Master thesis submitted to obtain the degree of Master of Cultures and Development Studies by Katrien Vandevelde.
The author worked in the selected project during a period of 1 year in 2010 - 2011, based in Savalou, Benin, and worked in close contact with the farmer organisations involved in the Fairtrade pilot project on rice, both at village level and at the level of the community .
The autor: " The case study on rice in Benin, supported by the NGO VECO in collaboration with the Belgian retailer Colruyt, is particularly interesting to take a look at in this context, as it is a project where Fairtrade is used not per se for the Fairtrade export itself to continue on very longterm, but in which Fairtrade became a tool or an opportunity to reach goals for local development. These goals are improving farmers' revenue by strengthening the position of farmer organizations in the local rice market. In other words, by building up their capacity to pursue national and regional market opportunities."
