Right to work and fair pay
The right to work is closely associated with up-to-date and sustainable development co-operation. The trading of goods with producers in the countries of the South is not only about fair prices and long-term purchasing commitments.
In its resolution dated 17 December 2018, the United Nations clearly states that smallholders must be given the opportunity to form producers’ associations. Further training and collective bargaining are the only ways for farmers to defend their interests and to make use of participation effectively.
The objective is to avoid dependencies and to give human beings the freedom to shape their lives in a sustainable manner, free from financial distress, with self-determination and on their own responsibility, enabling their children to have a good future.
This is one of the objectives the bioRe Foundation has been working towards for 25 years. While progress has been achieved, external drivers regularly create new challenges for us. It has always been our ambition to co-operate with our partners on an equal footing, and to plan and implement our social and agricultural sponsorship projects together with the people in India and Tanzania.
I am resigning as the Chairman of the Foundation at the end of the 21/22 financial year.
After 19 years of service on the bioRe Board of Trustees and 10 years in its chair, I look back on an eventful and very valuable period of time.
I would like to thank Patrick Hohmann for his work as a pioneer, and Coop and Remei both of which have taken on a large amount of responsibility over 25 years. A big thank-you goes to all those who have supported and will continue to support the Foundation as donors, partners, employees, or trustees.
The bioRe Foundation builds on a solid foundation. I wish it all the best in continuing to fulfil its purpose to enable the smallholder families to lead sustainable lives in self-determination and dignity.
Yours truly, Jürg Peritz
Chairman of the bioRe Foundation