Fairtrade

Fairtrade on the road

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“What’s the most important change you’d like to see in your region?” I asked the cotton farmers of ‘Pratibha - Vasudha Jaivik Krishi Kalyan Samiti’. “We wish our children could get better education and communicate in English one day,” they replied.  So I trained them on Fairtrade Premium project planning, using a school project as an example. 

That session is now three years back. Since then, these cotton farmers have come a long way.  They saved their Fairtrade Premium and set up “Vasudha Vidya Vihar”: their own school to impart quality education to poor children from farming community.  After starting in 2010 with very basic infrastructure and just a small number of children, the school now imparts quality education at a reasonable fee to 425 students from very remote villages of Karhi, Khargone district in Central India.  The school now generates enough revenue to meet its operational expenses.

“So, what is the plan now?” I asked during our latest review meeting.  ‘We want to develop this school up to degree college level” the farmers answered.  “And what if your kids decide not to work on the farms when they are highly educated?” I ask, slightly provocatively.  “They would become better farmers and apply new techniques on farms once they are educated’, is the confident reply. 

The farmers are concerned that they might not have enough funds to realize this vision in the short term, due to falling Fairtrade cotton sales in their region. Nevertheless, their commitment and determination to make it happen is plain to see.

Anup Singh is a Fairtrade liaison officer in the North of India.


Many cotton farmers around the world are benefitting from Fairtrade, but struggling to get enough sales to drive bigger change in their communities. We are working on a new model for Fairtrade cotton, which will lead to allow more companies to engage with us and mean more sales for farmers. More news on this later this year!

Seed to Cup: Coffee Training in India


imageDemonstrating leaf rot

Did you know that coffee is the second most important product after tea for Asian Fairtrade producers? Several Indian producers sold Fairtrade Robusta coffee for the first time in 2012. Now they are keen to offer quality coffee in 2013 too. At the Asia Pacific Coffee Forum for Fairtrade producers held last year in Indonesia, Indian producers identified training on coffee production and quality as one of the priority needs. This follow-up training session was one small but very significant move to help achieve that.

More than 40 farmers from three Fairtrade coffee co-ops met at a coffee research station in Wayanad District, Kerala to get trained by the Coffee Board Scientists on the theme “Seed to Cup.” 

Over the course of the day, various scientists gave farmers all kinds of information and tips. Mr Prakasan revealed that productivity in Kerala is below the national average and just half of the potential. Dr Suresh Kumar explained how simple interventions like timely pruning, grafting techniques and irrigation can vastly improve yields. Dr Vijayalakshmi talked of pests and diseases and informed the farmers of simple steps to ward them off. Mr George talked about post-harvesting techniques and highlighted how bad practices in drying and storage influence coffee quality. Outturn of coffee, some bad practices like excessive pruning, requirement of shade etc were also covered during the discussion.

Every farmer took something different out of the session. Annakutty liked the information provided on pests and diseases, while Sudha emphasized the relevance of grafting techniques to the farmers. George was particularly keen to organize a training for his farmers on post harvest techniques. Vineesh hoped that this training is only a beginning and talked of a more frequent training from the coffee board. All the farmers groups were keen to take up the offer to get their soil tested by the coffee board, and to receive their recommendations for nutrient application.

The organic farmers pointed out some shortcomings like lack of suitable information for mixed cropping systems and not enough stress on organic farming research. There is always room for improvement!


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As the aroma of South Indian filter coffee filled the air, a drizzle brought the curtain down on the program. Meanwhile, I mentally started scheduling more coffee trainings in 2013 to benefit more farmers….

Raju Ganapathy is a Fairtrade liaison officer in India, supporting farmers to join and benefit from Fairtrade.

Progress is incredibly slow at the UN climate talks right now. Smallholder farmers don’t have time to wait - they have to act now to secure their livelihoods. Tomy Mathew of Fair Trade Alliance Kerala in India explains how Fairtrade helps farmers to deal with climate change.

Fairtrade farmers in Kerala are growing a diverse array of spices, coffee and coconuts all on the same small farm, ensuring that they are more resilient to the effects of the changing climate.

