- Fisherfolk Enterprise of the Association of Thai Fisherfolk Federation is spearheaded by 160 fishers and has about 5,000 small scale fisher members-60% of whom are women. With Oxfam's help, it introduced the Blue Brand Certification system. This certification has enabled its members to get a 20% premium price for their 'naturally harvested, fresh, responsibly fished and formalin-free' seafood products. Pin, who heads the fish processing and slicing group of the Fisherfolk Enterprise, trains women fishers to ensure that they produce quality and standardized Blue Brand products. Pin and other women from this enterprise have earned up to 100% more from their engagement in the Blue Brand value chain.
- Lemon Farm Cooperative was established in 1999, and is co-owned by 28,000 consumer and producer households. It has provided a stable market for the certified organic and natural agricultural products produced by Fisherfolk Enterprises. Blue Brand certified fish and seafood is sold through Lemon farm's 11 grocery outlets in Bangkok and through Fisherfolk shops in 4 other provinces of Thailand.
- GreenNet Cooperative sells certified, organic, fresh and processed fish and seafoods in Bangkok. Set up in 1993, it sold the first ever certified organic fish in Thailand. It engages 400 small fishers, 160 (or 40%) of whom are women. It is also engaged in other value chains, like rice and coffee. GreenNet organized local Community Fish Markets (CFM), and registered members committed to develop their products for organic certification. They have also formed an Organic Fishers Group, that manages and checks the organic fishery products before being dispatched to intended markets. CFM members are guaranteed a price that was 20-100% higher than the price given to them by traders. 75% of the sale-income is shared between CFMs and their members, while 25% is collected and saved as mutual funds for market operations.
- The World Fair Trade Organisation Asia (WFTO-Asia) based in Chiang Mai, Thailand is worth mentioning too. It is a regional conglomerate of 151 organizations in 19 Asian countries comprising over 110,000 producers, 75% of whom are female producers. It represents a supply chain from producers to exporters, wholesalers and shops, seeking greater equity in international trade. As the name suggests, WFTO believes in Fair Trade - a trading partnership based on dialogue, transparency and respect and contributing to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers.
Patwira Narasri, Deputy Director at WFTO-Asia shares that WFTO prioritizes organizations working in multiple sectors rather than in one commodity, and provides spaces for producers, exporters, importers, retailers, and consumers to connect and work together. It shows how a business that puts people first can also be successful, simply by following the 10 principles of Fair Trade (as highlighted in their logo), that member organizations must follow in their day-to-day work. It is a tangible contribution to the fight against poverty, climate change and economic crisis and works on the simple equation of: Dialogue+Transparency+Respect = Equity in International Trade.All these platforms are providing enabling policies, programmes and resources to mainstream small producers and marginalized communities as stakeholders in building local economies supportive of sustainable consumption and production patterns for equitable community development. This is very much in accordance with the clarion call of Agenda 2030 to leave no one behind.
Shobha Shukla, CNS (Citizen News Service)
(Shobha Shukla is Chief Editor at CNS (Citizen News Service) and writes extensively on health and gender justice. Follow her on Twitter @Shobha1Shukla or be welcome to visit www.citizen-news.org)
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