This year’s Fairtrade Fortnight is all about the future of food. Between 27th February and 12th March 2023, Fairtrade Guernsey is running events and activities designed to engage, inform and educate people on the urgent threat to some of our favourite treats that are grown overseas. The events—including the annual quiz, a children’s trail around St Peter Port and a live streaming of an international Big Fairtrade Get Together—are part of the Fairtrade Foundation’s annual campaign to celebrate the farmers abroad who grow some of Britain’s everyday staples.
FAIRTRADE FORTNIGHT 2023 will once again shine a spotlight on the climate crisis and the increasing threat it poses to some of the planet’s most beloved food products as well as the livelihoods of the farmers and agricultural workers who grow them. It will show how the future survival of the world’s most popular foods – such as bananas, cocoa, and coffee – hangs in the balance unless we achieve inclusive and equitable climate solutions, with farmers and agricultural workers playing a central role in the climate response.
Bananas are the world’s most popular fruit – and with an estimated global export value of $7 billion dollars per year, the banana trade remains the cornerstone of many countries’ economy. For more than 450 million people around the world, bananas and plantains are vital staple crops, particularly in lower-income nations. But amid the impact of climate change and the resulting threats posed by plant diseases like Fusarium TR4, the future of bananas is increasingly at risk, according to the Fairtrade and Climate Change study.
The study warns that dramatic weather patterns spurred by climate change will likely deliver severe blows to agricultural production in key regions around the world, from Latin America to the Asia-Pacific. Banana producers in the Caribbean and in Central America, for instance, are expected to experience less rainfall and more extreme temperatures, while those in Southeast Asia and Oceania will see an increased risk of tropical cyclones.
Hannah Davis, Secretary of the Fairtrade Guernsey Steering Group, said:
“Fairtrade Fortnight highlights the urgent threat to the future of British staples produced overseas. Here in Guernsey, we drink around 55.5m cups of tea a year and eat approximately 4.5m bananas. What if all of those were Fairtrade? Smallholder farmers of crops such as tea and bananas play a critical role in addressing climate change and have the expertise and knowledge to do so – but they simply can’t afford to foot the bill on their current incomes. There is a huge amount we can all do. Fairtrade is asking each and every one of us to act now and shop Fairtrade so farmers can keep going through these tough times. By choosing Fairtrade now, you are helping protect nature now as well as the future of our food.”
Hundreds of exciting events take place across the country during Fairtrade Fortnight, organised by Fairtrade groups and ethical shoppers in communities who are committed to campaigning for social justice. From Belfast to Bournemouth, Aberdeen to Aberystwyth, St Albans to St Peter Port, each one will bring home the message that choosing Fairtrade, whatever your budget and wherever you shop, means a more sustainable future for our favourite foods and an investment in farmers to take care of the environment.
#ChooseFairtrade #FairtradeFortnight
