Welsh Labour and Co-operative Members of the Senedd welcomed Nimrod Wambette and Jenipher Sambazi to the Senedd in Fairtrade Fortnight to learn more about the successful international co-operation between Wales and Uganda. The partnership is helping to sustain livelihoods through recent challenges including the pandemic and the impact of climate change.

Climate change is increasingly making crops like coffee, bananas and chocolate challenging to grow. Combined with deeply unfair international trade, communities growing these crops are being pushed to the very edge.

But that’s where Fair Trade working with farming co-operatives and with support by Welsh Government and other partners is making a real difference.

Senedd Members heard from Jenipher and Nimrod how a partnership between the coffee growers’ cooperative in Mt Elgon and Ferrari’s Coffee of Bridgend is bringing their Ugandan organic coffee to market. It is also providing a premium to support their livelihoods, through practical measures such as filling the potholes in roads to ensure their quality coffee beans can get direct to buyers.

Supporting Fairtrade makes a real difference. It means extra income, power and support for those communities and producers, and it helps protect the future of some of our most-loved food and the planet.