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A Fair Deal, Through Fair Trade
With the cultural, economic, social and environmental boundaries of the world changing at such a rapid rate, companies large and small must keep up with the pace if they want to maximise profits while minimising the impact they have on their neighbours. Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is as much a part of this as environmental awareness and, for a growing number of firms these days, buying Fairtrade-accredited products is one way of demonstrating their commitment to CSR.
Catering in Scotland met a representative of the tea-growing farmers in Uganda, and discovered it's easier than one would think to achieve your CSR objectives…
Robert Ejiku, 32, is the Group Manager of the Igara Growers' Tea Factory in Bushenyi, Uganda, where he has worked since 2000.
With a degree in Food Science and Technology from the Makerere Univesity in Kampala, he is ideally qualified and experienced to provide advice to the country's small-holder tea-farmers, enabling them to become more efficient in their trade and helping them adhere to the regulations which govern their fair-trade status.
"Our factory, set up in 1969, is a tea- processing plant owned by the small-holder tea- farmers," says Robert. "We manage the logistics of collection and transportation of the leaf from the farms to the factory, where we process it."
For Robert, it's all about investing in the growers' businesses to help his collective of Ugandan growers obtain a fair deal. Since becoming fair-trade certified in 1998, Igara has had to adhere to the relevant fair-trade conditions and comply with standards on an ongoing basis in order to receive a guaranteed minimum price for the tea they sell to Cafédirect.
"Cafédirect provide us with guidance to maintain our fair-trade status, and they buy from us at a premium which is then invested in the various community projects we undertake," he says. "We receive over and above the market price, which helps us with sanitation, education, health facilities, clean drinking water and so on. We also use the money to construct classroom blocks, maternity units, protected wells, offices and staff housing for the health centres. Cafédirect makes a big contribution to our communities."
And, aside from the premiums paid for the tea, Cafédirect has been investing its own money in other urgently needed areas, too. Louise Whitaker, Cafédirect's Foodservice Trade Marketing Manager, mentions programmes to improve management within the coffee-growing families and firms: 'We invest in IT to help provide access to email for the growers, and for better facilities in general,' she says.
According to Louise, because Cafédirect helps growers to improve the quality of their product, it will continue to have a positive effect on overall sales. 'The more of their products the growers can produce and sell, the more we can invest in their businesses. It's a win-win way of working.'
However, despite the apparent good intentions of global companies and other fair-trade organisations, it is perhaps surprising to learn that the ongoing relationship shared by Robert and Cafédirect is unique. As people around the world begin to notice how effective the concept of Fairtrade really is, the simple switch to a company such as Cafédirect could be seen as a straightforward solution for those working to achieve CSR objectives.
If more growers and firms realised that such partnerships provide production incentives and allow farmers to really develop their businesses, their staff and their neighbourhood, there is strong evidence to suggest that they would reap the benefits as tea-growers, as communities and as businesses alike.
Visit www.cafedirect.co.uk more information.
This article has been edited from its original version. For the complete feature please see Catering in Scotland magazine May/June 2007.
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