2016 annual report · 2020-05-06 · world, develop global Fairtrade strategy and promote trade justice. This new system change provides Fairtrade Africa (FTA) with the much-needed

Sustainable Development: Linking Economy, Society and Environment

2016 annual report AFRICA

Contents About Us............................................................................................3

Where We Work.................................................................................4

Executive Director’s Statement.............................................................5

Deepening Impact through Programmes...............................................7• Making a difference: To the Environment..........................................8• Making a difference: Eonomically.....................................................9• Making a difference: Socially..........................................................11

Humans of Fairtrade............................................................................12

Our key successes- delivering on our strategic objectives1. Deliver relevant valued services to Fairtrade smallholders and workers.2. Build, secure and sustain access to market for our members.3. Amplify the voice of our members through advocacy. 4. Build a strong, settled producer network as part of a global system

Financial Review................................................................................18

Fairtrade Africa Partners.....................................................................19

Fairtrade Africa | 2016 Annual Report 2

About usFairtrade Africa is a member organization representing Fairtrade certified pro-ducers in Africa and the Middle East. In 2016 we supported over 480 pro-ducer organizations in 32 countries, ensuring they get better prices, decent working conditions and fairer terms of trade, while also contributing to the sustainability of the environment.

Fairtrade is the world’s largest and most recognized ethical certification sys-tem. Fairtrade Africa is a member of the wider International Fairtrade move-ment. Through Fairtrade, consumers connect with producers with the aim of reducing poverty through trade. Shoppers can recognize products that meet the Fairtrade Standards by the Fairtrade Mark.

There are currently 24, Fairtrade Organizations who market Fairtrade in their countries and three Producer Networks in Africa and the Middle East, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia and the Pacific.

Fairtrade Africa is owned by its members, who are African producer organi-zations certified against international Fairtrade standards producing traditional export commodities such as coffee, cocoa, tea, cotton, bananas, mango and non-traditional commodities including Shea butter and rooibos tea. Currently, the organization represents over 1 million small-holder farmers and workers across 33 countries in Africa.

OUR VISIONA world in which producers in developing countries can enjoy secure and sustainable livelihoods, fulfill their potential and decide on their future.

OUR MISSION• To support our members to strengthen their organizations in line with Fair-

trade standards.• To improve and increase our members’ ability to access Fairtrade markets.• To empower our members to advocate for their interests and take active

ownership of the global fair-trade system.


Where we workafrica and middle east profile


Executive Director’s Statement


In 2016, we embarked on a journey to strengthen our organisational structure

following the integration of Producer Support services into Fairtrade Africa’s key deliverables. Previously Fairtrade International (FI) would set Fairtrade International Standards, organise support for producers and workers around the world, develop global Fairtrade strategy and promote trade justice.

This new system change provides Fairtrade Africa (FTA) with the much-needed avenue to deliver on-ground impact. This to us means that Fairtrade Producers in Africa and the Mid-dle East now have both governance as well as a strategic voice within the system.

The region’s wide geographical and product scope called for a consolidation of approaches to ways of working within FTA, the wider Fair-

DR. Nyagoy Nyong’oExecutive Director, Fairtrade Africa

trade system and with external partners. We have since started work on im-proving our ways of working right from within, in the way each member of the FTA team approaches their work. Our staff members are constantly being empowered to fully understand and strive towards the FTA vision and mission that is focused on putting the producer at the heart of every decision made by the Fairtrade network.

With growth comes change. This year, we adopted an in-depth organisational assessment tool, SCOPEInsight, to determine the organisational strengths and gaps of producer organisations and monitor organizational growth and business sustainability. This tool measures the level of farmer organisation

professionalism and has been instrumental in providing targeted and relevant services to Fairtrade Small Producer organization (SPOs); providing a clear risk profile which can be used for access to finance; providing a benchmark to compare the level of organisation development between Fairtrade Certified SPOs and non-Fairtrade SPOs.

