In response to the recent report Fairtrade, Employment and Poverty Reduction in Ethiopia and Uganda, over 100 committed producers, traders, and advocates, both individuals and organizations, issued a statement in support of fair trade. The report found that wage laborers on fair trade farms and plantations in Uganda and Ethiopia were no better off than those on fair trade farms. The statement in support of fair trade acknowledges that there is room for improvement in the fair trade certification model, but that the fair trade movement holds a powerful vision for transforming policies and markets to benefit small-scale farmers. Where committed traders and organized producer groups work in solidarity, communities have already benefitted, and other research has backed this up.
Read the full statement and sign on showing support.