Quality fairtrade produce benefits everyone, everywhere
Evelyn Seltier of Trade Forum asked 2024 Small Business Champion Winner Carlos Zuastegui of CLAC, how small scale producers in Latin America, often living in remote, areas, are coping with the effects of climate change, and what it means to be truly inclusive in their market-access approach – benefitting the environment, societies and economies.
The Latin American and Caribbean Network of Fair Trade Small Producers and Workers (CLAC), based in El Salvador, is the co-owner organization of the Fairtrade International system and a network that represents around 1,000 Fairtrade certified organizations in 24 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean.
We have 900 cooperatives and associations working for CLAC in over 20 countries in South America – through our work we are reaching more than half a million producers throughout Latin America.
I am proud to say that farmers are increasingly conscious of the importance of sustainable processing and harvesting of their products. I have been working for CLAC for only two years so far, but I can already see that it has an impact on society, not only in Central America, but also in South America.
Farmers are happier and are adapting to the needs and requirements of the markets more easily through our support.
Climate change is affecting all of us, not only small producers. However, it is true that small-scale producers have a harder time getting help when something happens, like heavy rains or earthquakes that bring landslides. The distance from rural to metropolitan areas is significant, as there are no roads or nearby health services.
Rains come in different months now, so it’s harder to plan. We must adapt. To survive the changing weather patterns, we advocate for changing harvesting times, rotating crops and using organic fertilizers.
We provide technical tools but most of the time, with our mountainous terrain, we first need to focus on security and safety when it comes to climate-related disasters.
Guatemala is among the South American countries with the largest Indigenous population. Almost half of our population is Indigenous and over 42,000 of the producers we work with are of Indigenous origin.
They have specific needs due to their traditional lifestyles. In certain areas I need a translator as they don’t speak Spanish. Hence, it is more difficult for them to be included in trade. In addition, they live far away from cities; they require more support to sell their products.
You cannot address agriculture or the economy without including Indigenous Peoples. They are part of our country, our society, even though they tend to feel that this is not the case. We are trying to change this, but it is challenging because every culture and tribe is different.
Yes, we would like for the Indigenous farmers within our reach to be also known as quality-producers – everything they do is sustainable and organic. Our aim is an online marketplace, where you can easily buy the products of all our farmers.
It would be great to go global as there is a niche market for consumers who are willing to pay the right price. However, the volume cannot meet industry standards. This limits our reach, but we are counting on the consumer’s trust that this is a quality product produced fairly.
Buying from Indigenous communities and small-scale producers doesn’t only help sustain their families, but also benefits the consumers in the end.
I would like consumers to think about the producers every time they peel a banana or drink coffee or cocoa. You cannot imagine how hard it is for farmers to harvest and produce (for instance, storage can be hours away). Consumers need to understand that you need to pay a fair price for quality. Farmers only charge for what they need. This is not about profits or greed.
Companies should be asking for more variety from organically producing farmers, including from Indigenous communities, because this has both social and economic benefits.
For instance, if farmers have enough income, migration stops; deforestation stops.
Governments should be advocating for small farmers with private companies for instance by suggesting companies buy produce for their employees. But people in-country have no confidence in our small producers. Companies believe because it’s a no-name brand it’s not good. They don’t know that our products are of high-quality conforming to international standards.
If I could, I would change this mindset.
It is important to have regulations that help us prevent further extremes caused by climate change. In our work, we are trying to meet all these requirements. That is CLAC’s role.
Farmers, however, need to make a living. Some companies and producers have not yet been able to comply with new standards set by the European Union, even though sometimes it would only take a little bit of funding to do so. In fact, they fulfil all requirements. So, I hope instead of closing the door and creating a new set of challenges, they will receive the support needed to show they are eligible for trading.
But it’s a slow process, and we don’t have sufficient funding to give this support. Some things are out of our control and money is needed to be able to adapt and invest in quality products while maintaining commercial relationships.
I believe that if you want to prevent climate change and social issues, you help people. Some need more help than others. You can’t just fix part of the problem. You have to fix it for everybody – because we are all part of the same world.
CLAC was one of the two winners of the Small Business Champions Initiative 2024, an annual competition hosted by the World Trade Organization’s Informal Working Group on Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), and this year with the support of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
