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You/we can double the impact!
We want to achieve as much as we have in the past 25 years as quickly as possible. It's an ambitious vision. But we're sure we will get there with your help.
At gebana, we measure what we have achieved each year. We collect literally pages and pages of facts and figures – for example, the number of family farmers we work with, the amount of premiums we pay out and how many jobs we create.
Seeing these figures gives us a sense of pride. But it also brings us to reflect on how much more we should be doing. Fifty years ago, the Banana Women started fighting for more fairness in trade. We have barely made any progress since then in terms of fair trade in society as a whole.
In the year of our double anniversary, as we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the banana women and gebana's 25th birthday, we're facing up to this fact and shifting up a gear with the aim of doubling our impact at the source. But we can't take another 25 years to achieve this – we need to get there as quickly as possible. Below, you can read about our specific plans to double our impact.
Family farmers
Today, we work with approx. 11'000 family farmers throughout the world. Most of them live in Burkina Faso and Togo. These families benefit from purchase guarantees and pre-harvest financing and are supported through certifications, training and premiums. If we succeed in doubling the number of family farmers, we'll also double our impact and improve local production and working conditions. This in turn will ensure that small-scale farming structures are maintained, and that people can earn a living from their work.
Organic farmland
Today, the family farmers we work with throughout the world today grow their fruit, nuts and vegetables in an area half the size of the canton of Thurgau or the city state of Berlin. This area uses organic production methods to produce plenty of delicious food while increasing biodiversity, improving soil and water quality and generating more income. These are all good reasons to convert more acreage into organic farmland. Our target: 87'200 hectares. Or, to put it more simply, an area equal to the whole of Thurgau or all of Berlin!
Premiums
In 2022, we paid a total of EUR 1.6 million in premiums to family farmers. This represents 13 % of the Fairtrade premiums in the whole of Switzerland! In addition to the Fairtrade premiums, we also make solidarity contributions, such as those for the olive oil from Palestine. But the payout from our gebana model accounts for most of the money: 10 % of the sales price of a growing number of products in our online shop goes back to the family farmers, in addition to the organic and fair purchase price. Our goal is to raise this amount to at least EUR 3 million as soon as possible in order to improve the income of even more family farmers in the long term. Thanks to our sharing approach, we'll get there.
Jobs
Today, around 850 people throughout the world work for gebana, over 90 % of them in countries like Burkina Faso or Togo. These countries are among the poorest in the world. Steady jobs provide people with a regular income, a pension and health insurance. This benefits not only employees but also entire families. If we double the number of jobs in the next few years, it will have a positive impact on several thousands of people. An important tool for getting there will be our new mango and cashew processing factory in Burkina Faso.
Illustrations: Jules Guerin