Notes from the field

Meet farmers and workers who are part of the Fairtrade Network of Asia and Pacific Producers. 

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Raising awareness and understanding of climate change in the Philippines

Fairtrade sugar cane farmers in the Philippines are no strangers to the perils of a changing climate. Heavier rains and more frequent, stronger cyclones are damaging their crop and putting their farms at risk of soil erosion, floods and landslides. Increased temperatures and prolonged droughts during the dry months are affecting their production because they cannot plant and work the field in these conditions. While these farmers noticed the changes and have been trying to adjust, very few knew about climate change causes and impacts and how to adapt and deal with them. Fairtrade and our partners are working to change that.

The Fairtrade Network of Asia and Pacific Producers (NAPP), together with Fairtrade International and Alter Trade Corporation (ATC) are training sugar cane farmers at the Nakalang Padilla Workers’ Association on climate change vulnerabilities and risks, helping them to identify adaptation measures and ways to increase their resilience to climate change.  

Nakalang Padilla farmers sell all their sugar cane to ATC who produce and sell Fairtrade mascobado sugar. The organization is already using their Fairtrade Premium, with technical support and training from ATC, to become more environmentally sustainable: such as building an organic house where they produce compost, and planting trees in the boundaries of their farms. The farmers are also diversifying into producing lemongrass essential oil, and are cultivating rice and vegetables for their own consumption, making them more self-sufficient.

“I am very grateful for the training, now I will explain [to] others what is climate change and its impacts in our lives and livelihoods and how we can participate to become part of the solution,” says Nelida Catubay ‘Gingging’, Secretary of Nakalang Padilla Workers Association. “We will include in our development plan the adaptation measures we discussed in the workshop and want to serve as a model to adjacent communities”.

Adaptation measures identified by Nakalang Padilla producers include: reforestation, expanding their crop diversification programme, and establishing demonstration plots to test and implement new techniques for sustainable agricultural land management practices. The producers also identified the need for new water management techniques such as irrigation systems, water recycling and water harvesting.

It’s an important start but additional resources are needed to enable these farmers to address the risks they identified and implement the adaptation measures. Fairtrade staff and producers are attending the climate change conference in Paris to call for more support for smallholders to adapt to climate change.

Read about Fairtrade’s work to address climate change

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More photos from the workshop, courtesy Kuldeep Chauhan

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Kuldeep Singh Chauhan from NAPP & Giannina Cadena from Fairtrade International with the workshop participants 

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Step into a Fairtrade and organic coffee estate

"Ketiara began exporting coffee in 2012, and has quickly become one of our most quality focused producer partners in Indonesia. Atlas sources both Gr. 1 Fair Trade/Organic and Organic-only certified coffees from Ketiara.  Koperasi Pedagang Kopi Ketiara is made up 1,768 members across 20 villages.  Sixty percent of the total members are women, and in some villages that number increases to over 80%.  The group’s leader, Rahmah, is a well-known and confident woman in the local coffee industry.  Rahmah helps to ensure efficient contract performance as well as a focus on innovation and continuous quality improvement." http://fairtr.de/SY

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Read Fairtrade America's story which highlights two producer cooperatives from Asia.

Some pairings just make sense. Peanut butter and jelly. Simon and Garfunkel. While each has its virtues individually, together they add up to something even better. Such is the case when you pair Fairtrade with organic, because each brings out the best in the other.

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We are the Asia Fairtrade Summit #WFTO this week. Come and say hello if you’re around.

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Next time you’re at the supermarket scratching groceries off the list, keep this little tidbit in the corner of your mind: small-scale, organic, sustainable agriculture is one of the great hopes for future food security.

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A brewing storm

A new report from the Climate Institute shows coffee quality and cost will be impacted by climate change, but there are things we can do today.

Climate change is already putting production and cost pressures on the supply of coffee in significant parts of the world’s ‘bean belt’ of coffee producing countries. To better understand the impacts of climate on global coffee supply, Fairtrade Australia and New Zealand commissioned The Climate Institute to undertake research into these risks.

