Hear from Fairtrade farmers

Buying Fairtrade means farmers and workers earn a fair price for your favourite products like coffee, tea, bananas, and chocolate. It also means farmers earn an additional amount to invest in their farms and communities.

Foncho Cantillo, Banana Farmer, Colombia

Albeiro Alfonso Cantillo, known as Foncho, is a banana farmer from Cienaga, in the banana growing region of Magdalena, northern Colombia. He was born into bananas, as his farm has been passed down from generation to generation.

Foncho is a member of Coobafrio Co-operative (Riofrio Banana Co-operative) which was set up by his father and 19 other farmers in the late 1990s. The co-op now has 43 members, including 10 women, who employ almost 300 permanent and temporary workers.

The increased incomes and local employment, as well as the social projects funded by the Fairtrade Premium, have strengthened the co-operative’s standing in the local community. The co-operative’s Education Fund has supported 82% of members in paying for school fees, uniforms, equipment and other costs.

‘Thanks to the Fairtrade Premium, my son went to university and is now a business manager. I’m trying to ensure that my children know everything about the business and how all the processes work, including Fairtrade. The love we have for this little plot of land is immense. It meant my children could study and share their knowledge with the country.’

Albeiro Alfonso Cantillo

Banana Farmer, Colombia

Kouassi Affoué Angèle, Cocoa Farmer, Côte D’Ivoire

Kouassi is a Fairtrade Cocoa Farmer and a member of the ECOMOM Co-operative in Côte D’Ivoire.

She is a mother of 5 children and before becoming a cocoa producer in her own right, Kouassi helped her husband on his farm.

Now, she has her own farm which helps her to support her family financially. With Fairtrade and the Fairtrade Premium, she has not only been able to diversify her income by planting rice, but the Fairtrade Premium also supports her co-operative to cover their costs so that they don’t have to take out loans.

Together with Fairtrade, Kouassi has also taken training about women’s rights, negotiation and leadership.

‘Fairtrade has changed my life. Indeed, in a crisis situation, I have an inflow of money for my needs instead of taking credits.’ She adds: ‘I also learned several things about women’s rights, how to be a good leader to manage a group in order to reach the objectives, maintain the cohesion of the group, diversify the plantations.’

Kouassi Affoué Angèle

Cocoa Farmer, Côte D’Ivoire

Eliezer Reis Jorge, Coffee Farmer, Brazil

Eliezer Reis Jorge is a Fairtrade coffee farmer in Brazil, and President of the Costas Co-operative / Boa Esperança.

He has been a coffee farmer for 20 years, and says that the biggest challenge facing coffee farmers today is climate change. But with the support of Fairtrade, the co-operative is introducing projects to reduce the impacts of the changing climate.

‘We’ve had several environmental projects funded by the Premium. Almost 70,000 native and fruit tree species. The co-operative, through the premium, has its own nursery. We do a mapping of the species that are at risk of extinction…[and] several springs have recovered.’

Eliezer Reis Jorge

Coffee Farmer, Brazil

Linner Ruto, Tea Farmer, Kenya

Linner is a Fairtrade tea farmer in Kenya. She has been farming tea for 20 years, and is a member of the Fintea Union co-operative. As a widowed mother of two, Linner is no stranger to hardship.

But through projects like the Gender Action Line and Tea project, which are funded by the Fairtrade Premium, she has been able to participate in financial management trainings. Linner has also begun dairy farming and beekeeping as alternative sources of income.

‘Before Fairtrade came in, my life was not easy. I used to live in poverty. I could not manage to save the little money I had just because I had no knowledge about financial management. It even reached a time when I had no money and borrowed twenty shillings.’

Linner Ruto

Tea Farmer, Kenya

Bengaly Bourama, Cocoa Farmer, Côte d’Ivoire

Bengaly Bourama is a farmer with COOBADI, a Fairtrade certified cocoa co-operative in Côte d’Ivoire.

Originally from Mali, Bengaly studied human resource management while at university there. After graduating, he faced the universal question – what next?

His father suggested cocoa farming, noting that it was a good alternative to ‘just wandering around, doing endless internships’– plus, it was an opportunity for entrepreneurship, an idea that agreed with Bengaly.

So, he settled in Côte d’Ivoire, ready to attend trainings, craft a business plan and cultivate cocoa.

‘We have been able to build a school, accommodation for teachers of the school. We have renovated the hospital… all of this with the Fairtrade Premium. Without Fairtrade we wouldn’t be in this position.’

Bengaly Bourama

Cocoa Farmer, Côte d’Ivoire

A few small changes to the products you put in your basket can make a huge change to the lives of those who produce them.

Together we can Be The Change. #ChooseFairtrade.

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