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Fruits

Regions: 
Andes
Central America
East & Central Africa
South America
Southern Africa
The Netherlands
West Africa
Contact: 
Jeroen Kroezen

After fifteen years of working on a fair banana trade, Solidaridad and its partners have succeeded in convincing part of the banana sector to move towards sustainable production and responsible trade. Global sustainability issues in the sector include excessive use of pesticides and water, water pollution, poor working conditions on plantations and insecure revenues for smallholders.

Fairtrade and organic production have gained a position in the world market and have influenced the agenda, but do not have the potential to transform the mainstream banana market worldwide. A sector-wide approach is needed to maximize impact. Much work still needs to be done before the entire banana sector and other fruit and vegetable sectors develop and adopt sustainable production methods and responsible trade.
 

Fruit programme: pioneer in responsible fruit production

Solidaridad has been an innovator in sustainable production in the fruit sector. It is now time to work with farmers, fruit companies and retailers on a new, integrated approach to sustainable production and responsible trade that addresses key issues (e.g. water supply or seasonal labour) identified by stakeholders in the region. Retailers can profit from the growing market for responsible products, while farmers and workers can improve their livelihoods through more sustainable production methods and improved access to the market. 
 

Impact: greater economic security for 100,000 farmers and workers

Solidaridad developed the concept of Fairtrade bananas in the early 1990s. In 1996 we introduced the first Fairtrade Oké banana through setting up a dedicated company for that purpose: AgroFair. These bananas are now for sale in supermarkets in twelve countries. Fairtrade fruit is market leader in Switzerland.
Over the years, Solidaridad built up a network in order to support farmers and workers to become good and reliable partners in international trade chains. More than 100,000 farmers and workers worldwide have been trained in improved farming techniques, compliance with certification standards and organizational strengthening. Better access to markets has given these farmers greater economic security.
 

History and prospects of the fruit programme

Start of the fruit programme 1992
Main issues integrated approach covering all sustainability issues, bottom-up approach based on region-specific priorities
Countries Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Peru, Colombia, South Africa, India, China
Partners TASTE, AgroFair, Grupo Hualtaco, WAFF, World Banana Forum, Dutch sustainable trade initiative
Donors Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs/MFS, Lotex, European Union

Outlook

In the next five years the fruit programme will focus on:

  • learning lessons from the certification programmes in the fruit sector;
  • developing a new strategy that goes beyond certification and regional and product-specific programmes;
  • building mainstream production programmes with new retail and funding partners. 
     

New partnerships

Solidaridad is looking for new partnerships with retailers, traders, financial partners and funds who are interested in developing strategies for the next phase in the fruit and vegetable sectors. Key requirements for this next phase are knowledge acquisition, analysis of the sustainability issues and innovation.

Contact Jeroen Kroezen for more information

Cases

Banana producers own model company

Export company Grupo Hualtaco combines the strong points of a cooperative model and a traditional business model. It is co-owned by Peruvian banana producers.

We offer

Solidaridad aims at a sustainable and fair fruits chain, from farmer to consumer. The organization consists of a worldwide network of regional expertise centres and cooperates with local partners. Together we deliver the following services:

Our services

  • Supporting producer organizations through capacity building and organizational strengthening. 
  • Assisting producer organizations to get access to means of production, finance and markets.
  • Supporting agricultural producer organizations and industrial producer companies to qualify for social and environmental certification standards. 
  • Developing certification standards for sustainable production and trade.
  • Supporting civil society organizations that support farmers and workers, as well as organizations that protect nature and bio diversity.
  • Supporting companies to implement corporate social responsibility (CSR) related to sourcing in developing countries.
  • Developing sustainable business concepts in order to broaden the marketplace for sustainable products from developing countries.
  • Supporting sustainable business initiatives with marketing and communication to inform business partners and consumers.
  • Seeking dialogue with stakeholders and the public using our knowledge, experience and views on sustainable economic development and corporate social responsibility.

Results

Some of the key results in Solidaridad's Fruits programme:

  • Solidaridad developed the concept of fairtrade bananas in the early 90s.
  • Solidaridad set up AgroFair in 1996, introducing the first fairtrade Oké banana in the world. These bananas are now for sale in supermarkets in 12 countries. In Switzerland, Oké fruit is the market leader.
  • Solidaridad is the founding father of fairtrade labelling (Max Havelaar/FLO).
  • Solidaridad developed fairtrade in other fruits: mangoes, pineapples and citrus as well as in processed fruits like banana puree and mango pulp.
  • Solidaridad introduced fairtrade in combination with organic production in the emerging banana export country Peru.
  • Over the years, more than 10.000 farmers worldwide have been trained in improved farming techniques, compliance with certification standards and organizational strengthening.
  • More than 10.000 farmers have improved their access to markets, improving their economic basis.
  • Faitrade fruits are now sold in all mayor retail chains, all over Western Europe, while a start has been made in the United States.