“Over 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed around the world every day, with nearly half of Australians drinking coffee regularly,” said CEO of The Climate Institute, John Connor. “Yet coffee is just one of a multitude of things increasingly subject to negative climate impacts, and its negative flow-on effects.”

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Tea and a post-Brexit UK

S.Senthil Nathan, Chief Markets Officer - Asia & Pacific, talks to tea producers about tea production in a post-Brexit UK.

The UK is among the top importers of Asian tea, primarily Indian tea. In 2015, UK exported 10% of overall Indian tea exports. If UK is that famous for the world’s leading tea manufacturing region such as Asia, the importance of UK for Fairtrade tea is nothing less than paramount - more than 80% of the overall tea sold in the Fairtrade system is sold in the UK. 

Some of the Iconic Fairtrade tea brands are based out of UK, so are some of the world's most passionate tea consumers. In fact, some of our region’s tea producers’ dependence on UK market is so high, that any unintended economic downfall in the UK will only throw them out of the business. 

In this context, the NAPP tea producers should understand some of the key implications of Brexit— Britain’s decision to move out of Europe— to their businesses. The long-term effects on trade are hard to predict and mostly depends on how well UK frames its Terms of Trade with Europe and with other economies in the world where it used to trade under EU’s trade agreements. Nevertheless, what is important for Fairtrade tea producers is to understand how the externalities are changing now in the post-Brexit UK, and how will they stay prepared to face such market eventualities.

I recently had an opportunity to meet with a senior executive from one of the iconic tea brands of the UK. In my conversation with him and from my understanding of changing the UK’s tea industry landscape, I would like to share with you the three key areas where tea producers should build their focus on to stay successful:

1.     Quality, Quality, and Quality: “Externalities” are external, which only refers to those factors that are beyond our control. But there are many levers within your organization which could be unlocked with the right amount of effort and focus. Amongst the all, Quality remains as the foremost. If every of your organization’s competency stripped off, the one thing that will help you to succeed, if maintained at its highest order concerning your organization’s competency, it is Quality. The UK tea market is getting even more commoditized due to existing supermarket’s price wars and entry of new discounter supermarket chains; Add to it the prevailing chaos in the UK; the one thing, among few others, that could position your organization to success is Quality.

2.     Currency volatility: The GBP or Pound is already at its historic low against the USD. So, your net realization (for most of the Asian currencies) from trading tea with the UK is set to fall to the tune of lower double-digit percentage; This is a double whammy for already falling tea prices over last few decades. So what you should do? If you forward hedged your contracts, of course, you are one of the smartest. But, If you are in mid of your term contractual obligation with a UK buyer, you should certainly express your concern with the buyer and try to renegotiate the price; It seems the buyers are aware of the price and cost pressures of our producers. If you are lucky enough, and you are at the end of the contractual-term, you should factor in such macro-economic forces before you sign-off the price. You should also approach your buyer about their possibility to convert their payments from GBP to USD, if possible.    

3.     Consumer Confidence: Irrespective of the real outcomes, —both economic and political— one thing which fluctuates, almost always negatively, during such transitions is consumer confidence. It is not different with UK consumers post-Brexit. Recent research by GFK, a leading research firm, shows a lower double-digit fall in consumer confidence. So, what is it for tea? There is a strong co-relation with such fall in consumer confidence and tea industry. When economy dwindles, consumers always postpone their purchases and downgrade to cheaper alternatives, predominantly in impulse categories. Considering many of the tea buyers in the UK are middle-aged or old, the intend to cut back is higher versus a relative younger consumer cohort. While brand owners and retailers are preparing necessary interventions to counter such changes, it is important for you to diversify your market base actively. Beyond the tried and tested traditional tea markets such as Russia, ME, UK, and other CIS countries, there are many markets which throw ample opportunities to diversify and develop your business. In my recent meeting with a Tea board director, I understood New Zealand is one of the fastest growing markets for tea, although the size is small. There are markets like USA, Germany, Australia and Malaysia, which are catching up on tea consumption.