Our corporate governance also underwent significant changes as new Board members took office and there were an additional two independent board members appointed to complement the skills and competencies of the new board. At the General Assembly meeting, an Expert Commission was launched to review the strengths and weaknesses in the current FTA Gover-nance model and make recommendations for improvement to the Board. The results of the Commission will be used to ensure that the governance struc-ture of FTA is fit for purpose to deliver on the ambitions of the 2020 strategy of “Driving Change for Smallholder Famers & Workers”.

Mr. Charbel El Fakhri, the FTA board chair was elected as the Producer Net-work representative on the Fairtrade International Board at the FI General As-sembly in June. Ms. Nancy Onyango, FTA’s Independent board member was also appointed to the Fairtrade International Finance Committee.

The focus of our work is to deliver on our 2016-2020 strategic objectives, whereby the greatest impact is on sustainable development: linking society, economy and environment.

Sustainable Development: Linking Economy, Society and Environment


Deepening Impact through programmes


Sustainable development: environment1. BUILDING CLIMAGTE RESILIENCE AMOUNG SUGARCANE FARMERS IN SWAZILANDThe Climate Change Project is aimed at ensuring the livelihoods of cane sugar farmers in Swaziland are sustainable, with opportunities to access increased and diversified market, and ensure farmers have the ability to respond and adapt to climate change. Focusing on adaptation mechanisms such as crop diversification, the project funded by the Jersey Overseas Aid Commission (JOAC), targets seven sugar producer organizations in Swaziland.

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2. MALAWI POST FLOOD SUPPORTIn 2015, six Fairtrade producer organizations were significantly affected ex-periencing loss of livelihoods due to tea fields being washed away, damage to crops and tones of unpicked tea rotting at collection centers due to in-accessibility to factories, damage to property, loss of assets and tragic loss of six lives. The seven month project, from September 2015 to April 2016, invested USD 55,000 to support affected farmers in Malawi following floods devastation.

A total of 35 participants (females 11 and males 24) received training on climate change adaptation. 178 participants (92 females & 86 males) benefited from Information on market access training.


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3’668male

4’857female

beneficiaries received support in the form of tea seedlings, fe-male goats, cassava vines, fertilizers, maize and beans.

Making a difference: economically

1. UNLOCKING THE POWER OF MALE AND FEMALE WORKERS IN Fairtrade CERTIFIED

SUPPLY CHAINS IN AFRICAMore than two-thirds of all Fairtrade Farmers and Workers live in Africa and the Middle East. Our commitment towards workers’ rights is at the heart of our day to day activities. With funding from the Swedish Postcode Lottery, we initiated a project focusing on Workers’ Rights in the hired labour sector tar-geting flower growers in the ECAN region, tea growers in SAN and bananas growers in WAN. The project goal is to enhance safety, status and influence of Male and Female Workers on Fairtrade Certified Plantations in East and West Africa.

through provision of tools and ability to negotiate their own work terms.

2. GOLD IMPACT PROJECTThis is a Comic Relief funded Project that builds on a phase 1 project that focused on ‘Building Resilient ASM communities in East Africa’. It is imple-mented in collaboration with The Dragonfly Initiative (TDI), Solidaridad; Envi-ronmental Women in Action for Development (EWAD), and MTL Consulting. I.M.P.A.C.T (Investment in Miners Potential through Access to Capital and Transparent Markets) seeks to address the aspects of productivity and in-come as a means of enabling miners to invest in their own development.

Two Artisanal and Small Scale Mining Organizations (ASMOs) received FAIRTRADE Certification. Syanyonja Artisan Miners’ Alliance based in Uganda and Micodepro mining cooperative in Kenya. • Environmental Women in Action for Development (EWAD) an imple-menting partner in the IMPACT FAIRTRADE Africa Gold received Euro 90,000 from the Belgium Development Cooperation (BTC) to strengthen their Artisanal and Small-Scale Miners capacity programs in Uganda.