Sweet Success and Sugary too!!
Raju Ganapathy, a Fairtrade Liaison officer, reports on a sweet Fairtrade success story in India.

I came to Dharwar, a small city, overnight from Bangalore, the buzzling capital of Karnataka. For the first time I conducted a group training on Fairtrade for the representatives of seven sugar producer organizations.

Fairtrade sugar is pretty new to India. These seven producers got inspired to join Fairtrade through the Khadrolli Primary Agriculture Credit Cooperative Sangha, the first Indian sugar producer to gain Fairtrade certification, back in 2010. They were already organic certified, giving them a stepping stone to progress to Fairtrade.  In addition, their trader and exporter, Pure Life has provided them with good organizational assistance.

In 2011 Khadrolli cooperative received an amazing Fairtrade Premium of 110,000 Euros from the sale of 2318 MT of sugar. No wonder the farmers extolled the virtues of the program when I asked them about their views on Fairtrade.

Bhartesh Patil was clear that “Fairtrade certification, by providing premium, strongly supports our organic intervention.” Kandu added that “Fairtrade certification provides an opportunity to create a brand name for both the Pure Life and the sugar producers on the international market.”

The next day I was able to visit Khadrolli society to see first-hand how they have used their Premium. They showed me the tractor they have purchased, along with the chaff cutter machine, which will help them to turn harvest waste into organic compost.

The society has also supplied farmers with a kit of state of the art bio-fertilizers. One of the farmers, Irappa, enthusiastically listed the benefits : wider girth, taller crop and greener sugarcane. Two other farmers, Subhash and Hammanavar, reported that this organic manure completely substitutes any chemical fertilizers, savings cost, labor and time. As I was leaving I asked Mr Gambol their manager to track sugar content in the coming harvest to see if it also increased as a result. I wound up my trip happier that Fairtrade had brought some tangible positive results to this farming community.

Success at Last for Indian Grape Growers

“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.” ― Winston Churchill


Such is the case with Fairtrade grapes from India … a fruit of one Fairtrade importer’s persistent efforts. 

Fruit importer Univeg has been trying to launch Fairtrade grapes in the UK since 2007, but it has been quite a long journey. First they had to find suitable producers. Then they had to ensure the whole supply chain was Fairtrade certified. Not to mention quality issues, and the extremely short shelf-life grapes have. 

Over in India, one of the Fairtrade cooperatives I support was also having problems. Agrocel Pure and Fair Fruits and Nuts Growers Association (APFGA) was hardly selling any of their Fairtrade raisins, making it unviable for them to remain certified.  As a last resort, a few of the farmers decided to produce Fairtrade grapes. Could this be the supply Univeg was looking for?

There were still failures to overcome: APFGA’s first Fairtrade grape crop in 2011 was too poor quality to be exported. But they didn’t give up. Thanks to support from Univeg and another Fairtrade buyer, Euro Fruits, APFGA farmers tried again in 2012 … and have been successful. The first batch of grapes hit UK supermarket shelves a few months ago, and were praised for their top-quality.

APFGA has already started reaping the fruits of this success.  From their Fairtrade Premium they have purchased raisin packing materials collectively and managed to bargain 20% savings on this purchase for their members.  APFGA members are all smiles on their new prospects.



“It is like a new life to our cooperative. Now we can persuade our other farmers to also allocate part of their crop for Fairtrade table grapes and part for Fairtrade raisins, and continue to be a part of the Fairtrade system,” says an excited Prakash Sangave, APFGA member and Fairtrade table grapes grower.


Contibuted by Anup Singh, a Fairtrade liaison officer in India. If you’d like to source Fairtrade table grapes from India, contact him here.

There are over 50 Fairtrade liaison officers worldwide.  Learn more about their work on our website.

Hardeep Singh, President of Shahdevpur Village Club/Sunstar Rice in North India, pictured with his wife Anrandeep and relative, Shanti.


After joining the Fairtrade programme we had a better quality of inputs, such as seed and fertilizers. And the Fairtrade Premium enabled us to build this beautiful road which means we can access the farms much more easily. We got a better market price, plus an organic bonus of 400 rupees per 100 kg. The rice is also collected straight from our house; we don’t have to go to the market to sell it any more.

