Group assists farmers via fair trade program

CEBU, Philippines - The Advocate of Philippine Fair Trade, Inc., (APFTI), a non-government organization, helps the poor and disadvantaged producers in the country create a domestic market for their products, through its new three-year project “Made for Fair Trade.”

Launched in Cebu recently, “Made for Fair Trade,” will enable food and handicraft producers, and traders to push their products in leading supermarkets at the same time intensify the awareness of fair trade all over the country.

APFTI project director Ronald Lagazo said that Made for Fair Trade also plans to introduce fair trade   stores in seven strategic locations across the country, which would include: Manila, Baguio, Iloilo, Naga, Cagayan de Oro, Davao and Cebu.

And in their bid to raise more consumer awareness for fair trade products, they will also do a Fair Trade Caravan that will travel around the country.

“Fair trade is an equitable partnership between food and handicraft producers, traders and consumers. By launching the project, we are also empowering the consumers so that they can realize that they can have direct and meaningful impact to their fellow countrymen simply by making conscious and responsible choices about what to buy and how to spend,” said Lagazo.

Made for Fair Trade will run in conjunction with local partnerships with the provincial offices of the Department of Trade and Industry, local government units, local non-government organizations and financial institutions, said Lagazo.

The program will provide market development training to producer beneficiaries as well as help them access the market of retail chains in the country to increase the viability of their products.

Lagazo said that practice of fair trade is about proactive poverty alleviation through promoting innovative Philippine food and handicraft products.

It provides opportunities, fair and equitable working conditions to disadvantaged Philippine producers and helps address climate change while generating profits.

Fair trade had also meant big income as the global fair trade movement had estimated sales of five million US dollars averaging a growth of 42 percent for the last two years, said Lagazo.

Meanwhile, here in Cebu; Southern Partners and Fair Trade, Corp. (SPFTC) has slowly noticed a decline in their sales for this year.

SPFTC administration officer Dolly Bayking said that last year, they were able to increase their local sales to about six percent and although they have noticed decline of their export sales, this has been a small fraction.

She said that some producers in their Cebu Fair Trade Network (CFTN) are now doing per order production because the demand and orders have started to lessen.

Bayking said that the newly launched project Made for Fair Trade is now being eyed by producers like SPFTC as a way to improve their product marketability in the domestic market.— Rhia de Pablo