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Naturland Fair

"Faire Woche" in Germany: South African rooibos meets German beer

Magdalena Nertinger, Naturland e.V.

“Faire Woche” is the largest fair trade campaign week in Germany. The annual event includes various activities across Germany to raise public awareness for fair trade and exchange ideas. In 2023, representatives of fair trade certified producers from the Global South were invited to Germany for the event. Among them were representatives of the South African cooperative and Naturland member Heiveld, Noel Oettlé and Zelda Beukes. The Heiveld cooperative produces rooibos tea in the Northern Cape of South Africa.

During a press event, the two representatives from South Africa met Anna Neubauer, sustainability manager, Johannes Ehrnsperger, CEO of the Naturland Fair partner Lammsbräu, as well as Florian Gäck, a German Naturland farmer who produces barley for beer production. Lammsbräu is a one hundred percent organic brewery located in Bavaria, Germany.

Service & Expertise

Naturland expert Magdalena Nertinger with representative of Heiveld and Lammsbräu during a visit at the brewery (Source: Naturland) 

Rooibos farmers are used to harsh weather conditions (Source: Naturland)

During the event, the guests discussed how climate change and increasing weather extremes are affecting their production. They also talked about the potential of fair trade partnerships for adapting to and dealing with the consequences of the climate crisis.

The climate crisis affects Naturland farmers throughout the world

In South Africa, rooibos farmers are used to harsh weather conditions. But today, they are experiencing more and more extreme weather ranging from droughts to exhaustive rains that can damage or destroy the rooibos plants. To adapt and react to the increasing risks due to extreme weather conditions, the Heiveld farmers have implemented various measure such as mulching, using compost and building contour bunds. Furthermore, regular workshops discussing the forecast for the next months together with other farmers help to take preventive measures in time.

Florian Gäck, Naturland farmer from Germany, is also increasingly facing the effects of irregular and more extreme weather conditions. According to him “the weather is getting more difficult to predict”. In 2023, the weather was extremely dry when rain was needed during the growth period. Meanwhile during the weeding and harvesting period, when rain has the potential for a lot of damage, it rained for weeks.

Fair trade relationships between producers and processors are crucial to help adapt to and fight against the climate crisis

Climate change does not only affect farmers worldwide. The processors need to deal with challenges related to quality losses and changes due to extreme weather conditions – as it is the case for the Lammsbräu brewery this year. Furthermore, measures for adaptation to climate change such as the above mentioned or organic agriculture in general, require higher producer prices, which can be guaranteed through fair trade relationships, according to Johannes Ehrnsperger.

During the meeting, Zelda Beukes emphasized the special role of fair partnerships in the Global South due to the more dramatic effects of the climate crisis. Trade partners from Germany supported the farmers in the last years after extreme droughts through crowd-funding campaigns or by increasing the producer prices paid to Heiveld. This enabled the cooperative to buy more fertile land and replant rooibos plants that were lost during the drought.

Exchange between farmers worldwide is needed to help find solutions

The event unterlined the similarities of the struggles Naturland members around the world face due to the climate crisis. Organic farmers everywhere are suffering from the devastating effects.

Johannes Ehrnsperger emphasized that the exchange between farmers from different countries and continents can help to develop innovative solutions. And Florian Gäck stressed the importance of more collaboration between farmers and scientists to identify new strategies for climate adaptation: "I have realised that all organic farmers in the world are suffering from rapid climate change. Livelihoods are at risk! But we can’t bury our heads in the sand - our ability to adapt is required. Every small step secures our livelihoods and helps the world."

This text is a translation. No guarantee can be given for the correctness.

Author

Magdalena Nertinger is part of the team Naturland Fair and Social Responsibility. Besides member support in the Global South, her main tasks include the implementation of the BEATLES project.