Before joining Fairtrade the quality of the groups rice wasn’t high. One reason for this was that they used rice from the previous harvest to plant as seed for the next year, which resulted in low quality yields. Now Sunstar provides them with the inputs each year on an interest free loan.

The Shahdevpur Village Club used part of its Fairtrade Premium to build an access road to the rice fields and to set up an organic composting unit. Sunstar has its own organic seed production to produce better quality seeds. In the future Hardeep his village would like to use the Fairtrade Premium to build a computer centre for the children.

© Didier Gentilhomme

Get Your Fairtrade Rice & Raisins Here! Stories from Biofach

I love the way Fairtrade makes the world that bit smaller; that it connects people across continents and cultures, all with a common goal of making global trade fairer.

Like me and Himanshu Baghel. I never thought I would see him again, and yet there he was, just a few stands down from us at the Biofach fair.

Himanshu works for Agrocel, Indian producers of Fairtrade and organic basmati rice. He helped organize my trip to their farms just over a year ago, calmed me down on the phone when I was stranded at Delhi airport. I walked through their paddy fields, saw the rice being processed and bagged up. I watched farmers using laser-land leveller and rice-sifting machinery that they had bought with the Fairtrade Premium.

I was obviously curious to hear how Agrocel had developed since our last encounter. Good news - their Fairtrade sales have increased to around 60 percent of production. But Himanshu is determined to achieve more.

“We are happy with the Fairtrade system, the farmers are happy but what we need is more market,” he tells me. “There is so much potential for doing good with the farmers, but we need more sales to do that”.

To help achieve this, Agrocel are encouraging farmers to diversify into other products. Raisins are their latest offering. But finding a Fairtrade buyer is now the problem. Their raisins are relatively expensive compared to other countries, and rather pale in colour. But I can vouch for the taste, and the great work that is behind it.

So who’s interested in buying?

Growing the Indian Organic & Fairtrade Market - Phalada Agro at Biofach

Vijayalakshimi Rajesh is a determined woman.

Under her leadership, Phalada Agro has grown from helping organic farmers improve soil fertility to an international supplier of high-quality Indian organic products.

Fairtrade producers are benefitting from Phalada’s success. Seeing the international demand for Fairtrade certified spices, Vijayalakshimi started sourcing from Fairtrade producers in South India. “In the first year, we sold 1500kg of Fairtrade vanilla to the US alone”, Vijayalakshimi tells me proudly.

Rainwater harvesting to conserve water resources, sheds for drying spices to ensure better quality, and a school for a local orphanage are just some of the projects Phalada has introduced – partly funded by the Fairtrade Premium.

Now Phalada is also exporting to European markets. Vijayalakshimi also plans to add new product lines, such as coffee in 2012 – and get more of the farmers she works with Fairtrade certified.

But it’s not just the international market that’s of interest to Vijayalakshimi . India was “Country of the Year” at this year’s Biofach trade fair - a sign of India’s growing recognition as a supplier, and consumer, of organic goods. Phalada has now launched a range of organic herbs and spices for the Indian market too. So are Indian consumers also interested in Fairtrade products? When I ask Vijayalakshimi  she doesn’t seem so sure that the moment has come - yet. But one thing is certain: once the time is right she will certainly seize the opportunity.

After my first days in the North of Delhi, I travelled to laid back Rayagada, a small city situated in Orissa; this rather rural state is situated on the shores of the Bay of Bengal and considered as the ‘Indian cotton belt’. Together with Sureel, Liaison Officer-India, we visited Agrocel, a cotton farmers’ group.
 
During the first day, we spent some time with the farmers to review the achievements of the past months. We discussed their challenges and their Fairtrade Premium projects (they received about INR 300,00 last year). We brought them some copies of the brochure ‘Fairtrade and you’ translated in Oriya, the language spoken in Orissa. Although the farmers understand Hindi, the national language, they were very happy to receive a Fairtrade document in their own language.
 
