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2017 ANNUAL REPORT CLAC OPERATIONS TEAM Content Editorial 4 From the Executive Director 6 Board of Directors 8 Strengthening and Development 10 Standards Committee 16 Workers Network 17 Production and Markets 19 Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) 23 Advocacy 25 CLAC Programs and Projects 27 Gender and Youth Inclusion 33 Social Compliance 35 Food Sovereignty 37 Climate Change 38 2017 Financial Activity Summary 40 From our National Fairtrade Networks 41 Glossary CLAC Latin American and Caribbean of Fair Trade Small Producers and Workers FTA Fairtrade America IICA Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture NFOs National Fairtrade Organizations UNDP United Nations Development Programme SCAA Specialty Coffee Association of America SCAE Specialty Coffee Association of Europe SCAJ Specialty Coffee Association of Japan WFTO World Fair Trade Organization SWP System-Wide Project FI Fairtrade International Editorial Marike de Peña Building an empowered Latin America to confront President challenges in the future. Board of Directors 2016-2018 n 2017 Latin American and Caribbean producers and This study was conducted by True Price, an This work continues in 2018 with the goal of defining Iworkers once again suffered major losses as a result organization from Holland, together with Fairtrade the advances made and the ongoing challenges in of climate change, in a context in which markets are International and CLAC. Social costs (60% of external obtaining coffee prices that cover economic, social and increasingly characterized by growing competition costs identified) involve the income received by environmental costs in a framework of sustainability. and pressure for lowering prices. This situation small producers and workers and their access to requires measures that we can only create by working social security benefits. Environmental costs (40% This information will assist us in our dialogue with together with CLAC’s Product Networks, Workers of external costs identified) involve natural resource the industry, consumers and civil society. It will also Network and National Networks. management and pesticide use. facilitate the development of specific assistance programs for producers aimed at closing the gap and In response to market challenges related to Fairtrade The results indicate that Fairtrade producers have obtaining income to cover the costs of dignified living, sales and prices, and in line with our strategy for reduced their external costs by 50%, confirming the in the face of challenging markets. improving the income of small producers and workers differences characterizing our production. But the to guarantee more dignified standards of living, we results also point to the need to increase our Fairtrade CLAC’s Banana Network has implemented an have been working together with the Fairtrade system sales volumes and establish minimum prices that assistance program that is also currently being in developing proposals and conducting activities correspond to sustainable production and dignified applied to the coffee sector. It is essentially focused on aimed at reaching this goal. living standards. improving soil management by producing and applying bio-ferments. This project has already demonstrated In the area of banana production, we have identified CLAC’s Coffee Network and its Coffee Coordinator a significant improvement in productivity, product the external social and environmental costs not have worked during 2017 to replicate these efforts in quality and producer income, and it also reduces covered by the prices received by both Fairtrade the coffee sector, collecting and validating sustainable pesticide use, frequency of irrigation, and applications producers and those in the rest of the sector. coffee prices in thirteen countries. of phytosanitary control, and has consequently lowered production costs. 4 The Juices and Fruit for Processing Network was The year 2017 has been a year of challenges and CLAC’s Board of Directors and its Product Networks reorganized in 2017, with the main concerns action for CLAC. The Fairtrade market continues have identified the need to be more closely linked to focused on the growing competition between to expand, but the supply of products is growing and active in markets for the purpose of increasing organizations and the urgent need to review more rapidly than the demand. In this complicated sales to certified organizations and thus increasing Fairtrade minimum prices. reality, a number of buyers have expressed the producers’ income. In 2017 coordinators and need to obtain more information regarding representatives of the Networks visited the Fairtrade Meanwhile, the Honey, Sugar, Cacao and Quinoa Fairtrade impact and greater transparency Foundation in the United Kingdom, Max Havelaar Networks held their regional meetings, with a focus regarding potential risks in their supply chains as Switzerland, Max Havelaar France, Fairtrade Germany, on market challenges and climate change issues. a condition for maintaining their commitment to Fairtrade Japan, Fairtrade Korea and Fairtrade producers and to Fairtrade. America. The Workers Network held its conference in Medellin in July 2017, and although challenges Latin America and the Caribbean maintain a strong In 2017 CLAC successfully implemented twelve vary among the various countries, progress was position within Fairtrade, and for this reason projects focused on: climate change, labor rights and made in topics such as collective bargaining, the these requirements may affect our producers’ well-being, child protection, and gender and youth premium’s impact, commitment to Fairtrade, sales if we fail to respond to them. CLAC, with inclusion. The Finland government financed projects collective work, exchanges and the united front for support from FLO-CERT and from producers, has for capacity-building in coffee organizations in expanding the Fairtrade market that characterizes worked during 2017 to respond with information Nicaragua and Guatemala, and for capacity-building in the spirit maintained by each of the Network’s regarding the impact on two specific value chains. CLAC to better serve our members, as well as a project members. Workers understand that the Network It has conducted studies in a number of countries for training workers and managers in plantations in has provided them with a means to make their and sectors in which data has been collected in the the areas of immigration, conflict management and voices heard forcefully within the Fairtrade system, field and reports on impact have been prepared. collective bargaining in the Dominican Republic. and they value this opportunity offered by CLAC. Looking ahead to 2018, CLAC will be strengthening In addition, CLAC was able, together with Save the its Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) Children, to obtain a European Union project focused CLAC’s National Networks, together with its operations department, with the aim of supporting impact on protection of children and vulnerable adults in team, have conducted an initial round of reviewing measurement in the best way possible, and also cacao production. In Peru financing was obtained the standards for Small Producers’ Organizations. offering these services in a more agile manner to for a number of projects in the banana sector, aimed CLAC’s Board of Directors and Standards Committee producers and their markets. at strengthening the labor dialogue roundtable and (CECLAC) have been following this process closely, increasing productivity. The projects benefitted 14 since the current review is an opportunity to respond In 2017 CLAC also strengthened Market Coordination countries and 124 Small Producers’ and Workers’ to the demand that producers from various sectors service with coordinators for coffee, cacao, sugar, Organizations. and countries have made regarding certain practices honey, bananas and other products. The Coffee and weaknesses still characterizing Fair Trade. CLAC Network participated actively in a number of fairs Lastly, I would like to express my appreciation to CLAC’s has worked with other Producers’ Networks in Africa in the United States, Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin operations team for their strong commitment to our and Asia and with Fairtrade International in designing America. mission, and for their spirit and dedication, making it the consultation and also in systematizing the results The Banana Network also participated in fairs in the possible for us to consolidate our Organizations and by country. United States and Europe, and together with other Networks, and to build a stronger Latin America for products, participated in the Biofach Fair in Germany. the future. 5 From the Executive Director Xiomara Paredes Together we are building sustainable and fair trade and a CEO more equitable world for all. CLAC 017 was a year filled with intense work, but also Our budget for 2017 was 4.9 million US dollars (4.2 in The following pages illustrate CLAC’s advances in 2with numerous achievements for CLAC. Our 2016), of which 75% came from funds received through implementing our Strategy, through the efforts of the president, Marike de Peña, has prepared an excellent licensing fees for Fairtrade product sales, channeled various departments in our operational structure, summary of the year’s most important events. It was to CLAC by Fairtrade International (FI). In addition working side by side with our members. In addition a year in which we worked hard to achieve increasing 18% of the budget came