Biofoods

Organic pioneer in Sri Lanka

Biofoods processes and packages the tea (info in Dutch) and spices of the cooperatives SOFA (small Organic Farmer Association) and MOPA (Marginalised Producers Organisation). Most producers (90%) are small to middle-sized farms. Biofoods’ suppliers also include biodynamic tea plantations and farms that employ landless farmers, often Tamil people.

Since its humble beginnings in 1993, the organisation has opted resolutely for organic cultivation. In fact, it was fair trade before the fair trade labels (info in Dutch) even existed in Sri Lanka.

Value for smallholders

By buying their products for a fair price, Biofoods offers producers the opportunity to build towards a sustainable future for themselves. But that’s not all it does for them:

• Biofoods guides the farmers in efficient organic It gives training courses and has developed its own organic fertiliser. It also helps the farmers to combine various different crops, so that their income is not dependent on one single crop.
• Biofoods processes and packages the resulting agricultural products themselves. This allows them to give more of the profit to the producers, while also creating jobs in the local area.
• The fair trade premium (info in Dutch) received by Biofoods goes directly to the producer groups. They decide themselves how to invest this money. Often they use it to buy plants, cattle or farming tools. Or they invest it in education and infrastructure.

Biofoods & Oxfam

• Since 2002, Oxfam has gone to Biofoods for the purchase of organic tea, pepper and coconut for cookie production.
• All Oxfam tea (info in Dutch) bags come from Biofoods.