FLO Develops Standards for Fairtrade Soybean and Pulses
Following a long term project to enable Fairtrade standards to be extended to include pulses and soybean, FLO has now approved the Soybean and Pulses Standards for Small Farmer Organizations. This will enable small-scale producers of pulses such as haricot bean, chickpea, red kidney, lentil as well as soybean to apply for Fairtrade certification.
Many consumers perceive these products to be grown only on large-scale plantations. However, millions of smallholders in the developing world depend on soybeans and pulses for their livelihood.
Soybean and pulse crops add nutrients such as nitrogen to the soil. For smallholder soybean production, the cycle is only 90 to 120 days and is often rotated with wheat, maize, rice, beans, sorghum or sugarcane. Similarly pulses are usually intercropped with crops such as wheat, coffee or cotton. Therefore encouraging small-scale farmers to continue producing soybean and pulses is a means of assisting in longer-term sustainability and enabling diversification through Fairtrade.
The Soybean and Pulses Standards for Small Farmer Organizations contains global Fairtrade minimum prices enabling producers from all regions to apply. However [some countries as India and Thailand currently have] an official government ban on the export of certain pulses. FLO respects this and will not certify producers growing products that are banned from export.
[Still it may opens the opportunity for processed Fairtrade soy bean products to be exported from such countries]
Fairtrade standards prohibit Fairtrade certified producer organisations from using genetically modified organisms (GMOs), including GM seeds and planting stock. Therefore, being Fairtrade certified will provide an incentive for small farmers to continue their commitment to produce GMO-free soybean.
Fairtrade standards, minimum prices and premiums for soybean and pulses are listed in the Fairtrade Product Standards which are published on the FLO web-site.