Your Global Farmers’ Market, Farmers & Workers Report on Fairtrade’s Benefits

As farmers across the United States begin putting seeds in the ground, Fairtrade farmers and workers from around the world are proud to share results from their work. With more than 1.66 million farmers and workers across 75 countries, Fairtrade is your global farmers’ market with goods from around the globe.

Fairtrade International recently release the 8th Edition of its Monitoring and Impact Report online providing insight into the small-scale farmers and workers that make up Fairtrade certified producer organizations.

The report focuses on a variety of thematic areas, including: producer organizations, small-scale farmers, workers, women in Fairtrade, production and sales, use of the Fairtrade Premium, and the three major regions where Fairtrade works.

“This report offers an excellent overview of where Fairtrade works and what is happening in the field with farmers and workers. It includes very encouraging figures,” said Dario Soto Abril, Fairtrade International’s newly appointed Global CEO. “The report also clearly shows that to make a greater difference to the lives of farmers and hired workers around the world, we need to scale up the reach of our work.”

“Monitoring the Scope and Benefits of Fairtrade” provides insights into the scope and scale of Fairtrade, analyzing the extent, nature, and distribution Fairtrade’s for participating farmers and hired workers.

In 2015, the number of Fairtrade farmers and hired workers slightly grew by 1% to 1.66 million. This figure reflects a similar increase in the number of Fairtrade-certified producer organizations for a total of 1,240.

Fairtrade Premium payments – the extra sum of money paid to producer organizations to farmers on top of the selling price – grew by 10%. Farmers and workers democratically decide how to invest these funds according to their community priorities.

Sales revenues for producer organizations were up by 15% – mainly due to growth in banana, coffee, cocoa and flower sales. In total, more than $197.2 million in Fairtrade Premium was channelled back to Fairtrade-certified organizations above and beyond the price paid for their products.

The latest report also presents the results of the first in a series of household surveys aimed at assessing long-term the long-term impact of Fairtrade certification on farmers’ lives.

The information presented is primarily based on 2015 monitoring data that Fairtrade International collects from all certified producer organizations through auditing and producer support processes. The data is analysed and published on a yearly basis, providing a detailed picture of the experiences of farmers and workers in Fairtrade supply chains.

Click here to view previous reports.

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