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The Principle of Sharing

2023-09-14

by Carolin Schaar
gebana, a Swiss fair trade company, follows the principle of "sharing" with its corporate philosophy: farming families in the Global South participate directly in the turnover of their online shop. The company invests directly in the producing countries, thus promoting economic growth and creating jobs. Caroline Schaar from Gebana on the approach behind it.

By gebana

gebana is a pioneer company of fair trade in Switzerland. What began with the so-called banana women and fair bananas in the 1970s is now a company with sustainable supply chains in Burkina Faso, Togo, Tunisia and Greece. gebana buys directly from almost 12,000 farming families in these countries and employs 850 people worldwide, 92 percent of whom work in countries of the global South. The company's vision is fairer and more sustainable world trade.

All contributions

By Carolin Schaar

Carolin Schaar studied International Economics and Development as well as Agricultural Economics. After various positions in the agricultural and food industry, she has been working in marketing for gebana since 2018 - a Swiss pioneer company in fair trade.

All contributions

From banana women to trading company

gebana was born out of a women’s movement in Frauenfeld in Switzerland in the 1970s, when activists known as “banana women” made consumers aware of how female workers were exploited on Latin American plantations. The group grew into a Switzerland-wide movement that organised attention-grabbing protests and went on to found the “Arbeitsgemeinschaft GErechter BANAnenhandel”, gebana for short, in the 1980s.

In 1998, gebana AG was incorporated as a trading company with the aim of combining social and ecological values in an economically viable manner and establishing holistic sustainable supply chains for comestibles. Soon after, the company began to invest in local processing facilities and establish direct contact with farming families in the Global South, working closely with local partners to create value chains in Brazil, Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Togo and Benin. Today, gebana sells these partners’ products in bulk directly to consumers through its own online shop as well as to retailers through a Dutch subsidiary.

A holistic approach to sustainability

Strengthening the economic power of countries with massive poverty, creating dignified working conditions and increasing women’s involvement in the economic system – these are all major objectives for gebana. The company recognised early on that such changes could not be brought about through the price of agricultural goods alone. Based on a holistic approach, gebana establishes independent businesses in countries of origin, creating value and employment locally, transferring know-how and paying taxes. Maintaining direct contact with farming families enables the company to ensure that bonuses actually reach their intended recipients, but these direct interactions also provide opportunities to discuss organic farming or issues such as child labour.

Moreover, gebana’s activities in the Global South are always designed with longevity and perseverance in mind: establishing cooperatives and corporations and investing in ecological farming take a lot of time.

The company invests predominantly in West Africa, where other foreign investors are deterred by currency crises and military coups; for example, it is currently building a factory in Burkina Faso that will create 1000 new jobs in mango and cashew processing. The majority female workers will have access to modern infrastructure, a hospital ward and child care, and the switch to more technologically advanced procedures will boost skilled employment.

Sharing as a cornerstone of economic activity

Companies that only share their profits with investors rather than critically examining their entire supply chain promote inequality. Labels and certifications ensure minimum standards, but they often serve as fig leaves. Traders in raw materials, in particular, often care little about the actual conditions on the ground as long as the goods bear the right label.

This is why gebana has chosen a different path: the company knows its producers and actively supports them by sharing turnover and profits within the value chain.

Fair trading companies usually pay a fair trade bonus and, if applicable, an organic farming premium on top of the raw goods price. Sales prices are set after margins at numerous other trade levels have been optimised, and vastly exceed the original price of the raw materials. This is why gebana has developed its own model that turns customary pricing calculations on their head: the company pays ten percent of the sales price achieved in its online shop to the farming families – on top of the raw materials price and any premiums. These payments are distributed among all the farming families that supply gebana, including those that provide products for the bulk retail business.

This means that while each individual farming family receives less, the circumstances of an entire region are substantially improved.

Bridging the gap between farming families and consumers

Ich bin ein Alternativtext — Cocoa farmer Kossivi Donko from Togo © gebana

Kossivi Donko, a cocoa farmer and picker from Kawu-Cope village in Togo, says of gebana’s profit-sharing: “Today we are still very happy about this gesture from gebana. The money allows us to buy materials to maintain our fields, or young seedlings to renew or expand our plots of land. [...] This is the third year in a row that we have received this payment to encourage us, and we are very happy about it.”

In 2022, gebana paid out a total of 967,520 euros in revenue shares directly to farming families in southern countries – a sum the company hopes to at least double over the coming years by integrating more farming families, but also by growing its sales.

This method of doing business creates a link between farming families in the Global South and consumers in the Global North, which together with gebana form a system. If this system makes a profit, that too is shared: with all the company’s staff in the North and the South, with investors and also with customers in the online shop. While the shareholders have so far always reinvested their third of the profits into the company, this profit sharing represents a very interesting wage supplement especially for the currently 800 people working at the company’s subsidiaries in the Global South – one which in turn increases their purchasing power.

