Whenever you buy an item with the Fairtrade symbol, this guarantees that the producer gets a fair price for their goods. In developing countries which may have no subsidies or effective support systems for farmers, the difference Fairtrade makes can be huge. Instead of being at the mercy of fluctuating and falling market prices, Fairtrade farmers get a fixed price which is set above the market rate. In addition, they get what is callede a social premium, a sum of money that their communitee can then invest into what benefits them - new schools, community centres, pumps, equipment.

To find out more, go to the Fairtrade Foundation's website www.fairtrade.org.uk.

To see a sample of short films about the way Fairtrade improves producres lives, click on the links below (more films available via the Fairtrade Foundation website):

South African orange growers

Coffee and sesame seed growers in Nicaragua

Irene Kijara, tea farmer, Uganda, copyright Simon Rawles