This is a belated report back on an excellent conference I attended last week – “Cumbria Local and Fair” on trade justice both for overseas farmers and for those in the UK.
It was a long way to travel for a day event, but we have long promoted the notion of “UK fair trade“, in recognition that whilst the severity of human impact will be less than that on many farmers in developing countries, UK farming livelihoods and diversity face equally ruinous pressures from the below-production-cost prices paid by supermarkets and other buyers. This conference was the first opportunity to participate in discussion of this with farmers, fair trade activists and support agencies – thanks to the inspiration and commitment of Cumbrian fair trade and local food activists.
There were six particularly striking outcomes:
1) a simple Powerpoint slide showing the comparative stability of fairly traded and unfairly traded commodity prices. If we could achieve anything like that stability for UK farmers there would be immense potential benefits to farming livelihoods and to farmers’ ability to invest in their businesses and in sustainable practices.
2) Harriet Lamb of the Fairtrade Foundation told us that when the idea of a UK fair trade mark was put to fairtrade farmers from developing countries, their response was “when they stop receiving subsidies from the EU they can have a fair trade mark.” A reasonable and understandable response, but perceptions don’t quite match reality on this. In many cases the subsidies essentially go to the buyers – such as supermarkets – who refuse to pay a fair price for produce. They go through the farm business itself like a dose of salts. In the UK the subsidy is typically often about the same as the loss that UK agriculture makes, so without a subsidy farmers in the UK would not exist, with all the social and economic and environmental consequesces that would entail.
Harriet also said that as times have changed, it will be useful to revisit the idea of a UK fair trade mark – something we may have to follow up.
From the Cumbria Fairtrade Network website
3) The story goes that Cadbury started to consider paying fair trade prices because its buyers noticed that the average age of a Ghanaian cocoa farmer had increased to 54 as young people were leaving the sector in desperation. Similar issues affect the UK and are regularly reported on the Fair Deal for UK Farmers website.
4) Some buyer commitments to action made at the conference that should be celebrated – and pursued! Northern supermarket chain Booths – well known for local sourcing – along with the Co-op Retail Group and Penrith Co-operative Society all committed to investigating and perhaps trialling ‘local and fair price’ labelling in their shops. Watch this space…
5) Rory Stewart MP announced that he would be holding a parliamentary event in February 2012 on fair pricing and Grocery Code Adjudicator. We will help to promote this and to ensure the right people attend. Another local MP Tim Farron also made a commitment to lobby the government to include the power to fine supermarkets in the Groceries Code Adjudicator’s powers. I’m sure local people will hold their MPs to account on these promises.
6) and finally – a conversation with the Booths representative reflecting on some people’s exclusive focus on ‘farm shops and farmers’ markets’ was food for thought. The Booths rep said that to achieve any real change we had to get supermarket sourcing and paying to improve, because this is where most people do and will always shop. I agree in every way, except for the small point that keeping high streets alive, maintaining retail and supply chain diversity and localising profit is essential. But yes, there is a simple list of actions needed to make supermarkets sustainable:
- break up the biggest multiples
- co-operatise their structures
- regionalise their distribution networks
- integrate them into high streets and close the out-of-towns
- regulate them for fair pricing.
So there’s a little project for next week.
Karen Leach