On the next day, some of the 600 farmers of Agrocel proudly showed us their latest Fairtrade Premium investment, a water pump. Since the cultivation of cotton requires a lot of water to irrigate the fields, they had to rent this equipment in the past, a cost that cut down their margins. They now have their own water pump, which gives them more flexibility and a better income; besides reducing their costs of production. They can also use the water pump for secondary crops, such as maize, paddy and vegetables. They told us that they have now doubled their income thanks to the water pump and the secondary crops. Agrocel farmers are very enthusiastic about their Premium projects and do not lack of ideas for the coming years: they are now planning to build bio-fertilizer facilities, latrines and a small solar electricity plant for the villages.
 
We couldn’t leave the village without paying our respects to Ganesha, the famous Hindu God currently being celebrated throughout India. In every village there is a temporary colorful altar, beautifully decorated with offerings, incense, and lit up at night with hundreds of neon lights. I even received for the occasion my first ‘tika’, the red dot on the forehead!  

Xavier Huchet, Head of Asia in Fairtrade’s Producer Services and Relations Unit, recently visited tea, rice and cotton producers in India with with Liaison Officer Anup Singh. Fairtrade International has a network of over 50 Liaison Officers around the world who provide support and training to producers.

Xavier Huchet, Head of Asia in Fairtrade’s Producer Services and Relations Unit, recently visited tea, rice and cotton producers in India with with Liaison Officer Anup Singh. Fairtrade International has a network of over 50 Liaison Officers around the world who provide support and training to producers. After a 4 hour train ride from Delhi, we reached the city of Roorkee (Uttarakhand) to visit the rice farmers of Sunstar. Located at the foothill of the Himalayas, the area is famous in India for its Basmati rice grown in ideal weather conditions. Though the city was unusually quiet with most shops closed, Muslims in the area were celebrating Eid, the end of the Ramadan and the streets were full of stalls selling colorful and tempting sweets of all kinds. Certified since 2006, the farmers of Sunstar that we visited sell about 80% of their rice as Fairtrade, and several Premium projects have been implemented in the course of the last years. One of their latest is a computer centre, which gives the farmers’ children the opportunity to learn computer science after school. In an IT-friendly country such as India, computer science is key for children’s education, but tuition fees in private schools (about INR 300-500/ month) make it unattainable for many families. Hence the Sunstar farmers created their own computer centre, with much more reasonable fees (INR 150/ month). The computer centre opened three months ago with 10 brand new computers and a teacher position filled by the son of a Sunstar farmer, who was previously unemployed. Picture: Liaison Officer-India Anup Singh talks with a young student at the Sunstar computer centre

Xavier Huchet, Head of Asia in Fairtrade’s Producer Services and Relations Unit, recently visited tea, rice and cotton producers in India with with Liaison Officer Anup Singh. Fairtrade International has a network of over 50 Liaison Officers around the world who provide support and training to producers.

After a 4 hour train ride from Delhi, we reached the city of Roorkee (Uttarakhand) to visit the rice farmers of Sunstar. Located at the foothill of the Himalayas, the area is famous in India for its Basmati rice grown in ideal weather conditions. Though the city was unusually quiet with most shops closed, Muslims in the area were celebrating Eid, the end of the Ramadan and the streets were full of stalls selling colorful and tempting sweets of all kinds.
 
Certified since 2006, the farmers of Sunstar that we visited sell about 80% of their rice as Fairtrade, and several Premium projects have been implemented in the course of the last years. One of their latest is a computer centre, which gives the farmers’ children the opportunity to learn computer science after school.
 
In an IT-friendly country such as India, computer science is key for children’s education, but tuition fees in private schools (about INR 300-500/ month) make it unattainable for many families. Hence the Sunstar farmers created their own computer centre, with much more reasonable fees (INR 150/ month).

The computer centre opened three months ago with 10 brand new computers and a teacher position filled by the son of a Sunstar farmer, who was previously unemployed.
 
