Official Development Assistance
For decades, fair trade has empowered producers to receive better incomes by exporting raw goods. There is, however, an opportunity to support producer-led projects that add value to raw goods at origin. This has the potential to further empower producers and co-ops in the global south and open international and domestic markets to shelf-ready fair trade products.
At the CFTN, we want to work with partners including Engineers Without Borders (EWB), Canadian Co-operative Association (CCA), and Global Affairs Canada (GAC) to see Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds support producer-led fair trade projects that add value at origin.
Our goal is to see the Canadian federal government take the following actions:
- Direct funds toward fair trade co-ops in the global south, on projects that enable producers to further refine, finish, or package their goods. Examples include sugar co-ops building mills and packaging facilities, and fruit producers building packaging facilities to pack, dry, and puree their produce. This will enable co-ops to export finished goods, goods that the market wants and needs, while also allowing them to sell more effectively into domestic markets
- Spend on fair trade co-op capacity building, especially around business and agricultural practices, to strengthen co-ops beyond certification so that they are trusted business partners in global value chains.
