Fair Trade Foundation, in collaboration with Fair Trade Africa, Malawi Fairtrade Network and The Natural Resource Institute, University of Greenwich, has analysed the results of Fair Trade’s work in Malawi, begun in 1998. Malawian small farmers contribute close to 60% of the country’s agricultural GDP. Most of them have to face relevant challenges, such as the lack of necessary resources, technical knowledge and capacity to improve productions. Moreover, the unstable access to markets puts at risk their living standards, causing the impossibility of food security, as well as the access to basic healthcare and social services. Notwithstanding government is continuing to fight these situations, farmers need a strong support to sustain their agrarian economy. Today, Fair Trade is collaborating with nine organisations all over the country, building direct farmer-consumer links, helping farmers to enhance their efficiency and providing various facilities, such as fertilisers. A purpose of the Fair Trade is to help more than 20,000 farmers and workers to grow effectively their own tea, coffee, groundnuts and sugar. Fair Trade is also ensuring that these products will have a stable access to markets. The study shows that Malawian farmers’ living standards are improving, since Fair Trade started to operate with them. Now many farmers and workers are experiencing a new stability: they are able to pay school fees for their children and to provide enough food for their families. Despite this growth, to have more stable results, farmers need to obtain more from their supply chains, gaining more value from products. The farmers’ organisations studied expressed the desire to increase their autonomy for their patron organisations. An example of this development is the Afri-Nut processing facility that is part-owned by the farmers. The gLAWcal Team LIBEAC project Wednesday, 18 February 2015 (Source: The Guardian)