Power to the poor

The EU is the biggest aid donor in the world but, through protectionism, it deprives developing countries of about $700 billion in exports each year - almost 14 times what poor countries get in foreign aid annually. Rosanne Zammit takes a look at how, through choosing fairly traded goods, one can help poorer folk improve their situation.

While Europe's cows receive $2 a day in subsidies, 1.2 billion people in Third World countries live on less than $1 a day.

In a bid to make "poverty history", fair trade organisations support operations that strengthen the economic position of small-scale producers and landowners in developing countries to ensure they are not marginalised in the world economy.

Fair trade ensures that producers, including employees, receive a share of the total profit commensurate with their input. It improves social conditions, particularly those of employees, in the absence of developed structures for social services and worker representation.

Many countries all over the world celebrated World Fair Trade Day last Saturday. Malta, however, is celebrating its Worldfest on June 14, since this will coincide with the arrival here of a big banner carrying the Fair Trade Organisation mark, currently on a global journey.

Fair Trade in Malta is represented by the Koperattiva Kummerc Gust.

Set up in 1996, the organisation is a member of the International Fair Trade Association (IFAT),which it joined in 1999. IFAT is a global association of fair trade organisations, consisting of 300 bodies in 70 countries all over the world. It encompasses both fair trade organisations and the producer groups in the developing countries including South America, Africa and Asia.

In a bid to raise awareness, IFAT created the big fair trade mark banner and sent it on a journey starting from Mumbai, in India, in 2004. It will end up in Belgium in May next year in time for the IFAT general meeting being held there.

The aim of the fair trade mark is to identify fair trade organisations worldwide. It is a quality mark showing that standards are being implemented regarding working conditions, wages, child labour and the environment. It is not a product label and will only identify fair trade organisations, setting them apart from other commercial businesses.

Malta's development policy

The Non-Governmental Development Organisation Platform (NGDOs) was founded in June 2001, on the initiative of Koperazzjoni Internazzjonali - Malta (Kopin).

NGDOs are voluntary non-profit and non-governmental organisations working within the framework of international development cooperation.

The organisations on the platform are the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice, the Jesuit Refugee Service, Kare4Kenya, Koperattiva Kummerc Gust, Kopin, Moviment Graffitti, Share Foundation, SOS Malta, Third World Group and Voluntiera Lajci Missjunarji.

Run on a voluntary basis, the platform aims to improve Malta's contribution to international development by promoting the exchange of experience, ideas and information among its members, between networks of NGOs in Malta and internationally, with the Maltese government and with other Maltese bodies with an interest in international development and humanitarian aid.

It also aims to monitor the performance of the government and the EU in relation to official development aid policies; identify key issues relating to the quality of official development aid; lobby the government to increase development aid up to the UN target of 0.7 per cent of the gross national product and to improve the quality of overseas development assistance.

Since it was set up, the NGDO platform has been lobbying for a national development policy.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the ministry was finalising the draft policy and will launch a consultation period soon, as early as June, for all stakeholders to share their views on the subject.

A development policy would guide the country on how to spread and plan its aid. Malta and Cyprus are the only EU members that do not yet have any form of guidelines for development.

Malta is committed to drawing up such a policy as a member of the EU and a signatory to the UN Millennium Declaration pledging to combat poverty through the Millennium Development Goals.

The EU was the biggest aid donor in the world and last year, new member states agreed to reach 0.17 per cent of their gross national product by 2010 and 0.33 per cent by 2015.

In 2004, Malta donated 0.18 per cent, marginally more than the 0.17 per cent target aimed for by 2010 and ranking first among EU states.

However, a report by the European Network on Debt and Development had claimed that Malta's aid had been "deceptively doubled" by the inclusion of its spending on refugees.

The Foreign Ministry held however that Malta's official development aid (ODA) was fully in line with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's rules, which allowed European governments to include spending on refugees and foreign students in their own countries as ODA.

It has been argued in different fora that economic development in poor countries does not depend on foreign aid but is fostered by open exchange. There is a growing consensus that an increase in trade between rich and poor countries is both necessary and beneficial.

The Economic Freedom of the World Report, published annually by the Fraser Institute, demonstrates a correlation between open trade and GDP.

According to the United Nations conference on Commerce and Development, the EU deprives developing countries of about $700 billion in income from exports each year, almost 14 times what poor countries receive in foreign aid annually.

Promoting fair trade

The KKG is a social cooperative - no personal profit is made and the money earned is reinvested in the project.

One of its aims is to make more people aware of the world of fair trade and its ability to change the lives of disadvantaged workers in poor countries as fair trade gives people a real possibility of working their way out of poverty.

Because of the local market size the KKG does not buy directly from the third world producers but gets the products it sells at l-Arka, the Fair Trade Shop in St Paul Street, Valletta, mainly from Italy but also from other European countries.

Most of the products on sale in Malta carry the mark of the Fair Trade organisations CTM Altro Mercato or Equisolidale Commercio Alternattivo.

Although l-Arka belongs to KKG, the cooperative is still paying debt on it and even though the shop is in Valletta, the KKG feels it is not central enough. It dreams of having a bigger shop where it can get a bigger variety of products that would also enjoy a better display.

Cooperative president Nathalie Grima said the food variety at the shop was continuously being increased. The selection included coffees, teas, honey, jams, pasta, sugar, spices and chocolate.

The handicrafts ranged from wooden to ceramic, soapstone to textile. There are also beauty products and candles, musical instruments and a range of world music CDs.

Food, especially coffee, was the biggest seller during most of the year but crafts became more popular just before Christmas.

Ms Grima said that, unfortunately, due to a lack of resources, it could not afford expensive marketing but awareness in Malta was growing and the number of people opting for fair trade products, especially when it came to food, was growing.

In a bid to increase awareness, the organisation gives talks in schools, youth groups and parish centres.

Although the cooperative is mainly run by volunteers, it also has three part-time employees.

There are more than 100 members in the cooperative, but not all are active. To become a member all it entails is a one-time minimum fee of Lm5.

Members would be "investing" their money in an initiative that is bringing about many social benefits to people in Third World countries who are given an opportunity to earn a fair wage for their fairly traded goods.

Donations of a bigger value and the assistance of volunteers are always welcome.

The cooperative's targets are to increase tenfold the current market share of fair trade coffee in Malta within three years, set up fair trade educational projects in 10 local secondary schools within three years and relocate the shop to a more central position within eight years.

Consumers rule

In the UK, big chain supermarkets such as Asda, Sainsbury and Tesco are now supplying the fairly traded coffee and tea Cafédirect and Teadirect. The supermarkets had to bring in these goods eventually due to customer demand.

Unfortunately, in Malta, such products can only be bought from l-Arka or the Gaia Foundation, in Ghajn Tuffieha. When supermarkets were approached and asked whether they would be interested in selling the coffee, they refused because of the small mark-up.

Supermarkets here will only be "forced" to supply these products if consumers demand them.

The UN millennium goals

1 Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger.

2 Achieve universal primary education.

3 Promote gender equality and empower women.

4 Reduce child mortality.

5 Improve maternal health.

6 Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases.

7 Ensure environmental sustainability.

8 Develop a global partnership for development.

Fair trade principles

1 Creating opportunities for economically disadvantaged producers.

2 Transparency and accountability.

3 Capacity building.

4 Payment of a fair price.

5 Gender equality.

6 Safe and healthy working conditions.

7 Better environmental practices.