communications and Advocacy Director, commented on the significance of the campaign, amid continued growth for the organisation. She said: “Each time you choose Fairtrade when you shop, you are acting in solidarity with farmers who grow your food. Fairtrade means producers receive a fairer price, can afford to feed their families, send their children to school, and cover their farming costs.”
As the organisation confirmed, over three decades, 10 million people – farmers, workers and their families – have built healthier, stronger, and more resilient communities, with improved choice and better life chances through access to healthcare and education. They have responded to climate crises by investing in better farming practices.
This is a seismic shift in the way trade works, and it has been achieved thanks to public support and company commitments which generated £1.7 billion in Fairtrade Premium payments globally between 1994 and 2022.
Shoppers continue to support Fairtrade, with 2023 retail sales of Fairtrade products generating around £28 million in Fairtrade Premium payments for producers to invest in business, community and projects of their choice including healthcare, education and environmental initiatives.
While the organisation believed its work is continuing to have an impact, the communities it serves face a broad range of significant tests facing agriculture, in terms of climate extremes, prolonged droughts, water scarcity, catastrophic floods and hurricanes, as well as unpredictable economic conditions. They are also affected by other external factors such as ongoing conflict in Ukraine and Gaza, which further destabilise logistics and supply chains.
Rumsby continued: “The world is far more insecure than it was in the mid-1990s. Climate change, global conflicts and the pandemic have heightened threats to farmers’ livelihoods whilst simultaneously exposing the fragility of our shared food system.
“There is urgent need for immediate action for the sake of producers’ livelihoods and for the availability and affordability of supermarket staples. As we look towards the next 30 years and beyond, there is so much more we can all do to improve lives and the land that sustains us.”
As Fairtrade noted, the UK remains ‘food insecure’, importing almost half its supplies, and with 16 per cent coming from countries which are exposed to climate change and lacking the capacity to adapt and respond.
Last Fairtrade Fortnight, the Fairtrade Foundation revealed how environmental shocks in one part of the world can lead to empty shelves and food price inflation in our supermarkets: Read The Endangered Aisle.