Back to overview

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The communicator

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A project of GIZ

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Priscilla Impraim and her chocolate business

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A contribution by Felix Chiyenda

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Where Goats Listen to the Radio

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Uprooting the Norm

A Contribution by GIZ

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By Pedro Morazán

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Interview with Stefan Liebing

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Developing countries hit doubly hard by coronavirus

A contribution by Gunter Beger (BMZ)

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A report by Stig Tanzmann

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Borderless food security

A contribution by Christine Wieck

Enabling smallholders to trade across regions and borders promotes food security and economic growth. Although everyone is calling for exactly that, implementation is still difficult

Actual Analysis: The locusts came with the crises

A report by Bettina Rudloff and Annette Weber (SWP)

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Successful Blueprints for African Agriculture

A Contribution by GIZ

At the 8th German-African Agribusiness Forum (GAAF) representatives from business and politics discussed successful investment models to improve living conditions in Africa.

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An Artikel by TMG

Based on a scientific study by TMG Think Tank, the authors highlight various challenges in the fight against the hunger crisis. The findings show that climate change, conflict and covid-19 are increasing food and energy prices.

2022, a year of crisis – What does it mean for African trade and food security?

A Contribution by Ousmane Badiane

The Africa Agriculture Trade Monitor 2022 (AATM) was published by IFPRI and AKADEMIYA2063. The report analyses the short- and long-term trends and drivers of African agricultural trade flows, including regional policies and the role of global markets.

COVID-19 and Rising Food Prices: What’s Really Happening?

A Contribution by IFPRI

Taking a look at the data (as of February 11th 2022) what the current price hike means for world hunger and what can be done to prevent from another food crisis.

Agricultural prices and food security – a complex relationship

A Contribution by Dr. Fatima Olanike Kareem and Dr. Olayinka Idowu Kareem

High agricultural prices affect developed and developing countries alike, but the problem is aggravated for the latter through the lack of or inadequate resilience measures. Dr. Fatima Olanike Kareem, AKADEMIYA2063, and Dr. Olayinka Idowu Kareem, University of Hohenheim, explain what can be done to mitigate the negative effects on food security.

Earth’s well, all’s well!

A Contribution by Fairtrade Germany

With the annual topic "Earth’s well, all’s well!", Fairtrade Germany is focusing on the concept of agroecology at all levels - and is thus taking the next step towards achieving greater global sustainability. At the Green Week trade fair, Fairtrade Germany will show how this can be achieved taking the cocoa supply chain as an example.

The Principle of Sharing

By gebana

By Carolin Schaar

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By Bettina Rühl

By Tilman Wörtz

Interview with Joachim von Braun

Interview with Lutz Hartmann

A contribution by Solomon King Benge

A contribution by Paul van Zwieten

A contribution by Friederieke Martin (GIZ)

A contribution by Dr. Franziska Humbert (Oxfam)

A contribution by Dr. Felix zu Löwenstein (BÖLW)

Video by Frank Schultze and Jan Rübel

By Jan Rübel

A contribution by Frank Brunner

A report by Johanna Steinkühler (GIZ)

A contribution by Lisa Hücking (WHH)

A contribution by Beatrice Gakuba (AWAN-AFRIKA)

A contribution by Dr. Jan Orbie (University Gent)

A contribution by Heino von Meyer

A contribution by GAFSP

A contribution by Michael Brüntrup (DIE)

A contribution by Maria Schmidt (GIZ)

A contribution by Bread for the World

A contribution by Jenny Walther-Thoß (WWF)

A contribution by Agnes Kalibata

An interview with Peter McFeely (WWF)

An Interview with Dirk Schattschneider (BMZ)

A Contribution by Journalist Jan Rübel

A Contribution by GIZ

A listicle against food waste

A Contribution by Jan Rübel

A listicle regarding spice production

A Contribution by Gerhard Langenberger

A Contribution by Saskia Widenhorn

An Artikel by the Initiative for Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains (INA)

A Story by GIZ

A Contribution of the 'Initiative for Sustainable Agricultural Supply Chains' (INA)

New insights on trade and value addition in the rice sector in West Africa

A Report

Discussion about the potential supply chain law

A contribution by Isabel Knößlsdorfer

A contribution by James Wanzala

A contribution by Jan Rübel

A Contribution by GIZ

A Contribution by Niladri Sekhar Bagchi

A Contribution by WWF

A Contribution by Initiative für nachhaltige Agrarlieferketten (INA)

An Interview with Ebun Feludu

A Contribution by Paul Kadjo

A Conversation with Allan Mubiru

A Conversation with Sally Roach

A Contribution by Wallace Gichunge

GIZ study; conducted by Geopoll

Interview with Reiner Klingholz

By Marcellin Boguy

A report by T. S. Jayne, A. Adelaja and R. Mkandawire

A video clip by Seedstars

A contribution by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

A contribution by Heike Baumüller, Christine Husmann, Julia Machovsky-Smid, Oliver Kirui, Justice Tambo

A contribution by Tanja Reith

Interview with Gnininkaboka Dabiré and Innocent Somé

Interview with Karina Mroß (DIE)

A contribution by Jan Rübel

A contribution by Jan Rübel

A contribution by Helmut Asche

Five Questions for Anke Oppermann

A contribution by Jan Rübel

An Interview by Claudia Jordan

A Contribution by Leonie March

A contribution by Felix Chiyenda