Fabio Rafael Pagero: "Because I sell to Fairtrade and organic certification, I have a good income with which I can feed my family well. I have health insurance that covers the whole family. I have a small house, a car to get from A to B - we live a comfortable life and I am very grateful for that. Fairtrade ensures that I can survive as a small farmer. Without it, we could not compete with the big plantations, because we are too small to export ourselves. This is only possible in the community of the Banelino cooperative. Many small ones together are one big one and strong enough to stand up to the plantations. Without Fairtrade, we could not have become so big. I get almost twice as much for my bananas as in conventional trade. This also allows me to pay my workers better wages. The price is fixed and is not pushed down afterwards, so I can calculate well. That gives me security. If it were otherwise, we would not be able to survive. Banelino helped me buy this farm. My house, my pickup truck, my livelihood as a farmer - I owe it all to Fairtrade. It ensures that I and my family have everything we need. I am very grateful for that. A particularly important help are the scholarships for our children. This enables my children to study. My eldest son is studying agriculture and my daughter is going to be a teacher. They have very good grades and that makes me proud! My father would never have dreamed that his grandchildren would one day study. Until he became a member of Banelino, he was a poor farmer who could barely survive. As for the other projects, I can't decide which are the most important. All of them are important. Roads, schools, health... I would like to buy some more land. Then, when my son has finished his studies, he can work with me, because then the production will be big enough to feed his family as well."
Bananenproduktion - Bananera Los Rios in der Dominikanischen Republik
Minel Bellamy, Vorsitzender des Arbeitnehmerausschusses, als Teilnehmer am Schulungsprogramm für das Bananenmanagement in der Bananera Los Rios, Dominikanische Republik (Copyright: Fairtrade / José García)