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Fairtrade farmers are on the frontline of climate change

Farmers and rural communities in countries with low GDP have contributed the least to climate change but are often affected the most.

🎥 Learn how Fairtrade farmers are building climate resilience

Climate change is not fair

For farmers and workers in countries with low GDP, climate change is not a far-off challenge. It is their everyday life. They are already experiencing decreasing crop yields, soil erosion, pests, diseases and changing weather patterns. This changing reality affects farmers and their communities directly in the form of: -income loss - food insecurity - the need to change their business models - increased costs for adaptation and mitigation
How farmers are adapting
Black cocoa pod hangs from a tree.

We must all adapt

Climate studies predict that by 2050 coffee, tea, cocoa and cotton will be so severely affected that production in some areas will even disappear. While it’s easy to think, “I guess I’ll kick my caffeine habit,” that is ignoring the millions of farmers and workers who depend on international trade and these crops in particular to survive.

80% of the world’s food comes from 500 million small-scale farms.

We all rely on farmers and workers to produce the food needed to feed a growing global population. Businesses and shoppers in the US must invest in these communities so that they can adapt, become more resilient and ultimately survive.

Fairtrade cannot solve the issue of climate change, but we do support farmers with tools, practices and resources to become more resilient.

How Fairtrade addresses climate change

Fairtrade cannot solve the issue of climate change, but we do support farmers with tools, practices and resources to become more resilient.

  • Fairtrade Premium: Producer organizations earn extra money from the sales of Fairtrade certified products (aka the Premium!). They invest these funds on projects like tree planting, clean energy and crop diversification to better prepare their farms for climate change.
  • Environmental Standards: Fairtrade producer organizations follow our environmental standards to minimize their impact on the environment—like not using GMO seeds, keeping protected forests intact and avoiding the use of more than 200 hazardous pesticides.
  • Fairtrade Carbon Credits: In partnership with the Gold Standard, we established Fairtrade Carbon Credits so farming communities can access carbon finance to address the effects of climate change through renewable energy, energy efficiency and forestry projects.

Ebrottié Tanoh Florentin, Cocoa Farmer in Côte d’Ivoire

"There will be a food shortage because of the heat whereas, before, there were a lot of forests, the rains were regular and the seasons were well divided. It was easier. There were four seasons, now we don’t know anymore when we should plant and when we should stop."
Hear more from Ebrottié
A dirt road is completely washed out and flooded after heavy rains.

Hear from farmers

Farmers and workers are on the front lines of climate change. From region to region and crop to crop, the stories are different, but Fairtrade farmers are all experiencing or anticipating the effects of climate change. Hear what it is like directly from them.

  • Segundo: See how coffee leaf rust—a fungus that is becoming more prevalent because of climate change—is affeccting Segundo's crops in Peru.
  • Ebrottié: Hear from cocoa farmer, Ebrottié, about how climate change is affecting his farm and his community in Côte d'Ivoire.
  • Zeddy: Watch how Zeddy, a coffee farmer from Kenya, has changed her farming practices in a nimble response to prolonged dry spells.