Towards sustainable and fair agriculture trade: A future vision for the EU as a trusted partner in the global agriculture supply chains

On 5 March 2024, one of the YFTAs, Simon Guerin Sanz, had the chance to discuss the future of sustainable trade at a joint event by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), Make Agricultural Trade Sustainable (MATS) and the UK Trade, Development and the Environment Hub (TRADEHub).

In the YFTA movement, farmer rights are at the core of our reflections. The conference was an occasion to exchange with other stakeholders, such as La Via Campesina, Fridays For Future Belgium (Adelaïde Charlier) or MEP Helmut Scholz, on how EU’s trade policy impacts producers in Europe, Africa, America and everywhere in the world. 

As a representative of the YFTA movement, Simon shared our vision for fair prices for farmers, the protection and development of smallholder farming as well as the importance of agroecology as a future for farming. 

He defended some of the recommendations of the YFTAs, such as the need to shift towards a Fair Trade model in the EU, the enforcement of the UTP Directive, and a far-reaching due diligence directive. Additionally, producers must be included in the decision-making, to ensure their rights are protected.

These events are very useful for the YFTA movement to grasp the new ideas in the EU’s discussion, but also to mainstream the work we do all over the year, for example during the dialogues with producers and the recommendations for a fair EU trade model. 

“Today, profitability and the common good are totally disconnected. The situation of small farmers is a tragic illustration of this since they contribute to agronomic diversity, employment, and food security, yet most of them remain poor.”