GIZ and MA’s to enhance capacities of smallholder farmers due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

30-Oct-2021

Ma’s is implementing a project to help farmers and farmer communities to face challenges posed during the COVID 19 pandemic. The initiative is targeted at smallholder farmers, including women, involved in fair trade supply chains through the production of agricultural raw materials. The aim of the initiative is to implement assistance measures directly and rapidly, to alleviate the plight of smallholder farmers resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

In all more than 150 farmers will benefit from this initiative. It is estimated that more than 100 tons of produce per annum will be saved because these farmers will be knowledgeable about proper harvest and post-harvest handling techniques for raw agricultural produce.

This initiative is implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) in cooperation with Fairtrade (Germany and International) and the German Forum Fairer Handel (FFH) under the COVID-19 Fair Trade Emergency Initiative.

Over 100 peanut farmers are being trained in Killinochchi, Jaffna, Mullaitivu, Vavuniya and Mannar. As part of the Company’s continued effort to enhance knowledge throughout our supply chain, MA’s will empower these farmers with improved knowledge in Good Agriculture Practices (GAP). These farmers who supply the company’s manufacturing facility in Iyakachchi will continue to assist and support the company’s aim to manufacture only the best quality products, now targeting export markets in Europe. They will be guided through a planned process which includes mapping out of their farms, their training, setting up and monitoring of farmer groups, and helping these groups to obtain organic certification and drawing them into a Fair-Trade network. A second objective of the project seeks to reduce micro-toxin contamination in produce by setting up a laboratory and developing in-company testing skills by training staff and equipping this laboratory.

MA’s focuses on supporting farmers and local communities in areas surrounding their manufacturing facilities. Working directly with farmer communities improves traceability and shortens supply chains to ensure the best and freshest ingredients are supplied with minimal environmental impact. The produce of local farmers is then transformed in Ma’s processing facilities into products that reach consumers around the globe.