International NGOs Christian Aid and Practical Action are partnering with FMOEA (Fairtrade Marketing Organisation Eastern Africa) to open the Fairtrade system to Kenyan farmers who sell their crops on the local market.
Traditionally, Fairtrade supports farmers who export their crops to the Western world. Now that Fairtrade is also introducing its mark to consumers in Africa, [...]
Category Archives: News
Africa’s traditional crops to go Fairtrade
Thursday February 21st, 2013 – 08:22 AM
Farmers on the Comoros celebrate first Fairtrade sales
Monday February 11th, 2013 – 07:38 AM
The tiny island of Comoros, one of the least developed countries in Africa, counts exactly 60 Fairtrade producers. After two years of Fairtrade certification the vanilla farmers from Provabe celebrated their first sales in 2012. While they are waiting for their first premium, the farmers are already enjoying the benefits from the extra income they [...]
New network entangles cotton producers
Thursday February 7th, 2013 – 09:16 AM
After coffee, cocoa and tea, the fourth Fairtrade product network in Africa is a fact! Fairtrade cotton producers from Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali and Senegal met in Dakar to set up a network which will represent the voice of cotton farmers in the Fairtrade system. The network is a new channel through which the farmers [...]
Board elections in Eastern Africa
Thursday February 7th, 2013 – 09:14 AM
Fairtrade producers from Eastern Africa elected new board members to drive the regional network for the next two years. The election took place during the third regional General Assembly held in Nairobi. Over 40 Fairtrade producers participated and actively contributed to matters regarding the network.
Tadesse Meske, Andrew Ethuru and Nimrod Wambette were re-elected, while Anna [...]
Coffee farmers trained in financial management
Wednesday December 19th, 2012 – 11:43 AM
Over 25 Fairtrade producers representing coffee cooperatives all over Africa arrived early in Ethiopia to follow a two-day training workshop. The workshop was set up in collaboration with Oxfam Wereldwinkels.
Producers were trained on corporate governance during the first day, while financial management was the main focus on day two. Producers lack access to finance as [...]
Call to action at UN climate change conference
Wednesday December 19th, 2012 – 11:41 AM
‘In 2011, after attending COP 17 as part of a Fairtrade delegation, we were all hopeful that climate adaption finance mechanisms such as the Green Climate Fund would provide us with resources to better adapt and mitigate the impacts of climate change. Unfortunately up to now, little of these resources have reached the farmers who [...]
The art of making tea
Tuesday December 18th, 2012 – 12:09 PM
Home to tea for almost 5,000 years, China is the cradle of the brew. Fairtrade farmer Barend Solomo was submerged in the Chinese tea culture during a two-month course at a famous tea college in Zhangzhou. The Tea Master training was sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Commerce.
Barend is a producer at Wupperthal Original Rooibos Cooperative. His [...]
Green light for Fairtrade in Kenya!
Tuesday December 18th, 2012 – 11:29 AM
Fairtrade Marketing Organization Eastern Africa (FMOEA) has been officially mandated by Fairtrade International to become a fully-fledged marketing organisation for Fairtrade labeled products in the Eastern Africa region. FMOEA is formed by ten founding members, including Oxfam Kenya, Solidaridad and Shared Interest amongst others.
‘We are keen to sign the contract by the end of this [...]
Injecting integrity in the value chain
Tuesday December 18th, 2012 – 11:26 AM
African farmers currently receive only a small fraction of the ultimate value of their output. How can their position in the value chain be strengthened so they can grow their business, support their family and help uphold food supply? Over 170 producers, NGOs, traders and other stakeholders gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for the third [...]
Cracking some hard nuts in Burkina Faso
Tuesday November 27th, 2012 – 07:39 AM
Eight West African cashew producer organisations met in Burkina Faso to discuss their challenges and experiences within the Fairtrade market. The nuts and oilseeds standards, under which cashew nuts fall, are relatively new within the Fairtrade product range and most of the producers are still adapting to the particularities of the Fairtrade market.
A much-discussed [...]