On Oct 2020 Fairtrade entered into a partnership with GIZ, German Agency for International Cooperation for providing direct support to producers on the frontline of the pandemic.This work is funded by the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ)
Under the COVID-19 Fairtrade Emergency Initiative, the Network of Asia and Pacific Producers received a grant of 775082 EUR for implementing various short and long -term initiatives from November 2020 to June 2022 to help the Fairtrade farmers and workers to recover and build their resilience during COVID-19.
A Special Projects Selection Committee (SPSC) was formed to review and evaluate the proposals received from the Fairtrade Producer Organisations as per a set of selection matrix. Based on the committee recommendations and discussions with them the same was finalised by the COO after presenting it to the NAPP Board members.
The COVID-19 Fairtrade Emergency Initiative supported by BMZ is being implemented in 05 countries: Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan, and Vietnam. The Project will benefit 46147 direct and indirect beneficiaries.
The Relief and Prevention Measures (Nov 2020 to Feb 2021)
In Sri Lanka to ensure the safety and wellbeing of workers in Fairtrade Hired Plantation- Health-related training on usage of PPEs/Prevention are provided to Health Volunteers and Estate Population. 16960 workers and 10000 children in 23 tea estates and 02 flower gardens are provided with Protective guards, medical and food essential, and school stationery.
In Pakistan Health, hygiene, nutrition, and immunity training will be provided to the workers in 01 Hired Labour Plantation by a health and safety consultant. Training manual and other IEC material will be developed for disseminating information in the community along with distribution of waste bins at the community level and Hygiene kits (COVID-19 Protection) for workers. The activity will benefit 2000 workers and nearby community members.
In the Philippines gender-related, safety and awareness materials will be distributed to 700 farmers and COVID-19 educational flyers will be distributed to 2500 children and students in local languages to 8 SPOs in Davao and Negros region.
Recovery and Resilience Activities ( till June 2021)
In Sri Lanka 200 smallholder farmer families in 2 cooperatives have been provided with water purifiers for access to clean drinking water. In addition, to support small-scale farmers, economic recovery support will be further provided such as setting up of composting facilities (equipment and inputs) and vegetable nurseries (equipment and inputs). The activities will cover 8862 beneficiaries.
In Vietnam, an E-commerce website for online trading of Fairtrade products in the domestic market will be developed along with the distribution of Emergency Kit (Food and other essential items). This will benefit 15 SPOs and 925 Households.
In Indonesia coffee pulper (supporting 3200 people), coffee roasting equipment (supporting 200 households) and coffee grinder (800 households) will be procured to support 20 coffee SPOs to sell their coffee in the domestic market. Household-level coconut sugar cooking kitchens will be renovated to enable HACCP-compliance for 200 Coconut blossom sugar families of 03 SPOs.
The Network of Fairtrade Producers across the 05 countries is grateful to BMZ, GIZ and Fairtrade International for their solidarity and support. The Relief and Resilience activities undertaken through the Emergency Fund will not only support the farmers and workers to stay safe and combat the spread of COVID-19 but also help them to get back into business, recover their economy, and build their resilience during the COVID-19
“The BMZ/ GIZ funding support was a great relief to the Fairtrade producers and workers in Asia region during the pandemic in meeting the immediate and future needs. The fund is being utilized in 5 countries to meet food security, to carry out awareness programs especially targeting the vulnerable groups, providing educational material to children, and also for the projects which improve the production and processing capacity of the producer groups. This financial support has helped the producers to recover from the crisis, build economic resilience into their businesses, and assist their communities. Thanks to the Fairtrade Partners”– Bindu S ; Partnership and Advocacy Manager, NAPP
