Fairtrasa’s partnership with mango growers bears fruit

Beginning this week, Fairtrasa offers premium organic and fairtrade mangoes to European customers, sourced directly from small-scale growers in Latin America.

Fairtrasa is a social enterprise that supports small-scale farmers in developing countries and links them to international markets. Grower-cooperatives in Mexico, Chile, Colombia and Peru offer their premium organic and fairtrade produce directly to European customers through Fairtrasa’s channels.

The Agrovida Cooperative is one of Fairtrasa’s partners in Peru. The association was formed in 2005 by 20 small-scale organic mango growers from San Lorenzo, Piura. Agrovida experienced a series of challenging years because unscrupulous traders did not pay them for their fruit. As a result, the producers lost their incomes and became saddled with exorbitant debt.

Agrovida’s partnership with Fairtrasa started in 2010. Fairtrasa helped the cooperative become fairtrade-certified and pre-financed the construction of their storage facilities so the farmers could meet Global GAP standards. It extended credit to the association to purchase organic fertilizers. In 2012, Agrovida produced four containers of fresh mangoes and five containers of puréed mangoes. By the end of 2013, it aims to ship 15 containers of fresh organic fruit and seven containers of puréed fruit.

The successful partnership with Fairtrasa has helped Agrovida maintain the confidence of its members. The cooperative has since gained 32 new small-scale producers. “We value the respect given to us as producers. Our relationship with Fairtrasa helps us build a better future,” says Andrés Basturin, president of Agrovida.

For more information:
Peter Abma
Fairtrasa Holland B.V.
Tel: +31 174 291 600
Email: peter.abma@fairtrasa.com
www.fairtrasa.com

Publication date: Wed 18 Dec 2013