Fighting back climate change
How Fairtrade helps farmers to
adapt
By Amos Thiong’o, Fairtrade Africa
About Fairtrade
An alternative approach to conventional trade, based on a partnership
between producers and consumers. Fairtrade offers consumers a
powerful way to reduce poverty through their every day shopping.
FAIRTRADE
Certification
Mark
The FAIRTRADE Mark
When a product carries the FAIRTRADE Mark it means that producers
and traders have met Fairtrade standards. The standards are designed
to address the imbalance of power in trading relationships, unstable
markets and the injustices of conventional trade.
Fairtrade Africa
We represent all Fairtrade certified producers in Africa in the Fairtrade
system. Producers are half-owners of the Fairtrade system.
What We Do
Fairtrade supports farmers and workers:
•
A minimum price to protect against unstable markets
•
An extra Fairtrade Premium which is invested in community &
business, infrastructure, education, climate change
adaptation/mitigation projects etc.
•
Pre-finance facilities and long-term purchase contracts via
traders
Fairtrade in numbers:
•
1.2 million small-scale farmers and workers from 905
organizations in 63 countries
•
Over 27,000 product lines available in over 70 countries
•
Turnover of over 3.7 billion Euros (2011)
The Problem
•
•
•
Climate change framed as a foreign
complicated concept
The Funding system has failed farmers
There is superficial participation and
decision making processes with regards
to adaptation mechansms and projects
Impact of climate change
Climate change is a reality for African farmers
•
Tanzanian coffee producers’ crop yields dropped by almost
75% in one year. Malawian sugar cane growers have also
suffered a 28% drop as a result of drought.
•
Fairtrade farms in Zimbabwe and Malawi have had to install
expensive irrigation systems to compensate for lack of rainfall.
•
New pests and diseases are striking coffee and tea estates in
Uganda
•
With declining incomes, farmers often can’t send their children
to school, and families are beginning to see the impact on their
livelihoods.
“Climate change has wiped out nearly half of the 10 million coffee
trees our members have planted since 2003.”
Bernard Kaunda, Mzuzu Coffee Planters Co-operative Union, Malawi
Fairtrade as a tool
Fairtrade and climate change
•
Fairtrade Premiums invested in environmental projects – over
5.5 million Euros in premiums (2011)
•
Participation/ producer led adaptation and policy interventions
•
Promotion of sustainable agricultural practices through
Fairtrade environmental standards
•
Increasingly supporting adaptation measures – e.g. climate
change workshops, training funding
•
Awareness raising of the plight of (Fairtrade) farmers – e.g.
COP17 attendance, www.fairclimatedeal.net
•
In-setting
“Rains now fall heavily for a short period and our dry season is much longer.
The coffee plants are badly affected – flowering is stopping. Last year alone
we lost about 40% of our production.”
Willington Wamayeye, Gumutindo Coffee Cooperative, Uganda
Mechanisms used
•
•
We work through a 2 tier process as we believe that
climate change requires engagement throughout the
policy process
Producers hence take the lead in
•
•
Advocacy work
Practical climate change adaptation including active decision
making
Impact of Fairtrade
Fairtrade Premiums - Examples of Projects
•
Productivity
Kakuyuni Coffee Co-operative (Kenya)
Invested premiums in excavating run-off water harvesting
dam. Water to be used for milling during dry period
Cost: $ 28,000
Benefits 2,300 farmers and their families
Kilimanjaro Native Co-op Union – KNCU (Tanzania)
Uses premiums to subsidize disease/drought tolerant coffee
seedlings. KNCU members receive seedlings at 30% market
value. The nursery produces 280,000 seedlings per year.
Cost: $ 35,000 annually
Benefits 64,000 farmers and their families
Impact of Fairtrade
Fairtrade Premiums - Examples of Projects
•
Livelihoods diversification
Rukuriri Tea Factory (Kenya)
Invested its premiums to start a dairy farming scheme for
its members. By improving their dairy animals through
Artificial Insemination, milk production was increased. An
artificial inseminator employed and equipped and
members can access AI services at subsidized rates.
Cost: $ 2,500 to start up the project
Benefits 9,000 farmers and their families
Our intentions in the future
Status Quo (Offsetting)
Co-op X
(Africa)
Produce
Multinational
trader
“Carbon”
from
China
Where we want to go
(Insetting)
Credits
Multinational
trader
Credits
Produce
Co-op X
(Africa)
Our intentions in the future
Insetting
•
We challenge buyers to re-direct off-setting investment
into projects in own supply chain
•
In-setting is investing in the sustainability of farmers
livelihoods and therefore own supply
•
Advantages of carbon projects on farm level:
•
Additional income for producers
•
Increased resilience against climate change
•
Buyers secure their own supply
•
Buyers get carbon credits with a real meaning
Thank you
www.fairtradeafrica.net