After Tomas: Windwards farmers counting on UK shoppers
by Renwick Rose, CEO, Windward Islands Farmers Association
British consumers can soon look forward to once more having the pleasure of healthy, sweet Fairtrade bananas from the Windward Islands. After months of hard toil and suffering, Fairtrade banana producers in the islands are painstakingly completing supervision of the final stages of the production process, following the almost total destruction by hurricane Tomas last October.
With 1118 farms destroyed in St Vincent, the biggest challenge for farmers was providing for their families while being without an income. Courage, fortitude and faith in Fairtrade are helping the farmers get back on their feet. It is forecast that the first shipments from St.Vincent of some 200 tonnes will leave for the UK by the first week of May.
With 1.7 million plants destroyed on the ground, livelihoods lost, no income for the foreseeable future, hurricane Tomas was a fate to test the resolve of even the most resolute and it took a great deal of resilience, support and encouragement from the local WINFA branch, the St.Vincent and the Grenadines National Fairtrade Organisation (NFTO), to encourage the farmers in the recovery effort.
Support also came from the Government. In November 2010 it paid out the sum of EC$ 1.7 million ($400 per farmer) to assist with rehabilitation of fields and replanting. The Government also announced its intention to provide loss of income support to 1031 farmers for seven months. So far however, only two payments have been received by the farmers.
Vincentian famers have over the years been contributing to a regional crop insurance scheme,WINCROP. In February of this year WINCROP met its obligations by paying out Ec$1.687 million to some 938 eligible farmers.
These payments have boosted the initiatives of the NFTO. This WINFA subsidiary met early after the storm and made decisions to draw down on its Disaster Fund to help its members as well as to temporarily suspend community projects, normally funded by the Fairtrade social premium, in order to divert those funds to the recovery efforts. Farmers were paid $1.50 per each carton shipped in 2009 and low interest loans of EC$2000 each were approved to help farmers tide over the period.
It has been hard going because the major bread-and-butter issue of providing for the needs of their families while without an income has been the biggest challenge. There are others as well-the high cost and availability of scarce farm labour;the difficulty of procuring inputs and the steadily rising costs of these as oil prices continue to soar; the re-emergence of the dreaded black sigatoka disease; and finding money to repair sheds and farm infrastructure.
Courage, fortitude and faith in Fairtrade are helping the farmers to achieve their aims. It is forecast that the first shipments from St.Vincent of some 200 tonnes will leave for the Uk by the first week of May.
The Fairtrade farmers are keeping their side of the bargain. All they ask is that the British consumers and supermarkets keep their pledge too. LOOK OUT FOR, AND BUY WINDWARDS FAIRTRADE IN MAY!
