Small-Farmer vs. Plantation

by Zarah Patriana

Published January 13, 2009 @ 04:06PM PT

I'm continuing my efforts to flesh out the Plantation Debate that has recently resurfaced in the Fair Trade community since Parminder Bahra's Times article came out. We've heard a little from both sides of the spectrum -- pros, cons and differing views of the movement.

In doing more research around the debate, I was able to find a helpful account displaying a juxtaposition of Fair Trade Certified small-scale Rooibos tea farmers and Fair Trade Certified Rooibos tea plantations in South Africa. Sarah over at Fair Trade teas, visited teas farmers in South Africa to get a feel for both small-scale growing circumstances and plantation-style production that are both operating under the Fair Trade Certified label.

First, she visited the Bergendal Boerdery, a plantation style farm thta employs hired labor at fair wages and operates under FLO's standards for ethical Tooibos trade. They also grows fruit and offer Fair Trade Certified wines and juices. Quite diverse plot. The diversification offers financial security and the owners of the plantation are well-versed in business so they are able to provide capital that in turn lets them purchase expensive machinery that makes them efficient and competitive.

This model is quite different from the small-scale Rooibos farmers in the small-scale Rooibos farmer community of Wupperthal. The community is comprised of individual farmers that combine their harvest and sell their Rooibos under Fair Trade conditions. The farmers have little or no capital compared to the Fair Trade plantations with the same product and are having a hard time competing.

Despite the continually increasing demand for Rooibos, the US’s demand for Rooibos is supplied—2006/7 saw record harvests.  Additionally, in recent years, industrialized operations like Bergendal recently sold an excess of Rooibos on to the US market at a price so low that communities like Wupperthal were unable to compete.  This practice has negatively impacted communities like Wupperthal because they could not sell all that they produced, resulting in wasted resources and excess Rooibos, not to mention a financial loss.

Sarah goes on to explain minimum prices set up for Rooibos tea and also touches on the 'Joint Bodies' that TransFair spoke of in their plantation statement yesterday.  While the minimum prices and the 'Joint Bodies' resolution makes a difference, the presence of Fair Trade plantations continues to challenge small-scale farmers and the original goal of Fair Trade. The wupperthal community has been trying to combat the situation through the creation of a hand-crafted line of Rooibos cosmetics. Fair Traders such as Alter-Eco and Equal Exchange who operate on the side of small-scale farmers are doing their part by advocating for small-scale over plantations.

The dialogue and debate over this issue needs to continue as the Fair Trade community grows and expands and evolves and attempts to define and redefine itself in order to advocate for the disadvantaged and to see a change in the conventional ways of trade.

Time will continue to present challenges and solutions to traders of all types, just as it always has.  The important thing is that committed companies and individuals are taking actions and initiating conversations that will lead to more sustainable ways of doing business that are mutually beneficial all along the supply chain.  Change is inherent to life; it is how we handle change that defines us.

[photos: Equal Exchange]