When the market gets stagnated, there are two tried and tested strategies come to rescue even today: 

1. Expand into new geographies 

2. Expand into new categories. 

The beauty of tea is its versatility: from black to green, golden tips to dust, and CTC to Orthodox there are opportunities to balance your portfolio and serve somewhere, some consumers' unmet needs. So, diversify your markets.

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Championing change

When we talk about initiatives to empower women workers and eliminate Gender biases in the workplace, we rarely discuss how men can be allies for championing change, writes Suvechha Adhikari. 

 “As men are migrating for work to the urban areas the Tea industry is facing almost 50-70% of absenteeism rate. In this scenario we cannot ignore the fact that women are the backbone of our tea estate”. This was a statement made by one of the managers of the Tea Estate of Darjeeling, Northeast India. Women constitute more than 50% of Northeast India’s 900,000 strong tea sector workforce. In the area of tea plucking alone, women constitute about 70% of the workforce. Despite their major contribution to the sustainability of production and economic stability of the Tea industry, gender based discrimination is pervasive. 

 Women workers have few opportunities for progression in the job, they are under-represented in decision-making positions at work and have minimal participation in trade union activities. Moreover, they also face threats of physical and sexual coercion. 

 Fairtrade-Network of Asia Pacific (NAPP) recognises that to address gender based discrimination, inequality and to ensure women’s meaningful, participation at work, it is essential to involve managers in the Gender Equality conversation. Bringing about a change in the plantation work culture of the Tea Industry, which has a large number of women workforce but preponderance of men in management positions, requires a strong commitment from the leadership. 

Moreover, these managers can be important allies and catalysts for change, and who will contribute towards development of a transformative agenda, which will help in empowering women workers in the Tea plantation sector. It is with this realisation, that NAPP organised a two-day Gender sensitisation training for managers of the Tea Estates of Darjeeling, North East India. 

Initially in the training, managers mentioned that their companies are already promoting gender equality through various measures, such as ensuring equal pay, creating women’s committees, etc. As the workshop progressed, the tone of the discussion became increasingly candid and honest. The managers acknowledged their unconscious biases and resulting behaviour and shared some of the incidences related to gender discrimination in their tea estates. Acknowledging that gender biases exists is the first important step towards finding a solution and closing the gender gap in the workplace. 

This gender sensitisation training helped in triggering reflection among the participants, on what may be more effective ways to change company structures and processes that lead to Gender Inequality. One of the participants said, “I tend to equate gender with the establishment of equal number of men and women in meetings and workplace and payment of equal wages, now I have realised that it goes beyond that”. 

At the end of the training, participants created and committed to an action plan to run gender equality programmes in their plantation and in the community. In future, we plan to deepen our work among the plantation managers, so that there is a change in their attitude and behaviour in terms of understanding and dealing with gender equality issues, that would lead to protection of women’s rights as workers, and empowerment in the workplace. We also hope that these managers will be our gender champions, who will advocate and defend gender equality initiatives not just to other men but also to women in the plantation community.

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Visit www.fairtradeamerica.org.

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Sreeranga Rajan tells us how Sense Organics has been trying to tackle the issue of manufacturing pesticide-free garments

Sense Organics, a Fairtrade and organic clothing wear brand for children, has now launched in India. The range is available online, as well as at their HSR Layout store in Bengaluru.

“For their products—which cater to the age group of 0-7— they buy the organic cotton from farmers in Telangana under Fairtrade terms, which means that it guarantees a minimum price that covers the costs of production and a profit to ensure sustained livelihood for the farmers.”

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How to bake with dark, guilt-free, sustainable chocolate

Locally sourced chocolate is great for your desserts and the environment — Mason’s & Co and Earth Loaf are two brands that make artisanal chocolate in India.

Who’s up for some mid-week baking with Fairtrade dark chocolate?

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Taking part in the ‪#‎FairtradeChallenge‬ this weekend? Meet the farmers who grow your coffee.

