Student Reflections on Fair Trade
The transition from one year to the next is an opportunity for many people to stop and reflect on key experiences. Here is what we heard recently from Maria Teresa Isava of St. Thomas University in Miami FL, who received a Fair Trade Fund scholarship to attend the United Students for Fair Trade convergence in November.
“….My experience at the USFT Convergence was very enriching. It was very exciting to see so many young people from all over the US and other countries wanting to learn more about Fair Trade!
In the Convergence I learned that the Fair Trade farmers and artisans are not looking for charity, but instead for social justice. I realized that there is a great need to educate the consumers in order to build a sense of solidarity with the producers. If the consumers put pressure on the supermarkets, then the supermarkets will choose Fair Trade products. Moreover, it was basic for me to understand that Fair Trade recognizes “the quality” of the work that is done by the farmers and artisans; and that it requires a trading partnership founded on dialogue, transparency and respect. Furthermore, I became aware of several catalogs and stores that offer options to support Fair Trade farmers and artisans.
With regards to Fair Trade certification requirements, I learned that FLO (Fair Trade Labeling Organizations) certifies the producers (cooperatives); and that to be FLO certified, cooperatives have to follow some social and environmental standards. On the other hand, TFUSA (Transfair USA) licenses Fair Trade importers….Most of the certification requirements are for food and beverage products. However, IFAT–the World Fair Trade Organization is currently working on standards for artisan products.
I was inspired by many success Fair Trade stories, among them:
• The Coalition of Immokalee Workers in Florida.
• The Mirembe Kawomera interfaith cooperative in Uganda.
• The Sol Colibri cocoa and coffee farmers in Costa Rica.
• The Nueva Vida Women’s Sewing Cooperative in Nicaragua.
• Fair Trade Sports, who supports hundreds of Pakistani men and women who make a living by stitching balls.
Finally, I was given ideas on how to promote the benefits of Fair Trade at my university as well as in the broader community.
Everything that I learned in the Convergence has fueled my passion for social justice; and has already given a great impulse to our St. Thomas University Solidarity Group who works with Haitian artisans and farmers. Thank you, CRS, for your invitation!”
CRS Fair Trade has been supporting student initiatives for several years, believing that their passion and intellect will help guide the movement well into the future. Here are some students from the University of San Diego demonstrating the coffee value chain.
Tags: coalition of immokalee workers, fair trade, fair trade sports, mirembe kawomera, nueva vida, united students for fair trade, university of san diego, university of st. thomas
I am now doing my research on the impact of coffee production on Nepali smallholders in the value chains. I have collected Households data from two clusters: i. e. Organic coffee certified (Gulmi, district of Nepal) and non-organic certification area (Kavre). I have got very interesting results. Especially, certified farmers have low income from coffee sectors and low productivity per unit area as compared to non-certified farmers. Is it true???. I have analyzed the entire possible variable and have to find that certified farmers have low financial access, more marginal land and more shocks due to pests infection. Even those, certified farmers have got some how price premium through cooperative.
Nevertheless, I have to reach on my conclusion that, organic certification provides market assess and easy to sell as like passport for international market. But, it directly not to help for smallholders in their livelihood improvement if farmers would not get real price premium for social activities and technical- capacity-empowerment like Fair Trade Coffee certification scheme.
Rishi, thanks for your comment. First, I’d like to say that while Fair Trade and organics overlap quite a bit, my knowledge of all the issues related to organics is somewhat less than my knowledge of Fair Trade. And I would like to say thanks for bringing up one of the key tenants of Fair Trade that I believe make it a relevant market for small-scale farmers, and that’s having a minimum guaranteed price. As you may know, that minimum price rises in step with the NYBOT price if the NYBOT price goes above the minimum Fair Trade price, with an additional premium being paid to the Fair Trade cooperative. Additionally, if the Fair Trade coffee is organic, the farmer receives an additional $.20 per pound to help offset the cost to produce organic coffee.
That said, the value of organics is open for debate. There’s a great and growing demand for organic coffee and produce in the U.S. because we like to know our food, and the farmers and the earth that produce our food, aren’t exposed to harmful chemicals. That’s a very valid desire by consumers in the U.S. However, the reality of organic farmers overseas oftentimes is that the cost of producing organics is barely covered by the price they receive for their products. Leaving little financial motivation to continue producing organics, while there may continue to be other motivations such as health and environmental concerns. As consumers we need to recognize that the higher cost of organics needs to cover the increased labor and organic inputs farmers need to produce coffee and/or produce organically, coupled with their increased exposure to shocks from pests and disease (especially if they only produce one cash crop), and potentially lower yields from eliminating synthetic fertilizers.
As I was listening to the radio the other day, they were speaking about the state of the economy (not so good these days) and how this will affect the foods we choose to eat, mentioning organics specifically. Will the poor economy affect the food we choose consume? Maybe we will think twice. But I think instead of cutting out products we believe are beneficial, we’ll want to know for sure that our dollars are doing what we think they’re doing. In Fair Trade, things aren’t always perfect, but we’re always pushing for transparency and a fair deal for producers. I hope organics are on the same spectrum we are. For those organics experts out there, please write in and let us know your thoughts!