Fair trade should be the obvious way of doing business in the world. Many fair trade initiatives in various product groups (e.g. bananas, cotton, cut flowers) have been in existence for years and have a well-recognised Max Havelaar label. We are making a new contribution under this international Fairtrade label to this growing area: fresh fair produce.

We offer you a low-threshold way of doing something significant each day for farmers in developing countries by choosing FairFields produce at your supermarket. You’re offering someone a better life in the long run, or making a constructive contribution to their way of life.

We are starting with the production of snow peas, sugar snaps and haricots verts with small-scale farmers in several parts of Kenya. In the long term we are looking at expanding our fair trade to Guatemala and other countries in order to give small farmers a chance to participate on the worldwide market and deliver their products to the European consumer. 

But fair means something more for us. Of course, we do not import varieties of produce that are also grown in The Netherlands or Western Europe. It is not our intention to compete with Dutch or European produce, but to get it from the countries where it can best be grown. We believe that these products should be put on the market in a fair and transparent way.

A chance for a better life

A chance for a better life goes farther than offering more money, as our mission explains. This chance is made possible by our contribution and yours to a sustainable improvement in the living conditions of local populations in the production areas. First of all, we and our local partners offer a constructive contribution to the future perspective of the farmers by supporting them with knowledge and product development. This sustainable improvement would not be possible, however, without contributions from consumers like you. Every purchase of FairFields produce supports fair trade in the world and the farmers of Kenya specifically.

We want to make your contribution to the chance of a better life more transparent. Below, we take three existing situations and explain how the lives of many people in Kenya can be improved by choosing FairFields fair produce.

High on the agenda of farming communities is the continual improvement of the local roads. During the rainy season, trucks that take the harvest from the fields to the capital city, Nairobi, often got stuck on the local roads. As a result, the harvest could not be taken anywhere. It was a great loss for the farmers, because not only did the individual farmer lose income from his hard work on the farm, but the co-op also lost premium income. No cooperative income meant that the co-op was unable to invest in social improvements. 

The farmers’ groups are also looking forward to establishing medical centres in the villages, so that every family in the co-op can receive free basic medical care. This is very important for improving life expectancy through regular medical check-ups, childhood vaccinations and quick intervention when anyone needs medical care. 

Another innovative example of sustainable improvement is the investment in drip irrigation for the fields. This enables farmers to water and feed the plants more specifically, and therefore more sustainably. This has two immediately demonstrable advantages: conserving water for the farming communities and providing better nutrition for the plants, and therefore more even cultivation and production and better ability to estimate the harvest, which generates more income spread over the production year.