What is holding smallholders back
Smallholder farmers have a vital role in the global food system, and a tremendous potential. Yet they tend to struggle with a range of systemic problems that keep over a billion rural families in absolute poverty.
They tend to live siloed, without access to:
- information on sustainable best practice and best fit solutions that could help them increase yields, quality and environmental health
- self-organization that could give them increased security, efficiency and bargaining power
- financing, that would allow them to invest in high quality organic inputs and better growing methods
- markets, which means that they have to sell to middlemen at suppressed prices
- warehousing and transportation, which means that harvests often go to waste
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. This is why we started Fairtrasa.
What we do for farmers
Through years of trial, error, learning and refinement, we have forged a unique, for profit business-and-development model. It has proven to be effective in starting virtuous cycles of growth, empowering marginalized small-scale farmers to gradually raise their standards to export level, obtain organic certifications, and eventually succeed on the global market without external support.
To help farmers become independent as producers and exporters, we also train them in logistics and in building and operating their own infrastructure. Crucially, we support farmers in organizing themselves, which increases their efficiency and bargaining power. Many of the cooperatives that we work with today have been formed with Fairtrasa’s help, but now operate independently.
Our field offices support farmers with the following:
- information on sustainable best practice and best fit solutions that could help them increase yields, quality and environmental health
- self-organization that could give them increased security, efficiency and bargaining power
- financing, that would allow them to invest in high quality organic inputs and better growing methods
- markets, which means that they have to sell to middlemen at suppressed prices
- warehousing and transportation, which means that harvests often go to waste
The Three Tier Farmer Development Model
One of the keys of our model’s success lies in recognizing a simple, but often overlooked truth: not all farmers are on the same level of development. We identified three basic tiers.
TIER 1
Subsistence farmers
- Sell their products to middlemen or local markets at low prices
- Generally, have low yields due to a lack of best practice and best-fit solutions
- Lack of technical expertise and resources to farm high-quality crops
- Have no or weak associations or cooperatives
- Do not know how to manage and qualify for organic, Fairtrade or other certifications
We provide
training, pre-financing and logistical support
Farmers reach Tier 2 when they produce crops that meet export standards
TIER 2
Evolving farmers
- Produce crops with better yields and higher quality
- Fruits begin to meet export quality
- Are developing the administrative and leadership skills of their associations or cooperatives
- May have one or more international certifications, but need help managing them
- Sell their fruit on local markets and / or to an exporter who sells to international markets
We provide
training, pre-financing, logistical support and market access through our export channels
Farmers reach Tier 3 when in a position to export by themselves
TIER 3
Independent agro-entrepreneurs
- Have good agricultural know-how, generally apply best practices and achieve high yields
- Produce high-quality crops for international markets
- Have well-organized associations / cooperatives with elected leaders
- Manage their GlobalG.A.P., organic, Fairtrade or other BSCI compliant certifications
- May sell crops directly on international markets
We provide
direct market access through our import channels
“With your knowledge of agriculture and economy, you’ve helped us become better producers. We go out on the field with greater consciousness.
And since I’ve been working with you, I could always be sure that as long as my mangoes are good, they will never go to waste. Today, I have security as a farmer.”
Jesus Munoz Ayala
Mexico
Over the years, most of our farmers have reached Tier 3. This year, we are once more focusing on identifying a new cohort of Tier 1 and Tier 2 farmers who need our support to grow.