This article covers the Policy Advocacy Training held on the morning of March 12, 2026, Day 2 of the three-day Sugar Network Event in Fiji (March 11-13, 2026). The broader programme also included the Sugar Product Network Meeting on Day 1 and a Roundtable Discussion on EU Sustainability Regulations on the afternoon of Day 2. All three components were organised by Fairtrade NAPP with the co-funding support of the European Union under the ECFFPA "The Future is Fair" project (2024-2027). Click here to read on the Sugar Product Network Meeting.

On the morning of March 12, 2026, the second day of a three-day programme in Lautoka, Fiji, the conversation in the room shifted from market trends and country updates to something more pointed: how can farmers and cooperative leaders influence the policies that shape their livelihoods?

The Policy Advocacy Training for Fairtrade Sugar Producers was facilitated by Natasha Erika Siaron, Program Manager for Philippines and Advocacy at Fairtrade NAPP. Twenty-five participants attended, drawn from five Fairtrade-certified producer organizations across India, the Philippines, and Fiji, alongside government stakeholders from the Ministry of Agriculture, Waterways and Sugar Industry Fiji, the Fiji Sugar Corporation, and the Sugar Cane Finance Department.

Funded under the ECFFPA "The Future is Fair" project (2024-2027), the training was designed with one goal: to shift producers from awareness to action, and to ensure that Fairtrade-certified sugar cooperative leaders from three countries are not just subject to the policies that affect their lives, but active participants in shaping them.

A Changing Policy Landscape

The Fairtrade sugar sector in Asia-Pacific is operating in a fast-changing policy environment. The European Union has been expanding its sustainability legislation at a pace that directly affects global agricultural supply chains. Regulations on deforestation, supply chain due diligence, organic production, and forced labour are reshaping what buyers expect and what producers must demonstrate to remain in the market. At the same time, national-level policies on land tenure, sugar pricing, and market access continue to determine the practical realities of farming in Fiji, India, and the Philippines.

The challenge is that while these decisions are often made far from the sugarcane field, the consequences land directly on individual farmers and their families. The training was designed to close that gap: to give producer leaders the knowledge, skills, and tools to participate meaningfully in policy processes that affect them.

Reframing What Advocacy Means

One of the first things the training addressed was a common misconception: that advocacy is confrontational, something reserved for lawyers and politicians rather than farmers and cooperative leaders.

The training reframed advocacy as something producers already have a right to practice: a deliberate, strategic process of influencing policies and laws through evidence, relationships, and collective action. Far from being confrontational or reserved for lawyers and politicians, it is a long-term, rights-based process of building a case with real data and farmer stories, and engaging decision-makers with sustained purpose.

Participants were also reminded that as Fairtrade-certified producers, they already have something many advocates spend years trying to build: credibility. The training made the point plainly: certification establishes documented compliance with internationally recognized standards, and gives cooperative leaders legitimate standing to engage policymakers at national, regional, and international levels. 

Four Tools for Effective Advocacy

The mid-morning session introduced four practical advocacy tools that participants could apply immediately in their cooperative contexts. They learned how to build a credible case using real data from their farms, how to identify the right people to approach and in what order, and how to craft a clear, evidence-backed message tailored to different audiences, whether an EU policymaker, a buyer, or a national ministry official. They also gained confidence in the mechanics of formal engagement: how to request a meeting, how to prepare for it, and how to follow up. For many, this was the first time advocacy had been laid out as a concrete, step-by-step process rather than something abstract or out of reach.

Workshop: Practice Before the Real Meeting

The final hour of the training was given over entirely to practice. Participants worked in groups of four to five, applying the tools they had learned through three sequential exercises.

In the first exercise, each group identified one specific policy priority for their cooperative, defining the core issue, who is affected, and what the ideal outcome looks like. This focused collective thinking and ensured that advocacy was grounded in a real and specific issue rather than a broad grievance.

The second exercise asked groups to complete a stakeholder map for their chosen issue and draft a PREP advocacy message for a minister or senior official. This built practical skills in identifying leverage points and crafting evidence-based asks.

The third was a simulation: each group role-played a five-minute meeting with a senior Ministry of Agriculture, Waterways and Sugar Industry Fiji official, with observers scoring on clarity of the ask, use of evidence, persuasiveness, and professional conduct. Rather than leaving the training with theory alone, participants left having already rehearsed, in a practice setting, exactly the kind of conversation the training was preparing them for.

Outcomes and Next Steps

Each participant left the training with a completed stakeholder map, a PREP-structured advocacy message tailored to a specific national policy issue, practical templates and frameworks, and a connection to the Sugar Advocacy Working Group, which was formally activated during the three-day event.

The training closed with a 90-day action plan for each cooperative, structured in three phases:

• Within 30 days: Share the training with the cooperative, agree on one priority policy issue as a group, assign a three-person advocacy team, and join the Sugar Advocacy Working Group.
• Within 60 days: Draft a one-page briefing on the priority issue, complete the stakeholder map, request a formal meeting with the relevant ministry or official, and connect with Fairtrade International for regional support.
• Within 90 days: Attend the ministerial or official meeting using PREP and  report back to the cooperative and the Working Group, and evaluate what changed.

In Their Own Words

"It was a great opportunity to learn alongside other farmers and leaders. What we learned from today's training can be shared with our members to help them better understand Fairtrade advocacy. I have learned a lot and gained valuable insights that I can apply in my work."

- Ravin Kumar Narayan,
Labasa Cane Producers Association, Fiji

"The Sugar Network event in Fiji was a meaningful experience for me as a farmer and cooperative leader. Hearing the ground realities of fellow Fairtrade sugar farmers reminded me that despite being in different countries, we face similar challenges… If we align our efforts, we can create more stable and dignified livelihoods for sugar farming communities."

- April Ceralbo, 
Pandanon Integrated Balangon Farm Workers Association Inc., Philippines

The afternoon of the same day moved directly into the Roundtable Discussion on EU Sustainability Regulations, where the skills developed during the training were put to immediate use as producers sat face-to-face with government and industry stakeholders from Fiji's sugar sector. Click here to read on the Sugar Product Network Meeting.