3. THE EQUITY PROJECT

The project is funded by the French Development Agency (FDA) and the French Facility for Global Environment (FFEM). The goal is to “To contribute to the sustainable economic development of West African countries and fight against poverty by strengthening family agriculture and supporting the devel-opment of equitable value chains in West Africa”. The project being imple-mented partnership with Ghana, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Mali and Togo.

of the national networks in Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso.• revival of the Ghana network and the formation of the Mali net-

work. • Empowerment of Fairtrade producers to better engage in advo-

cacy. • Capacity building of SPOs enabling them to receive more funding to

enhance and protect biodiversity in their respective value chains.

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Empowering workers

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strengthening


and their second ring farmers were trained on the agronomy of yam production, record keeping and gender among other topics. • The farmers harvested and sold seed yam for the first time. The

Ghana Root Crop and Tubers Exporters Union (GROCTEU) and Kuapa Kokoo purchased 4,400 (cut and treated) and 15,000 (cut, treated and pre-sprouted) seed yam at GHȼ 3,960.00 ($910) and GHȼ 15,000.00 ($3448) respectively.’‘Im

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PHASE 1Number of people benefitting from receiving certification advisory services:• 2409 members in CDI / 12% Female • 182 members in Ghana/ 23% Female

PHASE 2Number of people benefitting from training on organisational train-ing:• 3813 members in CDI / 20% female • 530 members in Ghana/ 19% female

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cdi

cdi Ghana

Ghana2409 182

5303813


4. EMPOWERING COCOA FARMERS IN WEST AFRICAWest Africa accounts for nearly three quarters of the world’s cocoa produc-tion. The sector employs millions and indirectly affects people who rely on co-coa farming to make a living. The gap has always been in getting commercial partners to value farmers as business partners.

Our West Africa Cocoa Program is designed to create strong and viable SPOs capable of delivering sustainability programs. Ultimately, the programme aims to improve household income, assets and standard of living; increase co-operation and gender equity within communities, increase food security and intergenerational sustainability of rural communities.

5. ALLIANCE FOR ACTION (A4A)- YAM PROJECTThe Alliance for Action project, in partnership with ITC and Max Havelaar Swit-zerland, brings together multiple stakeholders in both the private and public sector using a market systems development approach.

It enables and improves competitiveness and risk diversification for small-holder farmers through facilitation of their engagement in multiple product markets. The project is currently being piloted in Ghana and promotes the cultivation of yam and other associated products for income diversification and food security.

Making a difference: SOCIALLY1. GROWING WOMEN IN COFFEE This is a flagship project for Fairtrade Africa aimed at deepening the role of Fairtrade-certification in promoting gender equality and empowerment within export crop value chains such as coffee. Funded by the Big Lottery Fund UK, JOAC and States of Guernsey Overseas Aid Commission (GOAC) initiated in 2015. It is implemented in Kipkellion Union as well as in Kapkiyai and Kab-ng’etuny cooperatives.

• 286 female and 324 male farmers trained on good agricultural practices (GAP)

• 180 women currently practising good agricultural practises• 100 women have increased proportions of AB/AA grade from 25% of

their crop to 60%.• 142 biogas units have been constructed reducing the time spent

on collecting firewood and an estimated 3408 tonnes of firewood saved per annum.

• 29 men and 7 women have been trained as masons both as a sus-tainability measure through skills transfer as well as an income generating activity for the youth and women.

• 120 women sold branded coffee in the Nairobi Coffee Exchange in the 2016/2017 season for the first time. They fetched the highest price at the NCE for their coffee.

• 19 women have been trained as TOTs on gender.• 12 union staff trained on good processing and value addition.

2. IT TAKES A VILLAGEFunded by Dutch lottery, ‘It takes a Village’ is a project that aims at removing children from exploitation and hazards at work and provides them with edu-cational and developmental opportunities.

91 persons trained on the importance of Education for child labour committees members aimed at increasing participant’s knowledge on child rights.• Motorbikes and mobile phones provided to SPO child labour com-

mittees in Cot D’ivoire to curb child labour incidences.

