Hurricane Dean devastates Fairtrade banana crops in the Windward Islands

UK consumers are being asked to continue to buy Fairtrade bananas by farmers in the Windward Islands who supply the UK Fairtrade market and have been severely affected by Hurricane Dean. Recovery from the devastation caused by the powerful hurricane hinges on the farmers being able to use the social premium from the sales of Fairtrade bananas for plans to reconstruct and replant, they are telling Meredith Cochrane, Campaigns Manager for the Fairtrade Foundation. Meredith has been on the Windward Island of St Lucia from before the hurricane buffeted the islands on Friday, 17 August and is due back in the UK on Sunday 26 August.

The Fairtrade premium is an additional amount which is paid on top of the price for a box of bananas. The farmers’ associations which make up WINFA (the Windward Islands Farmers’ Association) normally use the premium for social programmes like buying computers for schools or building farm access roads. Some of the premium is also kept in an emergency fund which they will now be using to employ extra help to clear trees and debris and, in the future, to buy new banana plants.
Hurricane-force winds and torrential rain have caused widespread damage in the Windward Islands and other parts of the Caribbean, Belize and Mexico. Winds of 100 mph have left almost total destruction of banana crops in the Windward Island of Dominica, 75-80% in St Lucia and about 10% in St Vincent.

Meredith, who herself experienced the hurricane’s howling wind and lashing rain on 17 August, described the scene the following morning: “Going around the island’s banana farms, the damage is shocking. The industry is absolutely devastated. Driving across the island, field after field has bananas trees lying snapped on the ground with bananas that will never grow. The heavier the bananas were and the closer the farmers were to harvesting, the less chance there was of the plants’ survival.”
Meredith added: “I arrived last week to see banana fields growing for export to the UK. When I awoke on Friday morning, the island’s main export industry was unrecognisable, and I could see crop destruction everywhere. However the farmers are determined to rebuild their farms. They are clear they will continue to grow Fairtrade bananas and their one request is that UK shoppers continue to look for the FAIRTRADE Mark when they shop for bananas.”

The Fairtrade Foundation is working with UK retailers to maintain the market for the farmers who still have bananas for export and to ensure a market for those who will only be ready to export again in a few months after replanting.

Conrad James, a banana farmer from St Lucia who farms a 5.6 acre farm with his wife Josephine and toured the UK during Fairtrade Fortnight 2007, has lost his entire crop. Conrad said: “I have a lot of work on my shoulders but I will keep growing bananas. I will build this up again. Just please keep buying Fairtrade bananas.” Conrad and many of the banana farmers will not have an income until their crop grows back in around six months.

The damage varies according to region, but, at the banana reception centre this week where the fruit is inspected, weighed and packed into containers, it is estimated that production has fallen to around 40% - 50% of normal levels.

The Foundation is speaking to its member organizations including Oxfam which is already responding in the Windward Islands where plantations have been devasted. WINFA have visited areas most affected in St Lucia and Dominica along with a representative of Oxfam.

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To interview Meredith Cochrane or for further information, phone 020 7440 7686/7695 or mobile 07770 957 451 or email eileen.maybin@fairtrade.org.uk or martine.julseth@fairtrade.org.uk

Notes to Editors
• The Windward Islands Farmers’ Association (WINFA) began working with Fairtrade in the 1990s. They set up Fairtrade Groups (associations of Fairtrade farmers) on each island and began shipping Fairtrade bananas to the UK in July 2000. There are now 48 Fairtrade Groups with a total of 3,347 members.

Membership of WINFA, National Fairtrade committees, and Fairtrade Groups, January 2007

• All UK supermarkets sell some Fairtrade bananas. Sainsbury’s made a commitment to selling 100% Fairtrade bananas earlier in the year, followed by Waitrose. Both supermarkets have now completed the switch and sell only Fairtrade bananas.