Fairtrade represents more than two million farmers and workers across the world, producing many of the UK’s most well-loved products. But too many farmers still struggle with unsustainably low prices and are unable to use trade as a route out of poverty. Many of the major challenges in global supply chains – including child labour, gender-based exploitation and deforestation – are exacerbated by poverty. And unless farmers earn a fair price that enables them to care for their families, farms and futures, these systemic problems will remain.

A fair price changes everything. It means farmers and workers able to invest in stronger and more sustainable businesses, their families able to afford food and clothing, and their communities able to build schools and health facilities. Climate change makes fair prices even more urgent.

Achieving higher prices is also connected to another key issue for farmers and workers: power. The unfair distribution of power in supply chains, which often denies producers the right to make their voices heard or to influence the terms on which they trade, is also seen in other key areas of decision-making, from the design of policies affecting their access to international markets, to the delivery of promised climate funding from wealthy countries. Ensuring that the voices of farmers are heard in all these key areas is crucial to supporting the resilience of their livelihoods and creating a fairer system.

Edinburgh has held Fairtrade City status since 2004 and Lord Provost Robert Aldridge firmly supports the Fairtrade movement, stating, “A fair price is critical both to help farmers adapt to the impacts of climate change, and to support their contribution to a more environmentally sustainable global food and trade system. We need to Be the Change and buy Fairtrade.”