3. ANTI-SEXUAL HARASSMENT POLICY PROJECTFollowing reports of alleged sexual harassment on certified flower farms in Kenya, Fairtrade Africa partnered with stakeholders in the industry and piloted a model policy. The pilot project was implemented between 2015/2016 with a grant from Hivos. The main implementing partners were the Kenya Flower Council (KFC), Work-ers Rights Watch (WRM) and Women World Wide (WWW). The project was piloted in six Fairtrade Certified flower farms who volunteered to adopt an Anti-Sexual Harassment Policy. The model policy was rolled out to the flower industry in Kenya and it was well received due to the participatory nature of its development. As a result of the capacity building provided, the organisations were able to create self-assess-ment tools.

The organisations were able to create self-assessment tools where increased reporting on sexual harassment cases against men and women are easily reported and monitored.

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humans of FairtradeFintea Growers Co-Operative Union Ltd was formed and gained Fairtrade Certification in 2012. It is made up of five primary Cooperative Societies with a membership of over 15,000 farmers from Kericho and Bomet counties.

Since 2012 the members of Fintea Cooperative, workers and the community have benefited from Fairtrade Premium Funds focused largely on improving living standards, local facilities and environmental conservation. The total premium received between 2012 – 2016 is over 60 million Kenyan Shil-lings which has been invested in various projects including: the construction of facilities in schools (E.g. classrooms, toilets, dormitories and water tanks); building dispensaries and laboratories and providing medical supplies for new or existing facilities; environmental conservation including planting trees and restoring water springs.


Vincent Rono (33) Tea Farmer, Kericho CountyVincent’s three year-old son Keith* became really sick with typhoid after drinking water taken from a well that had unknowingly to the community been contaminated by rodents. With no local source of water nearby, Vin-cent and many other families in the area were forced to store water from the well in containers at their homes, which the children could easily open.

The drugs prescribed to Keith were expensive and Vincent could not afford them all. As a result his son continues to have problems with his chest. Seeing his and other children suffering, Vincent wholeheartedly supported getting a water-tank to be located in the school that his young son attends. He says that Fairtrade has really helped the community and if they continue to use the funds well it will aid them in the future.

One priority is continuing to spend funds on planting trees to improve the environment; Vincent has already helped to plant more than 1200 trees in the area in the past year alone .

I love community proj-ects. We need to all work hard so that we are all on the same level in terms of wealth. If we do this there will never be any cases of suffering.” “

Our 2016-2020 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES


Build, secure and sustain access to market for our members.

Build a strong, settled producer network as part of a global system

Deliver relevant and valued ser-vices to Fairtrade small-holders and workers

Advocacy

1. DELIVER RELEVANT AND VALUED SERVICES TO Fairtrade SMALLHOLDERS AND WORKERS

By 2020, we want to build benefits with smallholders and workers and deep-en FAIRTRADE impact by ensuring that our members receive services that are cost-effective and market-driven.

By working with a needs based approach, we will facilitate the right environ-ment for stronger and more resilient producer organizations through core and beyond certification services in thematic areas such as climate change, living wage and income, gender, workers’ rights and child protection.

1These are direct beneficiaries from FTA support but it is important to note that this support s transferred to the rest of the PO members therefore benefitting a much higher number indirectly. In terms of ratio this is 1:63 farmers and workers.

• A total of 16,854 beneficiaries bene-fitted directly from producer support across the continent .‘Im

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882 visits


Breakdown of PO suport offered per region 2016

Support on Thematic Work

PO consultation on Fairtrade Standards

Support With Access to Financing

Support in GAP

Post-Audit Support

Pre-audit Support (Training)

Training on FT Standards & Awareness

Application Support

50 100 150 200 250

2 The Specialty Coffee Association is a non-profit organization that represents thousands of coffee professionals, from producers to baristas all over the world. Connect every individual with the resources to improve their opportunities and make their voice heard on a global stage. 3 IFTEX is a platform where Producer organisations, suppliers, partners and all the partners in the Floriculture supply chain in the Floriculture industry are able to interact

2. BUILD, SECURE AND SUSTAIN ACCESS TO MARKET FOR OUR MEMBERSBy 2020, we will actively support our members in identification, securing and sustaining market access for their products in south-to-south and global supply chains. Market access is not the only measure of Fairtrade’s success but it is a prerequisite for all the impact that we want to achieve by supporting democratic organisations. Without sales we achieve nothing – with the right kind of sales we can start to change the world.

