 The Windward Islands Farmers' Association (WINFA) is a confederation of small farmers' organisations supporting small scale farmers in St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Grenada, Dominica and Martinique.
The Caribbean banana industry is characterised by small family owned
farms which use more sustainable methods of production than those
employed on the large monoculture 'dollar' plantations of Latin
America. Caribbean farmers simply cannot compete with these 'cheap'
Latin American bananas produced with low paid labour - since 1993 some
15,000 family farms have been gradually squeezed out of the business.
For the remaining banana producers in the Windward Islands, Fairtrade
has become an essential survival strategy. WINFA is also exploring
markets for other products to reduce reliance on bananas.
For further information please download and read the WINFA 6th Biennial General Assembly Report 2006 - 2009.
Visit the WINFA website @ www.winfa.org
Contact WINFA at
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and www.bananalink.org.uk
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Choosing Fairtrade bananas has a direct and positive impact on the
lives of producers, workers and their communities.
Banana Link is a British based NGO campaigning for a socially just, environmentally sound and economically viable international banana trade.