This is a presentation by Jerónimo Pruijn, executive director of Símbolo de Pequeños Productores (SPP). He was speaking at a webinar on 'Producer agency in certification schemes: challenges and opportunities' organised by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) in January 2021. The webinar was part of the Empowering Producers in Commercial Agriculture (EPIC) project, which aims to empower rural producers and wider communities to influence public decisions and private sector conduct for locally beneficial and more sustainable investments in commercial agriculture. EPIC is funded by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office through its Commercial Agriculture for Smallholders and Agribusiness (CASA) programme, though the views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the UK government. CASA seeks to increase economic opportunities for smallholders by demonstrating the commercial viability of businesses with significant smallholder supply chains and attracting more investment into the sector. More details: https://www.iied.org/producer-agency-certification-schemes-challenges-opportunities

1. 11 de
novie
mbre
de
2020
Webinar IIED
Producer agency in certification schemes:
challenges and opportunities
January 20, 2021
The Small
Producers’
Way
Jerónimo Pruijn, Executive Director – dire@spp.coop Fair trade coffee growers in Tacuba, El Salvador (Photo: Adam Baker via
Flickr, CC BY 2.0)

2. WHAT IS SPP?
● SPP is a network of small organic
producers from Latin America, Africa
and Asia,
● which works in partnership with
conscious and committed
companies and consumers.
● promoting the high-quality products
and values of small producers.
● SPP strives for a dignified life and a
healthy planet for all,
● The SPP label is independently certified
by third party certification entities.

3. SPP IN NUMBERS
122
SMALL
PRODUCERS’
ORGANIZATIONS
24
PRODUCER
COUNTRIES
500K
FAMILIES IN
LATIN AMERICA,
THE CARIBEAN,
AFRICA AND
ASIA
2.5
MILLION
PEOPLE
40
CONSUMER
COUNTRIES
47
COMPANIES
AND
BRANDS
60
DIFFERENT
PRODUCTS
WHAT IS SPP?
SPP in numbers

4. 4
● SPP had to decide to only cover products
that are certified organic.
● SPP had to be 100% owned and principally steered
by organized small producers from the South.
SPP FUNDAMENTAL LEARNINGS ON FAIR TRADE
● SPP had to set prices that cover the organized small
producers’ full costs of production.
● SPP had to choose to work only with truly committed
companies and organizations.
● SPP needed a producers’ perspective-standard and
independent third-party certification to guarantee credibility.
TO ASSURE SMALL PRODUCERS’ AGENCY

5. 5
● Lack of public and private regulations on what true
fair prices are: gradual devaluation of fairness.
● The market is increasingly controlled by big distribution;
supermarkets, delivery services, without restriction.
SPP´s CHALLENGES & OPORTUNITIES
● Health-economic crisis makes price-sensitivity and
preference for big-scale production and -trade increase.
● Consumers’ increased consciousness and interest in
healthy products which strengthen local economies.
● New openness on behalf of governments, ie European
Commission, to invest in small-scale organic production.
TO ASSURE SMALL PRODUCERS’ AGENCY

6. SPP is small producers’ pride and we
invite you to join our cause, always:
FAIR
ORGANIC
& AUTHENTIC
Thanks!
Jerónimo Pruijn, Executive Director – dire@spp.coop