Fairtrade is a tool for development that ensures disadvantaged farmers and workers in developing countries get a better deal through the use of the international FAIRTRADE Mark.
Fairtrade Labelling was created in the Netherlands in the late 1980s. The Max Havelaar Foundation launched the first Fairtrade consumer guarantee label in 1988 on coffee sourced from Mexico. Here in the UK, the Fairtrade Foundation was established in 1992, with the first products to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark launched in 1994. Read the history of Fairtrade labelling internationally .
fair tade cotton facts.
About the co-operative
| Location: | Kutch region, Gujarat State, Western India |
| Members: | 1,930 |
| Area under cotton: | 6,000 hectares |
| Farm size: | 4-8 hectares |
| Production: | 4,408 tonnes (2008/09 season) |
| Fairtrade sales: | 12% of production (2008/09 season) |
| Certified organic: | 20% of production, remainder under conversion |
| Harvest: | November - February |
Picking cotton, India ©
"I did not get any education but I want my children to. Because of the Fairtrade price, I can send them to school." - Laljibhai Narranbhai, cotton farmer, Agroocel Pure & Fair Cotton Growers' Assiciation
Introduction
Agrocel Pure & Fair Cotton Growers’ Association was formed in 2005 with the guidance of the Agri-Service Division of Agrocel Industries Ltd. Based at Bangalore, Agrocel’s Agri-Service division currently works with more than 20,000 farmers across India. It aims to improve the livelihoods of small-scale and marginalised Indian farmers by enabling them to participate in organic and Fairtrade production and by marketing with added value their production of cotton, rice, nuts and other crops.
Tough times for cotton growers
In spite of the huge importance of cotton to the global textile industry, world market prices have been in long- term decline in real terms since the 1970s, notwithstanding a recent upturn in cotton and other commodity prices linked to the global financial crisis and to Pakistan’s cotton production being hit by severe flooding. While some of this decline can be explained by reductions in production costs and strong competition from synthetic fibres, the major downward pressure on prices is caused by the payment of huge subsidies by rich cotton producing countries – notably, the US, China and the EU – to protect the domestic production of cotton and related industries.
As a result cotton farmers in Africa, Asia and Latin America are struggling to survive, while developing countries which rely on cotton exports are losing out on vital foreign exchange earnings that could be allocated to health, education and other social development projects.
The industry’s high use of chemical pesticides is harming agricultural communities and the environment. And traditional flood irrigation is depleting rivers, lakes and water tables, making water a scarce commodity for many cotton growing communities.
Agrocel Organic & Fairtrade cotton project
One of Agrocel’s major current projects is the Organic & Fairtrade Cotton Project, located in southern India. The project involves organising small-scale farmers into functioning farmers associations to help them meet organic and Fairtrade certification standards, improve farming techniques and reduce production costs. With marketing support from Agrocel, the farmers are able to access higher value markets and increase their incomes and profits. This long-term partnership also includes spreading the Fairtrade philosophy and encouraging pride in farming, particularly among younger farmers, many of whom drift to the cities, disillusioned with the status and financial prospects of farming.
Five Fairtrade certified organic cotton farmers’ groups in the states of Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, and Karnataka are currently participating in this project.
Agrocel Pure & Fair Cotton Growers’ Association from Kutch in Gujarat was one of the earliest participants in the project and typifies the scheme. With guidance from Agrocel, this previously unorganised group of 50 farmers was formalised into a legal entity in 2005. This was the first step in successfully gaining Fairtrade certification, which enabled the farmers to supply the UK market when Fairtrade certified cotton products were launched in November 2005. Products made with Agrocel Fairtrade cotton are available from Marks & Spencer, Bishopston Trading, Debenhams, Monsoon Accessorize, People Tree, Traidcraft, Tesco and many more retailers.
The success of the group has enabled them to extend membership to farmers in neighbouring Surendranagar district. Membership now stands at 1,930 farmers, including 77 women farmers, and extending to more than 6,000 hectares of cotton production.
Fairtrade Minimum Price & Premium
The Fairtrade Minimum Price for seed cotton from India is $0.46/kg (Rs29.70) for organic and $0.38/kg (Rs28.50) for conventional. The additional Fairtrade Premium of $0.05/kg is for investment in projects that benefit the members and their communities. Projects are discussed and approved by members and managed by an elected committee.
Around 20% of production by members of the Agrocel Pure & Fair Cotton Growers’ Association is certified organic, with nearly all the remaining production in conversion to organic. In the December 2008 – April 2009 season, members produced 4,408 tonnes of seed cotton, of which 3,000 tonnes were sold to the conventional export market, 886 tonnes to the local market and 538 tonnes (12% of the total) to the Fairtrade market, including 92 tonnes certified organic.
Amanda hunt
No comments:
Post a Comment