Fairtrade cup of tea for Gosport guests

THE Mayor of Gosport, Councillor Jamie Hutchinson, and Gosport Fairtrade Action will host a Fairtrade tea party.

Most of the guests invited to the event in the Council Chamber between 3pm and 5pm on Friday, March 3, will be members of organisations who have shown commitment to tackling climate change and improving the environment in Gosport.

MP Dame Caroline Dinenage has accepted an invitation to attend the tea party and to speak.

Party refreshments will feature Fairtrade ingredients in cakes made by GFA members.

A presentation will focus on the Fairtrade Fortnight 2023 theme: how the climate crisis endangers the future of some of the planet’s most beloved food products (bananas, chocolate and coffee) and the livelihoods of the farmers and agricultural workers who grow them.

Unseasonal and unpredictable weather, storms, floods, droughts and increased plant diseases are making it hard for farmers to continue farming. Many low-income farmers do not have the resources to invest in recovery and adaptation. Many are leaving farming and their children are seeking alternatives.

Fairtrade Certification offers farmers hope: a guaranteed minimum price allows them to earn a living income; an additional premium payment which they can choose to spend on improving their businesses, their communities and their environment.

Training programmes which advise on sustainable farming methods, tree planting and soil improvement are resulting in higher and better-quality yields and healthy plants more resilient to diseases. Farmers can see a future with Fairtrade.

Fairtrade ambassador Deborah Osei-Mensah told world leaders at the COP 27: “If cocoa is not profitable for farmers, they will look elsewhere to source the income they need. They’ll move to industrialisation – they might sell their land to mines, to manufacturers.

“But once they are getting fair prices, farmers will protect their farm. Farmers use the Fairtrade Premium to contribute to their communities. If they feel they are being supported, they can invest in the future of food security.”

Gosport’s Fairtrade campaigners will highlight the message that whatever your budget and wherever you shop, when you choose Fairtrade, you support farmers to care for the environment through Fairtrade’s price, premium and programmes.

Fairtrade products available locally will be on display and they’ll feature in the raffle, too.

Sarah Hirom, GFA Co-ordinator, said: “We can all play a part. The future survival of the world’s most popular foods – such as bananas, cocoa, and coffee – depends upon the achievement of inclusive and equitable climate solutions. Farmers, who did little to cause the climate crisis, in all fairness, need help to address the consequences.

“We need to encourage our government to support them, through the Loss and Damage Fund agreed internationally last year and helpful trade agreements.”