Waitrose steps up support for banana-growing communities

L-R: Nathan Ansell (Waitrose chief customer officer), Anthony Blay (director of Volta River Estates Ltd), Edward Akapire (head of region West Africa Network Fairtrade Africa) and Marija Rompani (Waitrose director of ethics and sustainability).

Waitrose has announced a major expansion of its ethical sourcing programme, pledging additional support for the communities behind its bestselling product – the banana.

For the first time, all Waitrose bananas will join the Waitrose Foundation, ensuring every banana sold will generate extra funding for farming communities in Africa and South America.

Under the new partnership, more than 2p of every £1 spent on bananas will go directly to producer communities on top of existing Fairtrade payments. Funding will support locally chosen projects including climate change adaptation, food and water security initiatives, and soil fertility improvements, with decisions made by individual worker committees.

Helping improve lives

“We’re proud to announce this new partnership with Fairtrade, which coincides with the recent celebration of our Waitrose Foundation’s 20th anniversary and over £25 million generated to date,” says Charlotte Di Cello, Waitrose chief commercial officer and chair of Waitrose Foundation global board. “This partnership will continue our strong relationship with Fairtrade, helping support our global farms and their communities. Feel good about eating a Waitrose banana, as not only is it one of your 30 plant varieties a week, it also tangibly helps improve the lives of people too.”

Kerrina Thorogood, partnerships director at the Fairtrade Foundation, comments: “At Fairtrade, we are proud of our longstanding partnership with Waitrose and are pleased to strengthen this further via the Waitrose Foundation and our shared commitment to banana farmers and workers. Growing the world’s most popular fruit, banana farmers and workers play a vital role in ensuring food security and wellbeing for millions of families worldwide. Yet they face mounting challenges – from rising production costs and climate change to pests, diseases, biodiversity loss, and inadequate infrastructure – all of which threaten their livelihoods. As part of our new partnership, Waitrose Foundation’s investment in the Sustainable Banana Programme will help to further strengthen the resilience and long-term viability of smallholder banana farmers and plantation workers.”

Waitrose says it has strengthened its commitment to 100% Fairtrade-certified bananas by paying the living wage differential across all its banana plantations, achieving its 2027 industry pledge two years early. The existing commitment to Fairtrade certified bananas ensures a Minimum Price and additional Fairtrade Premium goes to the producer groups. The additional activity, supported by Waitrose Foundation, will focus on four areas: improving the sustainable production of bananas; building the climate resilience of smallholder farmers; improving farm biodiversity to enhance soil health and yields; and supporting smallholders with data management and market access.

By Jane Wolfe, contributor