group of cocoa co-operatives from Côte d’Ivoire) aims to enable 5,000 farmers to achieve a living income by 2030. Designed and delivered directly in consultation with farmers, it starts from the position that ‘no two farmers are the same’ and that ‘farmers know best’ to trial and deliver tailored interventions and approaches. We also work with Mondelēz International, alongside their Cocoa Life sustainability programme. Under the partnership in Ghana, Cocoa Life commits to guaranteed high-volume purchases, clear terms of trade and loyalty payments, on top of the benefits of the Cocoa life programme itself. Our joint programme on climate change, income diversification and organisational strengthening has trained over 7,000 farmers on climate change and adaptation strategies, awarded grants to 9 unions to invest in income diversification activities and supported the unions to manage the grants and strengthen their cooperatives.
How can consumers in countries in the global north, particularly in the UK, contribute to the fairtrade movement and support the goals outlined in your 30th-anniversary report? Many consumers will be unaware of the
complex issues in cocoa supply chains that sit behind their chocolate bar, particularly the concept of a living income. We need consumers actively to play their part in driving forward the solutions and choosing
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to buy Fairtrade is a good place to start. They can do this by choosing Fairtrade chocolate and cocoa when they shop, tell others about the cumulative change that shopping choices can drive. They can also make a difference by advocating for fair trade in their local communities, schools, universities and workplaces, encouraging more people to support ethical trade practices, or by participating in Fairtrade campaigns and raising awareness about the importance of fair prices and sustainable livelihoods, and good farming practices that protect both people and planet.
Looking ahead, what are your main priorities for the next decade to ensure that Fairtrade continues to drive equitable and sustainable trade practices? Over the next ten years, The Fairtrade Foundation’s main priorities include: • Expanding the reach and impact of Fairtrade certification, especially in new markets and product categories.
• •
Enhancing climate resilience and sustainable practices among producers.
Increasing advocacy efforts to ensure fairer trade policies and greater corporate accountability.
• Adopting innovation in fair-trade practices, including through our new Shared ImPact model, and deepening consumer engagement to sustain momentum for ethical trade.
Fairtrade’s ethos includes equitable governance and representation. Can you discuss how producers’ voices are integrated into decision-making processes and the impact this has on creating resilient supply chains? Most cocoa is grown on small family farms with little access to electricity, clean water, reliable roads, or quality schools. Compounding these challenges are negative effects of climate change and persistent market failures. Farmers are disconnected from formal financial systems, not widely experienced in managing cooperatives and lack alternative income sources to offset market volatility. These obstacles can leave cocoa farmers in poverty, unable to invest in or grow their businesses, due to factors beyond their control. We need to listen to the farmers. They are the ones who are seeing first-hand what is happening, and they are the ones who know best what needs to be done to improve their crops and livelihoods. We need a farmer-first approach to unlock farmer entrepreneurship. We also need the cocoa sector to come together. Despite multiple industry attempts to improve farmer livelihoods, the reality is that smallholder farmer poverty has not been eradicated. To see a systematic improvement in the livelihoods of farmers, the cocoa sector needs to work together pre-competitively, alongside governments and other cocoa landscape actors and commit to achieving living incomes and decent lives for cocoa farmers. Tackling the causes not the symptoms of problems in trade is also why Fairtrade places such emphasis on good governance and ensuring that everyone in the chain is able to be heard, to have power and a voice. Fairtrade is unique in being co- owned by farmers and workers themselves, who ensure their voices are heard at all levels, from a local co-operative meeting through to having 50 percent of the votes in Fairtrade’s global General Assembly. Sharing power – between producers and markets, between seller and buyer – locks in a perspective on how to create sustainable trade that is missing from so many debates about trade and development. In fact, our experience over the last 30 years shows how much more resilient Fairtrade partnerships are, thanks to enabling a richer dialogue across the supply chain.
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