The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Fairtrade
Our partnership with The New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFAT)
Since 2010 we have worked with the New Zealand government to support the economic development of rural communities in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the Pacific Region.
PNG focus
Our latest partnership with MFAT is focused on improving trading conditions for coffee and cocoa producers in PNG, a country facing considerable development challenges.
Fair for all
What we're doing together
Fairtrade works with small-hold farmers because it is these small farms that support rural communities and produce over 80% of the coffee and cocoa grown in PNG. This includes services to producer organisations around; quality improvement, business development, gender inclusion, child protection, organic certification and environment.
Connecting PNG products to Aussie and Kiwi consumers
Our programs also promote PNG products to consumers in New Zealand and Australia because of the proximity of the market and the fact that these crops are so important to PNG’s economy – around 4.5 million people rely on them for their family’s main source of income.
PNG programs
In terms of our programs in PNG, we are very much focussed on improving producer income through access to fair trading terms, resources and quality training. This includes capacity building in the areas of leadership, governance and increased investment in smallholder producers, their organisations and their communities.
Examples of this include:
- Partnering with the Coffee Quality Institute to deliver training about coffee growing and processing to coffee farmers
- Working with farmers to achieve dual certification – Fairtrade and organic – to maximise prices for their products
- Facilitating Co-Investment Fund projects which address problems with cash flow and other resources
- Working with business in New Zealand to develop products (new coffee blends and chocolate) sourced from PNG and then promoting those products to consumers.