Fairtrade and ICT strengthen ties

Fairtrade and the International Trade Centre (ITC) have announced an expanded partnership aimed at helping farmers and agricultural workers to diversify and access new markets, achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and strive towards Agenda 2030.

The collaboration will involve enhanced work in a range of areas, including on-farm diversification to enable farmers to face increasing agroecological and socioeconomic challenges, gender, women and youth empowerment, and adaptation to climate change and biodiversity.

Other areas of closer cooperation include governance, financial and commercial management skills for farmer groups, and building the capacity of producer organisations to set up and maintain their own monitoring and response systems on human rights and environmental due diligence (HREDD). 

Fairtrade Global CEO Sandra Uwera said: “I am thrilled to see Fairtrade and ITC recommit to and build upon our organisations’ long-standing and fruitful partnership. Together, we can work with renewed purpose in enabling farmers and agricultural workers around the world to achieve the SDGs. We have seven years left to Agenda 2030 and farmers and agricultural workers are a critical part of ensuring we stay on track to achieving a sustainable future for all,” she continued. “The expanded partnership between Fairtrade and ITC will help ensure delivery of critical support that will enable farmer organisations to make the right decisions as they work to make their operations more sustainable and achieve greater market access for their products.”

Fairtrade and ITC have long held an extensive collaboration promoting ethical trade and advocating on sustainability issues with key global stakeholders.