Trade for Development Centre: a regional Fair Trade Day in Côte d'Ivoire

In September 2024, RICE – an Ivorian fair trade network – organised the first-ever regional Fair Trade Day in Côte d'Ivoire. Producers were able to learn a lot there, including about the impact of the EU Deforestation Regulation. The Trade for Development Centre supported the event.

Perhaps you will already have heard of the annual Fair Trade Week that takes place in early October. It is organised by the Trade for Development Centre, a programme that forms part of the Belgian Development Cooperation – which is managed by our Federal Public Service – via the Belgian development agency Enabel. Fair trade means that producers receive fair payment and is an ethical and nature-friendly way of doing business.
 

Raising awareness in the South

But the TDC does more than raise awareness amongst Belgians, it also helps producers in the Global South meet fair trade requirements. Marketing is also essential. This is why the TDC helps organisations such as cooperatives of cocoa farmers, to position themselves more strongly in national and international markets. The aim – to increase sales figures and therefore improve farmers' income and living conditions.

In addition, countries in the Global South have an ongoing need for awareness raising, not only amongst farmers and cooperatives, but also amongst governments and the general public. In Côte d'Ivoire – a cocoa country par excellence – the TDC supports national and regional Fair Trade Days in order to achieve that.
 

Panel discussions

RICE – an Ivorian fair trade network – organised the first-ever regional Fair Trade Day on 11 September 2024 in the city of San-Pédro. Currently, the network has 80 member cooperatives representing about 70,000 producers in sectors such as cocoa, coffee, cashew nuts, bananas, mangoes and honey.

The regional day began with a presentation of the principles and impact of fair trade. This was followed by a panel discussion on the traceability of agricultural products, with a special focus on the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR). A second panel explored sustainable agricultural practices.

Once the panel discussions were over, a roundtable discussion then took place on the subject of agricultural finance. The day was rounded off by an informal lunch, an ideal opportunity for participants to network and exchange ideas.
 

A varied audience

RICE was able to welcome a diverse audience of some 100 participants: in addition to producer organisations, those taking part also included private sector representatives, NGOs and researchers. For example, a lecturer-researcher from the University of San-Pédro shared his experience on the subject of good practices in cocoa farming, with an emphasis on the use of organic fertilisers and pesticides.

RICE also expressed its utmost satisfaction that city authorities of San-Pédro also attended the event. Indeed, it is essential that local authorities engage with producers so that they can understand their situation and take action.
 

EU Deforestation Regulation

Regional Fair Trade Days such as this clearly fulfil a need. After all, also the world of fair trade is continually evolving. For example, the recent EU Deforestation Regulation is extremely useful and necessary, but it has important implications for farmers. After all, it stipulates that cocoa, coffee, palm oil, cattle, timber, rubber and soy – or derivatives such as furniture and chocolate – that are imported into the EU must be deforestation-free.

In other words, the importer must be able to demonstrate that its production did not involve deforestation or forest degradation here or anywhere else in the world. And that is only possible if, in the case of cocoa for example, all cocoa beans are ‘traceable,’ that is, if we clearly know which plot of land they come from.

But how do you achieve that? To comply with the EUDR, cooperatives will in any case face investment costs and recurring management costs for purposes such as geolocation and the physical separation of batches. As for cocoa, Africa fortunately already has its own standard – ARS-1000 or the African Regional Standard for Sustainable Cocoa – which also seeks to ensure traceability and sustainable, fair cocoa farming and is complementary to the EUDR. Through its regulatory body, le Conseil Café-Cacao, the government of Côte d'Ivoire is currently trying to get the ARS-1000 standard adopted everywhere.
 

Producers can succeed

In short, a regional Fair Trade Day has turned out to be an ideal way to bring issues such as this, which are frequently complex, to the table. One particular impression that definitely sticked in the minds of participants was that they can indeed succeed if they put in the effort.

More generally, RICE is using a regional day to raise awareness of the principles, benefits and impact of fair trade in Côte d'Ivoire, not only in the agricultural sector, but also amongst the general public. The fact that fair trade is being organised on a regional basis makes it possible to forge closer ties with local cooperatives and producers.

This first-ever regional Fair Trade Day has generated a demand for more. Another regional day is therefore already scheduled to take place early next year, specifically in the city of Daloa, and the programme of the event will be similar.