If campaign – St. Mary’s Cathedral – 300 Great Western Road Glasgow G4 9JB
SEMINAR – 1st March
1st March – 7.00 – 9.00 p.m. – Public procurement and Fair Trade – Synod Hall
We will be delighted to welcome Alastair Smith of Cardiff University. He is an expert on the subject of public procurement and fair trade with a particular focus on Malawi rice in Scotland. He will talk about:
• Fair trade and international development
• How fair trade can assist small holder farmers
This seminar has particular relevance to all who seek to understand the thrust of the If campaign
All welcome – and do feel free to pass information around!
MEETING – 10th March
10th March – 12.00 – 1.00 – Meeting with Malawi farmers – Synod Hall
One of the highlights last year was our meeting with Henry and Howard from Malawi. Henry is an official with an organisation (NASFAM) which supports smallholder farmers and Howard is himself a farmer who produces the rice which we buy in the Cathedral. They return to tell us more about their work and trade. This will be a great way to mark the end of Fair Trade fortnight – and to celebrate Scotland becoming a Fair Trade nation.
“It must be understood that the smallholder sector in Malawi contributes about 80% of the country’s agricultural productivity. At the same time, this is the sector that is facing a lot of challenges. Challenges like inadequate access to extension services and poor access to good quality seeds and other farming inputs. They lack bargaining power for better prices and in general find it hard to access sustainable, stable markets which offer just prices for the farmers’ hard work. When I say ‘just’, I mean some markets are quite exploitative. So smallholder farmers lack access to reliable and consistent markets. ” Henry speaking in Glasgow – 4 May 2012