Picture: Liaison Officer-India Anup Singh talks with a young student at the Sunstar computer centre

Fairtrade International’s Standards Unit is giving training on the New Standards Framework (NSF), a landmark project to make Fairtrade’s Standards simpler and more adaptable to producers’ needs. After training staff in Bonn, Fairtrade field staff and FLO-CERT auditors, Maria Steenpass has now visited producer groups in South India, together with Raju Ganapathy, Fairtrade’s local Liaison Officer.

We travelled to Karnataka and Kerala in South India to visit different Small Producer Organizations and explained some of the changes to farmers there. Presenting NSF to farmers was new for me, and I was curious to see how it would go…

The first thing to hit me was the beauty of the area. In the hill region of Kerala nature was exploding due the starting monsoon season and the many different nuances of green were incredible. Heavy rains are switched on and off like you would switch on the light. Fortunately, rains have come on time and in normal patterns this year, which is welcome news for the farmers

In all meetings, we gave an introduction to the New Standards Framework. All in all it was a very interesting experience. It was great to see that people were generally positive towards the changes.

“NSF has made Fairtrade Standards simpler” said Suryanarayana, President of Krishi Sughanda.

Philip, a farmer from Fairtrade Producer Association (FTPA) Kumili agreed, adding: “The New Standards seem simple enough to be explained to farmers and enable their compliance.”

Of course, challenges still remain. One farmer Matthew, Organic Malabar, Kannur: commented “We can easily comply with the new Standards, but what about better Fairtrade sales?”

Farmers like this need more Fairtrade sales and access to market if we are really going to help make a difference to their community.

It was interesting to see the different approach of the farmers: Whereas our NSF trainings for Fairtrade staff and FLO-CERT auditors so far were based a lot on the idea “What has changed”?, the farmers were much more interested in on the way it is now, without wanting too many details of how and why the Standards evolved. Just one of many examples of how diverse the Fairtrade movement is!

Members of Pratima Organic Grower Group in Orissa, India, organized a soccer tournament to raise awareness of Fairtrade among local decision-makers and community members. Teams from several villages battled for the title of ‘Most Fair’ with the final taking place on 21 March. Xavier Huchet of Fairtrade International’s Producer Services and Relations team made the short video above.

In the video, the winning team is ushered through town on one of two tractors the groups had bought with Fairtrade Premium earned by selling Fairtrade cotton. The groups will use the tractors to take their cotton to the processing unit. Read more about the tournament at www.fairtrade.net

We started the third day of our visit with a seminar for the mills processing Fairtrade cotton about the aims of the Textile Project at Fairtrade International. It’s important to keep open communication with all of our partners as we go through the process. Armstrong spinning and knitting mills were presented by Mr.A.Narayanasamy, General Manager; Mr.R.Suresh, Manager Customer Relations; Mr.A.Muthukumar, Manager Compliance; Mr.K.Senthil Kumar, Manager Human Resources Director Prem Grup by was respresented by Mr. Suresh Jerry, Compliance Manager And Hero Fashion was represented by Mr Saba I gave a short update about the different directions Fairtrade is exploring to provide benefits to workers in the textile supply chain and about the cotton price review project headed up by Charlotte de Vroey, my co-worker at FLO. We asked for support and the views of the textile specialists as they face the current conditions of price increase for raw cotton and environmental protection. Following my presentation, Mr Raju Ganapathi, the local Fairtrade Liaison Officer, introduced the role of the producer support and added his experience with the workers on cotton farms. Liaison officers play an important role in the Fairtrade system supporting producers and helping address their needs. Read more about liaison officers on our website. We had a frank conversation about future development of Fairtrade’s work in supply chains in India and learned about the situation of migrant workers from Northern states who make up a large amount of the workforce in this region. We closed the meeting with Fairtrade chocolates from Germany, which were admired by the participants for the quality and taste. That afternoon we met Mr Jaganathan, the General Secretary of the Indian National Textile Workers Federation, the biggest trade union in India. The INTWF is affiliated with the International Textile, Garments and Leather Workers Federation, the umbrella organisation for textile trade unions. We had a good discussion about their work in the local industry and their connection to the worldwide movements. Director of Strategy and Policy at Fairtrade International Louise Luttikholt and Rossitza Krueger, Textiles Policy Manager, are in Tirupur, India to research the textile supply chain. Fairtrade certifies cotton and now staff are investigating how Fairtrade can benefit textile workers too.

