Memorandum submitted by Progressio on
behalf of our Honduran partner LIDERS
PROGRESSIO'S
WORK
Progressio (formerly CIIR—Catholic Institute
for International Relations) is an international development charity[73]
working for justice and the eradication of poverty. Our approach
combines advocacy work to secure equitable policies with the strengthening
of community-based organisations that represent the interests
of the poor and work to improve their quality of life. Through
our country programmes we place experienced professionals to share
their skills with partners in 11 countries. Our work focuses on
three main themes: Civil Society Participation, HIV and AIDS,
and Sustainable Environment.
Since 2001 Progressio has been engaged in a
Partnership Programme Agreement (PPA) with DFID. DFID's PPA has
been key in supporting our work on Civil Society Participation,
HIV and AIDS, and Sustainable Environment.
Although Progressio does not work on fair trade
issues, we welcome this opportunity to enable our Honduran partner
LIDERS to participate in the IDC's inquiry into fair trade and
development. Progressio supports LIDERs with the implementation
of agroecological practices.
LIDERS SUBMISSION
1. What has been the impact of donor funding
for fair trade?
Donor funding has been key in the roll out of
fair trade in developing countries. This has been achieved by
providing training on the criteria and requirements of this type
of market; the trends of the international market and the processes
of certification. Donor funding has also made possible the creation
of commercial links with organisations, businesses and buyers
in countries from the global North and the participation in important
European organic trade fairs, thus enabling the country, the producers
and their products to gain recognition in some countries. As small
producers we are participating in fair trade with our principal
crop, namely coffee, and thanks to international co-operation
we are already reaping the benefits (capacity building, price
increase, social premium, contact with networks). There is still
much to do since the international market is ever changing and
its norms and its quality control criteria must be fully complied
with. New producers are becoming involved in the initiative of
LIDERS and its cooperatives in order to expand the social and
productivity base.The model has made it possible for organic production
to develop in parallel. Currently there is a growing interest
in agroecological products, such as organic coffee, and thus every
LIDERS' co-operative has a double seal: fair trade and organic
coffee.
2. How best can donors help to develop fair
trade consumer markets in both developed and developing countries?
Lobbying national parliament and international
fora for better trade conditions and for the opening of markets
in the global North to products coming from developing countries.
They can also play an important role in supporting awareness raising
campaigns targeting the European public in order to encourage
the consumption of fair trade products. In developing countries
donors can help strengthen projects or networks that are committed
to fair trade (coffee, honey, handicrafts, fruits, etc) so that
these type of initiatives can grow at a local, national and regional
level.
3. How can aid be more effectively mobilised
to help producers improve the quality of their produce in order
to access fair trade markets?
Being able to compete will depend on producers
being able to guarantee volume, quality and regularity of the
supply. LIDERS believes that cooperatives, groups or networks
must be supported through business management training to enable
them to better organise and improve the quality of the whole productive
process, including the marketing of their products. It is vital
that all stakeholders involved adopt a solid business approach,
regardless of their role, in order to succeed. There needs to
be teams to monitor the quality of each activity, such as planning/administration/business
management, productive processes and marketing. It is important
that production is planned; that infrastructure (drying rooms,
storerooms, processing plants, collection centres) is improved;
and that they strictly comply with the relevant certification
criteria (fair trade, organic, etc). They should have their own
quality norms and be responsible for complying with these norms;
for instance in coffee production they could have their own samplers
and small laboratories to this end.
4. Is there a role for donors in helping to
develop the interests of producer communities in developing countries
(for example, the Ethiopian coffee trademark dispute)?
By all means. This can be done through international
advocacy campaigns on the issue of origin denomination, which
is key to the rights of a region or country. There are examples
of countries and products that already have it such as Jamaica
and their Blue Mountain coffee. In the case of Honduras, LIDERS
has some influence in the region of La Paz, specifically in Marcala
where we were able to use the circumstances created by the free
trade agreement to reform the legislation on brands and patents
because it did not include any aspect of origin denomination.
We lobbied congress and succeeded in getting the law reformed.
As a result, Marcala coffee is patented and this brand corresponds
exclusively to the Montecillos Mountains. A project is now being
promoted to create an umbrella organisation that will launch this
brand. Of course there is still much to do and when the time comes
the support of international co-operation will be key in determining
the success of this project.
5. How does the internacional trade system
impact on ethical and fair trade production (for example, the
impact of changes in the EU tariff regime for bananas on small
developing countries?
We cannot answer this question because we do
not have updated information. However, we would like to point
out that as part of fair trade, we can see there are important
similarities with other initiatives carried out by some progressive
private sectors that are getting involved in socially and environmentally
responsible business (World Business Council for Sustainable Development).
6. Do existing government guidelines on procurement
of ethical and fair trade products provide an enabling environment
for the development of this market and the opportunities for producers?
In Honduras SENASA plays merely a governing
role ensuring the rules and laws on organic agriculture are complied
with. There are no incentives for ecological production or for
incorporating small producers into this market. If a fair trade
market has been developed it has been thanks to the support of
international donors.
7. What is the role of supermarkets, retailers
and businesses in supporting ethical and fair trade production?
Supermarkets can give space to these products
as part of their strategies of diversification. They can include
these products in their publicity campaigns; they could hold tastings
of these products so that the consumer gets to know them. It is
important to take advantage of the growing awareness amongst businesses,
distributors and the public, of the marketing and consumption
of fair trade products.
8. In an increasingly crowded ethical marketplace
how can consumers be supported to distinguish between different
fair trade brands, labels and codes?
This could be done through awareness raising
campaigns for consumers in radio, television, web pages, printed
media, fairs, etc, with an emphasis on highlighting the benefits
of buying fair trade products: origin, quality, agroecological
products, beneficial for producers in developing countries, good
for the consumers' health, etc. This will enable them to distinguish
one conventional product from one fair trade product, so that
whenever possible the consumer prioritises products with the fair
trade label, with origin denomination and own brands.
February 2007
73 Registered in the UK, charity no 294329, company
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