🌳 This year’s theme for the International Day of Forests is, ‘Forests and Innovation: New Solutions for a Better World’. Naturally, a crucial aspect of this is developing and promoting innovative solutions to protect our forests and tackle deforestation. KIT is, and has been, working on several projects that support such innovative interventions. For one of these projects, our colleagues Stefan Petrutiu and Selma van der Haar are working with Fairtrade International, The Chain Collaborative, Expressing Origin, and local researchers to analyse the effects of the Fairtrade system on deforestation at the producer level. The objective of this study is to assess if and how Fairtrade International incentivises or de-incentivises deforestation using its standards and tools including the Fairtrade Pricing and Premium Regulations its engagement with producer organisations and farmers. “We discovered that standards, pricing mechanisms, and advocacy on behalf of producers and workers, are very relevant and impactful in some contexts. There are many examples of agroforestry or regenerative agriculture projects supported by premiums. And preliminary evidence from a couple of Fairtrade cooperatives in Cote d’Ivoire shows members’ advanced knowledge of the benefits of cocoa agroforestry,” explains Stefan. 📑 To learn more about this project, see: https://lnkd.in/ecgVBspj #ForestDay #IntlForestDay #GenerationRestoration, FAO, #agroforestry, #cocoa, #agriculture
