Bananas, coffee and cocoa on Cumbrian menu

A conference in Cumbria next month is being heralded as a ’success’ even before a word has been spoken or a sample of local and Fairtrade produce has been tasted!

Organisers of the ’Cumbria Local and Fair’ conference - at the Rheged Centre, near Penrith on 4 November - say they are delighted at the quality and range of delegates already committed to attending. Leading representatives from farming, local government, retailing and food production will be joined by Westminster and European parliamentarians.

Co-ordinator of the Cumbria Fair Trade Network, Joe Human, said he was delighted at the interest already shown and was confident of a very productive day, which aims to look at how elements of Fairtrade may have applications for local producers and consumers.

’We do not want this to be simply another talking shop ’ long on words and short on action. The expectation is that realistic proposals for action will be generated, identifying who will do what and how, and over what period of time.

One of the leading speakers will be Eden Valley dairy farmer Robert Craig who has just returned from visiting Fairtrade banana growers in the Caribbean Windward Isles. At the conference Robert will team up with Stephen Best, one of the banana farmers he visited in St. Lucia.

The day will be a mixture of formal presentations, workshops and question and answer sessions looking at long-term sustainable solutions for the challenges facing Cumbrian farmers and those involved in food and wool processing as well as those in developing countries. Key topics under discussion will include:

’ connecting local farmers with local consumers;

’ farming together;

’ distributing local produce;

’ developing a Cumbrian brand;

’ ways of improving the return for milk farmers;

’ adding value to local wool; and

’ public procurement.