product eventCoffee Participated in Specialty Coffee Association2 :

• America (SCAA), Atlanta; • Europe (SCAE), Dublin; • Japan (SCAJ), Tokyo

Flowers Participated in 6th edition of the International Floriculture Trade Expo (IFTEX)3:

Coffee Participated in the Kenya Coffee Expo

Tea Participated in a Tea Gala in Kenya

Flowers Participated in the NFO Global flower meeting

The following key events were held to benefit producers in accessing markets. in 2016 benefited from market access support. • For the first time 120 women sold dif-

ferentiated coffee in the Nairobi Cof-fee Exchange in the 2016/2017 season fetching the highest price for their coffee. All coffee FAIRTRADE certified traders were also brought together in a joint forum to pitch business to producers. This was a particularly important initiative for the women who are predominantly involved in production and not the marketing and sale of coffee.

• Kericho Gold launched 11 brands of attitude teas in Kenya. This new line of teas targets a growing middle class market of specialty tea drink-ers specifically ‘millennials.’ Beyond being a high quality, superior tasting tea, it is sourced both ethically and sustainably.

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85 Producer organisations


Speciality Teas & Infusions-Kericho Gold-Fairtrade.


3. AMPLIFY THE VOICE OF OUR MEMBERS THROUGH ADVOCACY

By 2020, we will amplify the voice of our members through advocacy and increase Fairtrade’s influence in national, regional, and continental policies, rules and agreements which affect our members’ ability to trade, maintain food security and stewardship of their community resources.

• We engaged on several platforms and some of the outcomes Fair-trade africa together with other stakeholders contributed to include:

• Four out of the 10 SPOs awarded during the Sugar cane Farmers Conference at Ezulwin, Swaziland were Fairtrade certified.

• During the CDI Co untry Network (RICE engagement with Cote • d’ivoire’s Cosiel Cafee Cacao (CCC), a decree on taxing premiums

was abandoned.• Held the 5th Africa Fairtrade Convention (AFC) . Themed “Beyond

the MDGs: Fairtrade as a partner for sustainable development”, AFC focused on the Sustainable Development Goals

• Held a 3rd round table initiative in conjunction with HIVOS and IDH to discuss workers living wages within the flower sector.

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4 Africa Fairtrade Convention brings together African small-scale farmers, workers and other stakeholders from across the continent and beyond to improve the livelihoods of producers in Africa. Discussions are mainly around how trade conditions, market access and producer support can be improved; in the meantime strengthening their networks, building relationships and sowing the seeds of new partnerships

4. BUILD A STRONG, SETTLED PRODUCER NETWORK AS PART OF A GLOBAL SYSTEM

By 2020, we will ensure resilient and representative product, country, regional and continental networks, we will maintain effective and accountable organi-zational structures, establish communication channels, and engage and re-tain highly competent and motivated staff.

We recognize that our membership is diverse in geography, language, culture and products. There is need for adoption of a new gorvernance structure that ensures direct and proportional representation of producers across the continent.

were submitted in 2016, both within the Fairtrade system and to ex-ternal donors. The following partnerships were established.

• Fairtrade Corporate Governance engagements:1. Selection of new Board members was completed during the continen-

tal General Assembly with an equal representation from the four re-gional networks. Together with the Heads of Region and members of the FTA Senior Leadership team, thy received governance training on their roles and responsibilities by the Centre for Corporate Gover-nance.

2. An Expert Commission was launched to review the strengths and weak-nesses in the current FTA Governance model. The results of the Com-mission will be used to ensure that the governance structure of FTA is fit for purpose to deliver on the ambitions of the 2020 strategy of “Driving Change for Smallholder Farmers and Workers.”

3. The FTA board chair, who will act as a representative of the Producer Network on the Fairtrade International Board, and Independent board member appointed to the Fairtrade International Finance Committee were elected during the Fairtrade International General Assembly.

