Fairtrade International has called on G20 nations to implement a coronavirus response plan to protect low-income farmers and producers through economic support and investments that push commodity supply chains towards more sustainable practices.
The chief executives of all Fairtrade bodies globally have supported a statement sent to G20 chair, the Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, calling on the G20 to protect farmers and workers in developing countries from the health and economic impacts associated with the coronavirus lockdown. Global sales of Fairtrade products reach $9trn annually and supports around 10 million people who are mainly based in developing countries. The farmers supported by Fairtrade are already among the world’s poorest people and the organisation believes that the communities they operate in often don’t have fallback jobs, economic safety nets and suffer from poor healthcare, a lack of clean water and sanitation and are at risk from hunger and malnutrition.
In response, the G20 is being called upon to help producers and farmers navigate necessary lockdowns that are resulting in a rapid decline in orders and production across some commodity supply chains. In Kenya, for example, tens of thousands of flower workers have lost their jobs, with no local work alternatives while flower workers have also been laid off in Ecuador due to falling sales. The price of tea in India and Sri Lanka, meanwhile, are also reported to have fallen by 40% due to reduced demand.
G20 leaders have been urged to work with governments where low-income suppliers and growers are located to agree on furlough schemes that protect farmers from poverty and hunger. Fairtrade believes the furlough scheme can be financed by donor support from the World Bank and other agencies, placing tax holidays for workers that pay taxes and getting corporate retailers and manufacturers to pay forward on supplier contracts.
Fairtrade believes that many farms will get by using skeleton workforces. The cost of doing this for the 44 flower farms that Fairtrade works with in Kenya would be €2.8m over three months. Workers would also need to be supplied with relevant PPE protective equipment and training on social distancing. At a minimum, Fairtrade is calling for food and essentials to be provided to farmers. Using the Kenyan flower farms as a basis, Fairtrade estimates the support costs for that nation to reach €270,000 over three months. Fairtrade is also supporting wider calls for aid to be provided to developing countries to improve healthcare systems through a dedicated G20 taskforce to lead on a global response to the Covid-19 outbreak.
Source: edie.net
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