Challenges of COVID-19 for Fair Trade enterprises in attaining Sustainable Development Goals 2030

This paper aims to explore challenges of COVID-19 in achieving sustainable development goal (SDG) 1 ‘no poverty' by Fair Trade (FT) enterprises. The authors used focus group discussion (FGD) with seven members of World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO) – Asia, from six different countries: Thailand, Bangladesh, Nepal, India, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Findings suggest that COVID-19 has posed bigger challenges to FT enterprises in achieving the SDGs since the pandemic has created challenges not only to the economic aspect but also to the health, education, safety and security of the communities. Due to COVID-19, the progress in attaining SDGs has slowed down, as global unemployment surged, global markets collapsed with a catastrophic economic downturn, which could eventually push more people to the pit of poverty. Stronger collaboration among the stakeholders is needed to achieve the SDGs.

Politics, Economics and Demographics of Food Sustainability and Security

Driven by several factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic and armed conflicts around the world, global hunger is growing again. Recent estimates suggest that in 2050 we will have a population of about 10 billion, with an expected increase in the global food demand by 35%–56% between 2010 and 2050. With these premises, feeding people around the world without harm the planet appears quite challenging. In this scenario, public authorities and non-governmental actors have an important role to play in achieving sustainable food security, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations 2030 Agenda. This chapter aims to briefly describe the framework of actions that may be taken in the agricultural sector to achieve food sustainability and security goals by 2030.

Fair Trade and the New Post-Covid Reality of the Third Decade of the 21st Century

The COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing crisis have shown in a clearer light than before the growing global economic, social, and environmental challenges of recent decades. And today no one doubts that the Russian invasion on Ukraine will exacerbate the existing problems. It is increasingly often stated that the implementation of sustainable development goals (SDGs) defined by the UN and the fight against the effects of the crisis caused by the pandemic and war in Ukraine is not possible without greater involvement and active attitude of society, that leaving it only to market forces and top-down regulations will not bring the expected results. There arises the question if and eventually how such socio-economic initiatives as Fair Trade can contribute to the systemic transformation towards a sustainable market economy and building a new post-covid reality in the third decade of the 21st century. Using the method of critical analysis of the literature, the author comes to the conclusion that this initiative fits both into the streams of economics which emphasize the social aspects of markets, as well as into the neoclassical perception of economic processes. Looking at Fair Trade from both perspectives allows to explain the reasons for its emergence and dynamic growth as well as to understand its role in contemporary socio-economic life. It also leads to the conclusion that Fair Trade is not an accidental episode, but can constitute an important development trend in the global economy, playing an important role in counteracting global challenges, including the effects of the pandemic crisis and war in Ukraine. Fair Trade contributes to the society taking responsibility for social problems, incorporating such values as solidarity and altruism into market decisions, and increasing the role of the society as the third institution, next to the market and the state, shaping the economic reality.

US-China Geoeconomic Tensions: Implications for the African Continental Free Trade Area

Passage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) occurs at a time of rising tensions between the United States and China. Africa's growth and development prospects depend on a functioning and stable multilateral trading system, but recourse to economic nationalism and protectionism is increasingly undermining the open global economy and, indeed, the liberal international order on which free and fair trade depends. This article examines the implications of US-China tensions for the CFTA while assessing the opportunity for closer engagement between African countries and an axis of emerging powers led by China in an enhanced Global South strategy.

Organizing Workers in the Informal Economy in Selected African and Latin American Countries: The Potential of Trade Union and Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) partnerships

The article gives an account of the result of the research developed in response to the call made by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Open Society Foundations (OSF) in 2021 to carry out a project that would identify the potential of the link between unions and cooperatives to organize workers in the informal economy in African and Latin American countries. Researchers from ODI, London, with the collaboration of researchers and practitioners from Brazil, Colombia, Ghana, Kenya and Uganda, identified and documented partnership examples through which to shed light development processes, identify learning on successes and challenges, and inform recommendations for future support. A country case study of Colombia is provided to illustrate the variety, complexity and possibilities of the topic studied. Three nascent partnership experiences, linked in different ways to the social and solidarity economy, demonstrate the potential of this approach to promote fair trade, responsible consumption and local markets, boost entrepreneurship and create decent working conditions for workers who traditionally face informality.Alternate :El artículo da cuenta del resultado de la investigación desarrollada en respuesta a la convocatoria realizada por la Organización Internacional del Trabajo (OIT) y la Open Society Foundations (OSF) en el 2021 para llevar a cabo un proyecto que permitiera identificar los beneficios del vínculo entre los sindicatos y la Economía Social y Solidaria (ESS) para organizar los trabajadores de la economía informal en países africanos y latinoamericanos. Investigadoras de ODI, de Londres con la colaboración de investigadoras de Brasil, Colombia, Ghana, Kenia y Uganda, identificaron y documentaron casos que permiten analizar los procesos de desarrollo de alianzas, proporcionando aprendizajes a partir de los éxitos y desafíos como también recomendaciones para el futuro. Se revisa en especial el caso colombiano, para ilustrar la variedad, complejidad y posibilidades del estudio desarrollado;allí, se describen tres experiencias, todas en etapas tempranas, vinculadas con diferentes expresiones de la economía social y solidaria que demuestran los potenciales de esta relación para fomentar el comercio justo, el consumo responsable y los mercados locales;dinamizar el emprendimiento en los territorios y crear condiciones de trabajo digno para los trabajadores que afrontan tradicionalmente la informalidad.

Halal Food Sustainability between Certification and Blockchain: A Review

Islam is the second-largest religion on a global scale. All around the world Muslims are estimated to comprise more than 1.9 billion people. Therefore, the demand for Halal commodities is expected to reach a high growth rate: thus, it is crucial to increase its global market’s reliability and traceability. Based on these grounds, the scope of this paper is to assess Halal food sustainability, examining the barriers and opportunities offered by the certification and blockchain tools. To this purpose, the authors carried out an integrative literature review, selecting 54 contributions in the Web of Science platform. Despite several limitations, such as the lack of a standardized framework or universally accepted and reliable certifying authorities, the implementation of blockchain technology has emerged as an interesting instrument to increase the trustworthiness and traceability of Halal foods. This tool could also help the development of protocols and standard procedures, ensuring hygienic and permitted products that may boost food safety and security. Besides, the enhancement of the Halal certification and the blockchain tool, even if several efforts are required in terms of innovation and cooperation by local authorities, industrial associations and leading consumers, could enhance fair trade, ethical business, green animal breeding and environmental economics, and hence sustainable development.