Fairtrade - for the future

Justino Peck, Chairman of Toledo Cacao Growers’ Association in Belize, looks back on 15 years of the FAIRTRADE Mark.

Justino Peck has always been a forward thinking man. In his line of work he can’t afford not to be – as a cocoa farmer he has to wait five years before new cocoa plants bear fruit. Back in 1993 he became Chairman of Toledo Cacao Growers’ Association (TCGA) ‘to help rescue myself and the farmers from the dire situation we faced.’ At that time, the price of cocoa had plunged very low and for Justino and his cocoa growing colleagues, harvesting their crop had become a waste of time and energy. The community of cocoa farmers was in danger of giving up and trying their hands at something else, when buyers from Green & Black’s, attracted by the group’s organic techniques, offered them a deal with a five-year guarantee to buy their cocoa.

Turning point Shortly after this deal was struck, Green & Black’s Maya Gold chocolate bar, containing TCGA cocoa, became the first to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark to be sold in the UK. It was the start of something beautiful for TCGA, a new-found confidence. Justino says: ‘For the farmers, Fairtrade means the security of knowing that they will be paid a set price for their cacao. If not for the Fairtrade deal, a lot of farmers would have moved away, breaking up families and communities, to earn a living doing something else.’

Part of this security comes from the strong relationship TCGA has with Green & Black’s. Neil La Croix, Head of Supply Chain for Green & Black’s, explains: ‘The relationship… is essentially a simple one – they grow the cocoa and we buy it. The key points are: one, there’s a five year rolling contract; two, there’s a minimum guaranteed price; and three, we pay the farmers directly when we receive the cocoa. If you’re a farmer, that’s a lot of security.’ Through the tough times though it’s not just about being able to rely on a fair price. When Hurricane Iris devastated cocoa crops in 2001, the technical support TCGA was able to offer to its members was vital in getting their farms up and running again and new
trees planted.

With membership now at 1,088 farmers, TCGA is still looking ahead. For Justino, this is embodied in his hopes for his children. The Fairtrade premium has funded scholarships for farmers’ children and supported a school in the cocoa farming community. He says: ‘They say the key to success is education. We want to provide the education necessary for our children to succeed.’ 

© Winter 2009 Fair Comment