• We adopted an in-depth organizational assessment tool, SCOPEInsight, used to determine the organizational strengths and gaps or a PO and any gaps that may need addressing.

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22 proposals


Sample SCOPEInsight

STATEMENT OF INCOME AND EXPENDITURE

Notes Total 2016 (KSH) Total 2016 (USD)

Grant Income 4 145’763’333 1’433’832

Other Operating Income 5 4’847’267 47’681

Total Income 150’610’600 1’481’513

Administrative Expenses 6 (137’970’716) (1’357’178)

Other Operating Expenses 7 (12’639’884) (124’334)

Operating Surplus 9

Finance Income/ Cost 8 (2’378’667) (23’398)

Surplus (deficit) for the Year (2’378’667) (23’397)

Head Office Account at Start of Year 19’471’866 184’935

Translation Difference 7’264

Surplus (deficit) for the Year (2’378’667) (23’397)

Head Office Account at end of Year 17’093’199 168’802

2016 FINANCIAL REVIEW


Notes Total 2016 (KSH) Total 2016 (USD)

Head Office Account 17’093’199 168’802

Non-Current Liabilities

Borrowings 18 - -

17’093’199 168’802

Non-Current Assets

Property and Equipment 12 8’453’741 83’485

Intangible Assets 13 832’554 8’220

9’286’295 91’705

Current Assets

Trade and Other Recievables 14 77’816’740 768’485

Cash and Bank Balances 15 104’140’133 1’028’443

181’956’873 1’796’928

Current Liabilities

Trade and Other Payables 16 36’438’339 359’850

Deffered Income 17 137’711’630 1’359’981

174’149’969 1’719’831

Net Current Assets 7’806’904 77’097

17’093’199 168’802

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITIONAS AT 30 SEPTEMBER, 2016


Fairtrade africa partners• AAFIT• Access Agriculture• ACPCU, • Africa works• Agriterra• AlphaMundi• Banyakole CPCU• Big Lottery Fund, UK• Chocolate Halba • Comic Relief • Compass Group UK and Ireland • Co-op, • Counsiel D’Cacao (CCC)• Dutch Postcode Lottery • Ethiopian Horticulture Producer Exporters Association• European Partnership for Responsible Minerals (EPRM)• EWAD• Finnpartnership • French Development Agency (AFD) • French Fund for the Global Environment (FFEM) • Furra Institute of Development Studies and Education (FIDSE):Sidama• Green soils Enterprises • Groots Kenya, • Guernsey Overseas Aid Commission (GOAC)• International Finance Cooperation– renewable energy in East Africa• International Trade Centre,• ITC • IUF• Jersey Overseas Aid Commission (JOAC)• Kibinge PCU• MTL, • National Council of Churches in Kenya (NCK)• NCF 6

• Nespresso • Paulig• Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC)• RMI• Self Help Africa• Solidaridad Eastern and Central Africa Expertise Centre (SECAEC) • Swedish lottery • The Agribusiness Market Ecosystem Alliance (AMEA)• The Dragonfly Initiative• Vi agroforestry, • We Effect• Yam Development Council (Ghana)

www.fairtradeafrica.net

East and Central Africa Fairtrade Network, Middle East and Northern Africa and & Fairtrade Africa Secretariat

Westcom Point, Block C, 6th Floor Mahiga Mairu Road off Rhapta Road, Westlands Nairobi, Ken-ya

P.O. Box 3308 – 00200, Nairobi Tel: +254 20 272 1 930

West Africa Network

No. 13 Akosombo Road, Airport Residential Area Accra

P.O. Box KA 9272, Accra, Ghana Tel: +233 302 766 411

Southern Africa Network

Block E Unit 2014, Block E, Collingwood Place, Anson Street, Observatory 7925

P.O. Box 13450, Mowbray 7705, South Africa Tel: +272 144 73486

Documents

2016 annual report · 2020-05-06 · world, develop global Fairtrade strategy and promote trade justice. This new system change provides Fairtrade Africa (FTA) with the much-needed