We started the third day of our visit with a seminar for the mills processing Fairtrade cotton about the aims of the Textile Project at Fairtrade International. It’s important to keep open communication with all of our partners as we go through the process.

  • Armstrong spinning and knitting mills were presented by Mr.A.Narayanasamy, General Manager; Mr.R.Suresh, Manager Customer Relations; Mr.A.Muthukumar, Manager Compliance; Mr.K.Senthil Kumar, Manager Human Resources Director
  • Prem Grup by was respresented by Mr. Suresh Jerry, Compliance Manager
  • And Hero Fashion was represented by Mr Saba

I gave a short update about the different directions Fairtrade is exploring to provide benefits to workers in the textile supply chain and about the cotton price review project headed up by Charlotte de Vroey, my co-worker at FLO. We asked for support and the views of the textile specialists as they face the current conditions of price increase for raw cotton and environmental protection.

Following my presentation, Mr Raju Ganapathi, the local Fairtrade Liaison Officer, introduced the role of the producer support and added his experience with the workers on cotton farms. Liaison officers play an important role in the Fairtrade system supporting producers and helping address their needs. Read more about liaison officers on our website.

We had a frank conversation about future development of Fairtrade’s work in supply chains in India and learned about the situation of migrant workers from Northern states who make up a large amount of the workforce in this region. We closed the meeting with Fairtrade chocolates from Germany, which were admired by the participants for the quality and taste.

That afternoon we met Mr Jaganathan, the General Secretary of the Indian National Textile Workers Federation, the biggest trade union in India. The INTWF is affiliated with the International Textile, Garments and Leather Workers Federation, the umbrella organisation for textile trade unions. We had a good discussion about their work in the local industry and their connection to the worldwide movements.

Director of Strategy and Policy at Fairtrade International Louise Luttikholt and Rossitza Krueger, Textiles Policy Manager, are in Tirupur, India to research the textile supply chain. Fairtrade certifies cotton and now staff are investigating how Fairtrade can benefit textile workers too.

Cut, Make, Trim

At the Jupiter Knitting Company we learned about the extremely labour intensive CMT (cut, make and trim) phase of garment production. At the newly built, very modern facility, the cutting is done by laser machines. Then the cut-out pieces are handed to the sewing workers, very skilled people, who assemble the parts to a garment.

We were fortunate to see a well-organized factory that does justice to the skills of the workers. They sit in long rows in a large hall with wide rows between the workers, rational working places, and clearly indicated escape routes. Many of the workers are organized in trade unions that negotiate salaries and working conditions on their behalf.

This plant also has a wastewater treatment plant as a result a very lush green plant life surrounding of the factory. And even though the textile industry is labour and energy intensive, Jupiter produces more energy than they use due to their solar panelled roof.

Not all of the factories are as well organized as the ones we visited, and the textile industry is known for its short lead times due to fast-changing western fashion trends. Overtime work is notorious.

For Fairtrade to be meaningful in the textile supply chain, long-term relationships and long lead times are needed. Factories need to be able to plan their work so that workers can be guaranteed a stable job without excessive working hours. Also we need to look at the broader community environment in which the Fairtrade factory would operate. What is their role in the community and what responsibilities do they have?

A lot of questions to be answered and a lot of work to be done.

Director of Strategy and Policy at Fairtrade International Louise Luttikholt and Rossitza Krueger, Textiles Policy Manager, are in Tirupur, India to research the textile supply chain. Fairtrade certifies cotton and now staff are investigating how Fairtrade can benefit textile workers too.

Photos include an example of printing fabric by hand, a photo of Rossitza observing cotton being bleached, all over printing of fabric, the storage of dyes, and dyed yarn as a finished product.

Director of Strategy and Policy at Fairtrade International Louise Luttikholt and Rossitza Krueger, Textiles Policy Manager, are in Tirupur, India to research the textile supply chain. Fairtrade certifies cotton and now staff are investigating how Fairtrade can benefit textile workers too.

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