Fairtrade olive oil will offer an economic lifeline for Palestinian farmers
The first olive oil to carry the FAIRTRADE Mark will be launched today, to coincide with the start of Fairtrade Fortnight (23 February – 8 March). A delicious, high quality product, the oil has been produced by marginalized Palestinian farmers and provides much needed income to olive farmers, struggling to make a living.
The olive oil will be launched at a Co-operative store in Archway, London by Palestinian farmer Mahmoud Issa, International Development Minister Michael Foster MP, The Fairtrade Foundation’s Chief Executive Officer Harriet Lamb, Fairtrade Strategic Development Manager for The Co-operative Group Brad Hill, Equal Exchange’s Barry Murdoch and Heather Masoud from Zaytoun, the importing company.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown has also personally welcomed the olive oil: ‘I’m delighted that during Fairtrade Fortnight, Fairtrade-certified Palestinian olive oil will be on sale in British supermarkets. Olive oil production plays an essential part in the West Bank economy. In buying this oil, British shoppers will be helping the farmers of Palestine to make a living.’
Olive oil production provides many Palestinian farmers with as much as 50 percent of their annual income. Olive production also prevents the abandonment of the land and the spread of desertification. However, as a result of the conflict in the region, Palestinian farmers continue to face severe barriers in carrying out their normal day-to-day agricultural activities caused mainly through restrictions on movement, exacerbating levels of deprivation and marginalisation. Almost 75 per cent of Palestinians live below the United Nations poverty line of US$2 a day.
Mahmoud Issa, one of the farmers set to benefit from the move, says ‘The zaytoun, the olive, means everything to us. My father and my grandfather farmed on this land, and now my children work alongside me harvesting. Our olive oil is of the highest quality because of the fertility of the land and we use traditional farming methods. Fairtrade will bring stability to our farmers with the Fairtrade premium allowing for investment.’
Mahmoud, who will be touring the UK during Fairtrade Fortnight, belongs to the first group of Palestinian olive farmers to be certified, The Palestine Fair Trade Producers Company (PFTPC). PFTPC is made up of eight co-operatives, consisting of about 265 farmers, but the aim is to bring as many growers as possible into the scheme through the registered small farmers’ co-operatives, which include some 1,700 growers.
Internationally recognised Fairtrade certification of registered small farmers’ associations will support and encourage the Palestinian producers to work collectively, enabling them to voice their desire to farm in peace more strongly. The FAIRTRADE Mark will also increase their access to international markets and provide opportunities to earn more sustainable incomes and improve future prospects for their communities.
Harriet Lamb said: ‘The Fairtrade Foundation has been working with olive producers in Palestine and is very excited by prospect of this new product now being available to the British public. I know Fairtrade supporters across the UK will take this initiative to heart because it helping the olive producers, their families and communities earn enough for today and build a better future.’
The launch of the olive oil coincides with the start of Fairtrade Fortnight, the annual campaign co-ordinated by the Fairtrade Foundation to promote awareness of Fairtrade and encourage the public to choose products carrying the FAIRTRADE Mark. Fairtrade Fortnight 2009 will bring together producers, campaigners, retailers, licensees and NGOs around the country to highlight global inequality and promote Fairtrade, which benefits 7.5 million people – farmers, workers and their families – who live in impoverished rural communities in the developing world.
This year’s Fairtrade Fortnight is themed Make it happen, Choose Fairtrade and looks set to be bigger and better than ever before with thousands of activities taking part around the country including world record breaking banana eating events, opportunities to meet Fairtrade producers, fashion shows, in-store promotions, school activities, exhibitions and bazaars.
Bottles of the Fairtrade certified Palestinian olive oil will be sold by two separate Fairtrade licencees, Equal Exchange and Zaytoun CIC. The first retailer to sell the oil will be the Co-operative, but the Fairtrade certified olive oil will also go on sale in Booths and in wholefood shops.
The olive oil is latest addition to the now 4.500 Fairtrade certified products, with sales of Fairtrade certified products for 2008 reaching an estimated retail value in excess of £700m, bucking the current global downturn with a 43% increase over 2007.
Almost 18 million UK families bought Fairtrade goods in 2008, according to TNS Worldpanel research.
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