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SOFA - Small Producer Organization from Fairtrade International on Vimeo.

SOFA- Sri Lanka wins the Fairtrade Award for the Small Producer Organization of the Year

The Small Organic Farmers’ Association (SOFA) is a certified organic farmer organization for high quality tea in Sri Lanka. SOFA is made up of 2108 farmer families who are supported by the association to work in a democratic and transparent manner. SOFA pays special attention to the sustainability of the environment, implementing programmes on soil conservation, soil fertility, carbon emissions reduction, watersheds protection, and reforestation.

The Fairtrade Premium is reinvested in various income generating activities: tea plants, seeds and various crops are distributed among the farmers to promote biodiversity; cows and goats are given for commercial milk production (with the cow dung used as an organic fertilizer); and agricultural equipment is procured to encourage efficient and systematic farming. Social welfare programmes funded by the Premium include educational assistance and pre-schools for the farmers’ children, drinking water projects, community centre construction, and projects to help women become self-employed.

This award acknowledges small-scale farmers who have excelled in production, sustained markets and met consumer demands to enhance their communities’ livelihoods.

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#Spotted at the Doha Airport, Network of Asia and Pacfic Producers.

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Raising awareness and understanding of climate change in the Philippines

Fairtrade sugar cane farmers in the Philippines are no strangers to the perils of a changing climate. Heavier rains and more frequent, stronger cyclones are damaging their crop and putting their farms at risk of soil erosion, floods and landslides. Increased temperatures and prolonged droughts during the dry months are affecting their production because they cannot plant and work the field in these conditions. While these farmers noticed the changes and have been trying to adjust, very few knew about climate change causes and impacts and how to adapt and deal with them. Fairtrade and our partners are working to change that.

The Fairtrade Network of Asia and Pacific Producers (NAPP), together with Fairtrade International and Alter Trade Corporation (ATC) are training sugar cane farmers at the Nakalang Padilla Workers’ Association on climate change vulnerabilities and risks, helping them to identify adaptation measures and ways to increase their resilience to climate change.  

Nakalang Padilla farmers sell all their sugar cane to ATC who produce and sell Fairtrade mascobado sugar. The organization is already using their Fairtrade Premium, with technical support and training from ATC, to become more environmentally sustainable: such as building an organic house where they produce compost, and planting trees in the boundaries of their farms. The farmers are also diversifying into producing lemongrass essential oil, and are cultivating rice and vegetables for their own consumption, making them more self-sufficient.

“I am very grateful for the training, now I will explain [to] others what is climate change and its impacts in our lives and livelihoods and how we can participate to become part of the solution,” says Nelida Catubay ‘Gingging’, Secretary of Nakalang Padilla Workers Association. “We will include in our development plan the adaptation measures we discussed in the workshop and want to serve as a model to adjacent communities”.

Adaptation measures identified by Nakalang Padilla producers include: reforestation, expanding their crop diversification programme, and establishing demonstration plots to test and implement new techniques for sustainable agricultural land management practices. The producers also identified the need for new water management techniques such as irrigation systems, water recycling and water harvesting.

It’s an important start but additional resources are needed to enable these farmers to address the risks they identified and implement the adaptation measures. Fairtrade staff and producers are attending the climate change conference in Paris to call for more support for smallholders to adapt to climate change.

Read about Fairtrade’s work to address climate change

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More photos from the workshop, courtesy Kuldeep Chauhan

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The field team of the Fairtrade Network for Asia and Pacific Producers are asking ‪#‎WhoMadeMyClothes‬ and ‪#‎WhoGrewMyClothes‬!

They want more brands to give them an option of fashion that is fair.  Join in! ‪#‎ShowYourLabel‬, click a picture, and tag brands. ‪#‎FashRev‬

https://www.facebook.com/events/1207957472548078/?active_tab=posts

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Fairtrade Mangoes and Aam Ras Cheesecake. Sounds like a good combination. http://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/food-wine/bake-a-totapuri-aamras-cheesecake-this-weekend-2767077/