Common values seen as key to sustainable trade and agriculture

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The sustainable agricultural session at the Private Sector Partnership’s Forum, part of the Third International Conference on Small Islands Developing States, was moderated by CTA Director Michael Hailu and featured Seth Kaurua from Tanna Farms Vanuatu, Shadel Compton from Belmond Estate Grenada, Bruce Russel from Poutasi Development Trust Samoa and Prof. Clement Sankat from the University of West Indies Trinidad and Tobago.

Common values are the key to sustainable partnerships is one of the beliefs shared by Samoa’s Women in Business Development and New Zealand’s largest café, C1Espresso. As a result of the cooperation between organic farmers in Samoa and C1Espresso, the Golden Panther Tea Company, a boutique tea company, was launched during the Third International Conference on Small Island Developing States. “We were hearing the farmers say how about my cocoa, how about my chilli, and how about my lemongrass? So we have come up with a tea company that showcases these products, enables farmers on small scale to be able to trade with us and showcases their products in a high-quality manner”, says owner Sam Crofskey who has been working with Women in Business Development for five years for sourcing coffee and Koko Samoa, a 100% cacao bean product.

Women in Business Development is also a supplier of virgin coconut oil to The Body Shop, a company who recognizes the potential and limitations of trading with a small island nation that is vulnerable to natural disasters and of working with small family farmers. “The Body Shop and C1Espresso have shown a patience that many buyers wouldn’t but our relationship with them is based not just on what we supply but also on our common values” says associate director Alberta Vitale. Alex MacDonald, representative of The Body Shop UK added: “sustainable partnerships focus on the partnership not just the product. You have to think about the art of negotiating the partnership. How can you add value to each other?” The key to success, according to Alex Mac Donald is “innovating and keep rebirthing the partnership”.

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