Government gives Fairtrade £12m boost
Government gives Fairtrade £12m boost on 15th anniversary
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By Adam Leveridge. |  |
Saturday, 10, Oct 2009 10:53
By Sarah Garrod.
The Fairtrade Foundation has welcomed a £12 million boost from the government to help farmers in developing countries.
Fairtrade is also celebrating 15 years of the Fairtrade Mark today, with 4,500 products now licensed to use it.
Over the next four years the UK government has said they will provide £12 million of funding to Fairtrade and its international partners the Fairtrade Labelling Organisations International (FLO), in a bid to increase the support for farmers in developing countries to access better terms of trade in global markets.
"Fairtrade products are already a big part of life in the UK, with new products appearing on our shelves every day," international development secretary Douglas Alexander said.
"Sales in 2008 rose by 43 per cent in the UK and 22 per cent globally, helping more farmers and workers in the world's poorest countries to make a decent living."
The UK government investment will cover the period April 2010/11 to 2013/14 as part of an international donor consortium funding package, with other donors including Irish Aid and the Swiss government.
The investment aims to see a 100 per cent increase in the number of farmers in the Fairtrade system to 2.2 million, as well as a more than three-fold increase in the global sales of Fairtrade certified products, aiming to reach a value of 9.8 billion Euros by 2014.
"The announcement is very timely on this fifteenth anniversary and is a fitting tribute to how innovative producers, campaigners and businesses have created the most dynamic movement for better, fairer trade," said Harriet Lamb, executive director of the Fairtrade Foundation.
"The scale and significance of this investment is a vote of confidence by the UK government in the Fairtrade business model as a smart way for businesses and consumers to partner with producers in developing countries to tackle poverty and support more sustainable livelihoods for farmers."
Over the past 15 years, Fairtrade has grown to include over 450 Fairtrade Towns, 100 Fairtrade Universities & Colleges, over 5,000 faith groups and, more than 3,000 schools registered with a Fairtrade campaign.