Memorandum submitted by Zaytoun
Zaytoun is an IFAT member and a pioneering three-year-old
company working with Palestinian agricultural communities to develop
and sell their produce. Principally we have focused on extra-virgin
olive oil, our flagship product, but we are expanding our operations
to include other produce from different communities. Alongside
the Fair Trade Foundation, we have been working on the development
of Fair Trade standards for olive oil—a new product for
the fair trade market. Our work in a war zone has had implications
for this development, as the physical presence of Fair Trade inspectors
has not always been possible due to safety concerns. There is
an added dimension to working with fair trade principles in this
environment, however, which broadens the philosophy of the movement
to take in more than economic principles. We believe in the power
of our products to tell the simple story of the producer to the
consumer, thereby building links that cross the divides of religion
and race.
The following contribution to DFID's inquiry
includes statements from our producers and partners in Palestine,
as well as our own experience as a UK company dedicated to the
principles and practice of fair trade.
To date, there has been over $10 million in
NGO funding for increasing capacity of Palestinian olive oil producers.
This input is to be welcomed, with the caveat that it would be
more effective if there were to be greater harmonization between
donors and their programmes, and more consultation with the recipient
farmers in order to fit in better with their planning.
Help needs to be focused on programmes which
build the long-term capacity of producers to meet the stringent
standards of the international market. To this end, projects which
improve the technical and physical infrastructure of producing
communities are beneficial—for example, provision of funding
for agricultural equipment and research, and the training of producers
in technical, marketing and administrative areas. This will enable
the inclusion of an increasing number of small-scale producers
in the growing fair trade supply chains. Fair trade produce should
be of a consistent high quality—producers new to the European
market may need assistance to understand and implement international
standards. In some cases it may be that international quality
standards work against the inclusion of produce from new countries
by not taking into account the difference in traditional varieties
of crop—in this case a programme of research work should
be identified and supported by donors.
Greater support of the establishment of links
between producers is beneficial, allowing for greater collective
strength in negotiations with government and private agencies.
There have been a number of Fair Trade events in Palestine which
have served to bring different producer communities together—the
benefits of these events can be multiplied through ongoing programmes
of support for educational and marketing activities.
Promotion through the presence of producer companies
at Fair Trade and quality food events in Europe can be supported
through donor funding, and active links between producer and consumer
through support of overseas marketing initiatives would further
increase market share of Fair Trade products.
Whilst the development of standards for a recognizable
fair trade mark is to be commended, it is also our experience
that the rigid application of these standards can prejudice against
the small farmer. A certain amount of investment and capacity
is needed to enter the highly regulated fair trade market in the
first place, and different countries have different organizational
cultures. Producers may organize in the classic cooperative model
for example, which is well recognized by current European fair
trade initiatives, but NGOs in Palestine have also played an important
role in the support and development of farming. The fair trade
supply chain model should take these differences into account
when working alongside new producer communities.
March 2007
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