Producer Partnership
securing supply increasing efficiency reducing costs improving returns
Twin’s Producer Partnership Programme aims to strengthen producer organisations to become more effective businesses. The programme is built around the supply chain with the central aims of securing supply, increasing efficiency, reducing costs and improving returns to farmers. In order to do this the programme works in various areas with producer partners, focussing on:
- Governance and Organisational Strengthening
- Business Basics
- Internal Control Systems and Certification
- Planning and Evaluation
- Price Risk Management
- Quality Control Systems
- Quality Management Systems
- Training of Trainers
- Advocacy and Networks
The programme is tailored to the specific needs of each producer partner and evolves year on year depending on the trading and organisational situation faced by each partner.
The programme is funded through a mixture of contributions from our brand partners, producer partners, alternative trade organisations and grant funding.
Governance and Organisational Strengthening
Producer organisations often face challenges managing a democratic governance structure. Twin works with producer organisations to help the management and elected leaders (board) to work together more effectively to achieve their aims. Twin provides workshops, advice and mentoring on:
- cooperative practice
- leadership
- internal communication
- understanding the market and business context
Twin offers support to help producer organisations develop basic business skills and systems including:
- accounting
- harvest planning
- basic quality control
This is done through direct coaching and consultancy and the design of easy-to-use tools. The aim is to support in particular less experienced producer organisations to manage trading operations in an effective and sustainable way.
While added value markets offer a great market opportunity for small producers, the management of certifications brings its own challenges and risks.
Twin assists producers to maintain their Fairtrade and organic certification by:
- providing information and training on standards
- giving direct support before and after inspections
Twin has also worked with producers to develop Internal Control Systems and lobbies certification bodies to ensure that standards continue to work for smallholders.
Through its experience working with producer organisations Twin has developed some simple tools and methodologies to support:
- operational planning
- strategic planning
- planning and evaluating individual activities and events
These are shared through coaching and consultancy and planning workshops.
Managing price risk is one of the main challenges facing small producer organisations in the market.
Twin’s work on Price Risk Management focusses on helping producer organisations develop internal risk management tools and strategies rather than making use of external market tools, such as futures and options, which involve high risks and costs and are not easily accessible to most smallholder organisations.
Twin provides training on price risk management at a basic and advanced level and offers regular market updates and analysis.
In collaboration with its coffee producing partners Twin has developed training resources and workshops on quality control systems at all levels including:
- cupping workshops for farmers
- zoning programmes to identify high quality coffees
Twin also provides technical support and advice to nut and cocoa producers to improve product quality and develop quality control systems.
Together with Fair Trade Original and FAQ, Twin has developed a methodology and programme aimed at helping smallholder producer organisations develop quality management systems (QMS). The aim of the QMS programme is to increase management efficiency and sustainability in producer organisations and enable them to manage different voluntary and obligatory market requirements in one integrated management system.
Twin is currently implementing a QMS programme funded by Comic Relief with producer partners in Africa while Fair Trade Originals is managing a similar programme funded by Hivos with producer organisations across Latin America.
For more details on the QMS programme, click here for the project website.
Education and training activities are vital for any producer organisation to continue to grow and perform effectively.
Through its work with producers, Twin has developed some participative and dynamic training methods, which it shares through its own workshops and through supporting producers in their training activities.
To complement this, Twin is developing an on-line learning resource for its producer partners.
One of Twin’s core aims is to increase the power and influence of producer organisations in the market.
Twin works to increase producers’ voice by representing the interests of producers and developing producers’ capacity to defend and promote their interests in key arenas. Twin is a membership organisation in which producers have a majority stake and Twin therefore represents the interests of small-scale producers in the market. In addition Twin provides support to producers through its producer partnership programme to increase their capacity to influence local and national development processes, the Fairtrade system and global markets.
