This archive report was first published on 24 June 2021.
On June 24, 2021, Fairtrade International announced that it had allocated Sh630.5 million to support Kenyan farmers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The funding, part of the Recover Africa Project, aimed to cushion farmers against economic losses and support business continuity, food security, and income generation.
According to Norman Katihvu, a board member of Fairtrade Africa, the organization helped thousands of farmers in nine African countries, including Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, and Tanzania, between March and November 2020.
"Apart from assisting farmers recover from economic losses due to COVID-19, the funding was also given to assist producers maintain and diversify their supply chain relations, and ensure business continuity, food security and income generation," Katihvu said.
The funding was secured by Fairtrade International and provided by The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) with cooperation from The German Development Agency GiZ.
At the Fairtrade Africa Convention, Lynette Thorstensen, the Board Chair of Fairtrade International, revealed that the organization had assisted hundreds of companies producing food and agricultural products worldwide.
Thorstensen stated that Fairtrade International had set aside a Covid relief fund, raising over 10.5 million Euros from external governments, retailers, crowdfunding, and internal sources by pledges from members for relief and resilience support for producer organisations.
"A total of 337 producer organisations from 17 African countries have benefited from the fund. We believe that in the current climate, we need to move faster and ensure no one gets left behind," Thorstensen said.
Mary Kinyua, the Fairtrade Africa Board Chairperson, urged African governments to increase funding allocated to the agriculture sector, citing its significant contribution to the continent's GDP.
