Did you know Co-op became the first UK supermarket to sell own brand Fairtrade chocolate?
Fairtrade aims to make cocoa farming more sustainable and now there are almost half a million small-scale Fairtrade famers.
What you may not know is the impact of the climate crisis on farmers and workers around the world. As the Fairtrade Foundation stated in this article, “from rising temperatures and changing weather patterns to deforestation and water scarcity. Many farmers in countries vulnerable to climate change say it’s the biggest challenge they face right now – and they’ve done the least to cause it.”
The Climate Crisis and it’s impact on Fairtrade Farmers in Honduras:
This content was originally published on The Fairtrade Foundation
“At the end of 2020 and in the midst of a global pandemic, Hurricanes Eta and Iota swept through Honduras leaving destruction and heartbreak in their wake. Farmers at Fairtrade certified co-operative COAGRICSAL were faced with widespread flooding, landslides, roads cut off, crops destroyed… the true cost is yet to be counted.
‘There are no words to describe what has happened; where our producers have lost so much, their farms, homes and families,’ says Óscar Serrano, one of the co-operative’s founders. ‘It is sad and painful to see everything destroyed’.
But the hurricanes won’t be the first time the enterprising cocoa and coffee farmers have fought back against the climate crisis. By harnessing the unique power of Fairtrade, they’ve been able to not only create new ways of making money but protect the environment, too, by diversifying into a revival of cocoa production.”
What is the Fairtrade Premium?
You may not know why Fairtrade products are priced differently, or what the Fairtrade Premium is. It’s what makes Fairtrade unique.
“On top of the price farmers and workers receive for their produce or labour, they receive an extra sum of money to invest in improving the quality of their lives. This extra sum of money is called the Fairtrade Premium. Cocoa farmers, as an example, receive an extra $200 per tonne of cocoa beans they sell. In 2018, more than £166 million of Fairtrade Premium was generated through sales and given back to communities.” Fairtrade Premium - Fairtrade Foundation
The Fairtrade Premium in action
This content was originally published on The Fairtrade Foundation
“In the heart of Copán – home of Mayan ruins and the birthplace of cocoa – the new Xol chocolate factory was up and running in early 2020. The factory, the largest of its kind in the region, was built using Fairtrade Premium, the extra money farmers get on top of their Fairtrade sales, to invest in projects of their choice. The venture began as a response to the droughts and diseases caused by climate change, and how they are affecting coffee crops.
The co-operative opened up a huge programme of nurseries to grow grafted, gourmet cocoa plants, funded in part by the Fairtrade Premium. The farmers have planted more than 1.2 million cocoa trees and another 300,000 canopy trees to shade the cocoa to date. As well as keeping off the increasingly hot sun, the canopy trees provide defence against soil erosion, soak up CO2, provide food and habitat for wildlife, and sometimes food or extra income for farmers.
It is a striking response to climate change, but it is perhaps even more extraordinary – in an area where gender roles can be traditional – that the Xol factory is managed and operated by young women, giving them decision-making power, and positions of responsibility.”
