Local producers to join network—Mftn

The Malawi Fairtrade Network (Mftn) has engaged an extra gear to showcase its principles, achievements and challenges to woo more local producers to join the organised social movement that offers producers better trading conditions.

Fairtrade is a trading partnership that is based on dialogue, transparency and respect, seeking greater equity in international trade.

Mftn coordinator Frank Olok told Business News this week that Fairtrade contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions and securing the rights of marginalised producers and workers.

“Fairtrade is thus a market-based approach with a strong social focus which helps farmers in developing countries such as Malawi attain sustainable development,” he said.

In Malawi, Fairtrade was introduced in 2004 and farmers and processors are organised under the network as an umbrella body whose role is to promote Fairtrade initiatives.

He said the network plays a leading role in policy and advocacy efforts, developing new markets and sensitising players on advantages and prospects of Fairtrade within the context of economic integration and development, among others.

Currently, Mftn has a membership of 14 farmer groups, processors and service providers producing coffee, groundnuts, macadamia, sugar and tea.

And in a bid to entice local producers to join the Fairtrade movement, the network has organised a Fairtrade breakfast next Friday in Blantyre under the theme ‘Accessing financing for Fairtrade producers’.

This is the second in a series of awareness campaigns following the one organised for Members of Parliament (MPs) last year.

Olok said the network has invited Minister of Industry and Trade Sosten Gwengwe to grace the breakfast meet in view of the role that the ministry plays in policy formulation and implementation.

He said the network has also invited officials from ResponsAbility, a social financing firm based out of Kenya, to help local producers on how they can access financing to join the Fairtrade movement.

Since introduction of Fairtrade in Malawi, there has been an increase in exports of agricultural commodities through the Fairtrade label to UK, US, South Africa and other parts of Europe.

This initiative has potential to grow and benefit Malawi and individual producers and is in line with the National Export Strategy (NES) launched in November 2012.

Export revenue for the country’s eight producers and processors under Fairtrade has hit $91 million (about K31 billion) since the country embraced the movement in 2004, cumulative figures at the end of 2012 have shown.

Fairtrade premium—money paid on top of the agreed price for investment in social, environmental and economic development projects—peaked at $5.4 million (K1.8 billion) out of 129 million kilogrammes of agriculture produce exported.

The country’s eight Fairtrade producers are; Eastern Outgrowers Trust, Kasinthula Cane Growers Association (KCGA), Kawalazi Estate Company Limited, Malawi Assocation of Smallholder Farmers (Masfa), Msuwadzi Tea Association, Mzuzu Coffee Planters Cooperative Union, Satemwa Tea Estates Limited and Sukambizi Association Trust/Lujeri Tea Estate.

The Fairtrade movement, according to Mftn, is supporting 18 874 farmers and 11032 workers in Malawi.