Fairtrade Africa participated in a four-day meeting on climate change and development at the UN’s African Headquarters in Nairobi in April. The event provided a forum for knowledge sharing and exchange of ideas on common climate change risks and attracted more than 120 participants from different African countries

Fairtrade Africa shared lessons on how it supports farmers to adapt to the effects of climate change across Africa. Amos Thiong’o, who represented Fairtrade Africa, highlighted how farmers are using Fairtrade premiums to implement climate change adaptation projects. He also mentioned the involvement of various Fairtrade commercial partners in creating climate smart supply chains.

At the end of the forum, it was agreed that farmers in Africa need to be at the centre of any climate change related projects, not just as beneficiaries, but also as decision-makers. This mirrors Fairtrade’s belief of empowering farmers to make their own decision.