Food security and rural poverty are two of the most significant challenges the world is facing today.
By 2050, worldwide demand for food is expected to increase by 70%. The UN has made it clear that conventional, industrial-scale farming alone will not be able to feed the world.
There are over 2 billion smallholder farmers around the globe. They feed 80% of the developing world. Yet over a billion of them live in absolute poverty.
The way we grow most of our food today is unsustainable. Several reports by the United Nations warn that among other ills, conventional, industrial-scale food production is causing
Studies from around the world demonstrate that the average productivity of smallholders can easily exceed that of industrial-scale agriculture, mostly because they employ more people and are able to utilize biodiversity. Compared with conventional, large farms, smallholders also
The UN’s global overview concludes that farmer productivity can still be vastly increased. Given the right support, smallholders can feed the future. The only question is: how can we provide the kind of support that smallholders need?
During our work with farmers, we found that the majority of smallholders live “siloed,” detached from best practise information and access to new and larger markets. They lack
The Fairtrade movement has been effective in increasing incomes for more developed smallholders, but hundreds of millions of farmers who were unable to meet their requirements have been left out.
We’ve geared our model and infrastructure towards addressing the above gaps, as well as reaching out to the smallest growers with no other means of support.
Since 2005, we have pioneered a unique, for profit business-and-development model. It has proven to be effective in turning marginalized smallholder farmers into certified organic agro-entrepreneurs who can produce for global markets, and after a period of transition, succeed without external support.
Our model’s power lies in recognizing a simple, but often overlooked truth: not all smallholders are on the same level of development. We identified three basic tiers.
training, pre-financing and logistical support.
Farmers reach Tier 2 when they produce crops that meet export standards.
training, pre-financing, logistical support and market access through our export channels.
Farmers reach Tier 3 when in a position to export by themselves.
direct market access through our import channels.
While Fairtrade-certified food comes from small-scale Tier 3 and some Tier 2 farmers, Tier 1 and most Tier 2 farmers are completely excluded from the global food supply chain.
The goal of our model is to provide training and resources to farmers according to their specific needs, and to help each of them reach Tier 3 — in other words: to become export-capable, independent agro-entrepreneurs.
We measure our performance against a larger set of impact targets that we detail in our Sustainability Report.
The below five goals, however, stand out as the most important organizing principles of our activities.
Improve livelihoods of farmers, workers, their families and their communities.
Bring their products into the world food supply chain and connect them with new markets and knowledge
Support the regeneration of soils and ecosystems.
Make smallholder farmers more productive and professional.
Establish and strengthen farmer organizations.
Improve livelihoods of farmers, workers, their families and their communities.
Make smallholder farmers more productive and professional.
Bring their products into the world food supply chain and connect them with new markets and knowledge
Establish and strengthen farmer organizations.
Protect the environment.
Through the detailed assessment of our first 16 years of operations, we have established that:
We have impacted the lives of over 56,000 smallholders, field workers and farmers’ families
We have distributed over $3.6 million in Fairtrade Premiums.
Through profit reinvestment and partnerships with NGOs, we have implemented over $3 million in farmer development
We inspired other social entrepreneurs in different sectors to copy our model to increase impact and wellbeing for these communities
To see detailed information about our social and environmental
impact please read our latest Sustainability Report.
We are proud to contribute towards achieving 11 of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
When smallholder farmers produce more nutritious food, using environmentally sustainable methods and earning fair pay, the world moves closer to the following goals:
Moreover, our community development programs have additional impact on:
In the end, what we do is about changing the course of individual lives. To see how Fairtrasa’s principles translate to action on the ground, and how it impacts farms and communities, please read our farmers’ stories below.
“In this life, we’re a collective. You have to develop yourself, but also help others develop. You feel satisfied when you progress personally, but connecting it to other people and groups is even greater, especially when it’s people who really need help, who haven’t had the opportunity or education to achieve what they want to achieve.”
Isabela has a university degree and worked for 8 years as a professional agronomist helping small-scale farmers in her region. But a few years ago, she chose to leave her career to join a farmer association and begin farming her own land. “Our land is our gold,” she says.
After decades of struggling as subsistences growers, Rafael and his neighbors reinvented themselves as thriving organic banana exporters. Fairtrasa helped them form a cooperative, learn organic banana farming techniques, and build their own packing station. Read about the impact this transformation has had on Rafael’s life.
Orlando is a veteran small-scale banana farmer in Salitral, Peru. Born in the regional capital, Piura, he moved with his parents to Salitral when he was a young boy, and like legions of other Peruvians at the time, worked as a farmer for a large landowner until the late 1960s.
Dionisio, a small-scale farmer in northern Peru, recently transformed himself from a life-long rancher into an organic avocado grower. In his very first year of avocado production, he was the top producer in his valley. He says the secret to his success is his fundamental optimism and thoroughness regarding everything he sets his mind to.
For most of his life as a farmer, Don Miguel grew “conventional” (non-certified-Organic) bananas. He heard about Fairtrasa Mexico’s activities in his region from his neighbor. Given his deep respect for his land, he was impressed by the concept of organic farming, which he immediately understood would be much better for the health of his farm, family, and customers.