(Ettelbruck, 2 July 2021) “And the winner is...” Once again, the audience is eagerly awaiting the announcement of the winners of this year’s Golden Faironika at the International Fair Milk Conference, organised by the European Milk Board (EMB) and the Fair Milk countries. But long before the winners were announced at this year’s event in Ettelbruck, Luxembourg, the dairy sector and its farmers had already proven themselves worthy of this honour. The efforts of the people honoured with the Golden Faironika have helped dairy farmers make notable progress in the fight for fair conditions in the dairy sector in recent years:
The tireless commitment of Guy Francq, co-founder of the Belgian Fair Milk project, contributed significantly to the successful growth of Fairebel.
With milk production cost calculations for Denmark, France, Lithuania, Germany, Ireland and other countries, Dr. Karin Jürgens has put a precise number on what actually constitutes fair prices. These clear figures have permitted farmers to present well-formulated demands for many years now. Thanks to the studies by Dr. Jürgens, it is now evident to both policy-makers and consumers what milk needs to cost in order to compensate the effort that goes into producing it.
The organisers of this year’s Fair Milk Conference, the Luxembourgish Fairkoperativ celebrated the 10-year anniversary of its brand D’fair Mëllech, exemplary successes in fairness as well as key supporters: In this spirit, the Golden Faironika was awarded to André Laugs. During the Coronavirus crisis, this dairy farmer campaigned for those who were struggling with even worse income situations than farmers. Danielle Warmerdam-Frantz, President of Fairkoperativ, congratulated him for being an exceptional campaigner as “his energy and commitment know no bounds and he continues to tirelessly fight to expand the idea of Fair Milk still further.”
The Luxlait dairy was also one of the winners as it showed breadth of vision 10 years ago when it decided to work together with farmers on a unique initiative, and was not risk-averse when it came to being a strong partner that sides with farmers. Convis, a breeding and consulting organisation in Luxembourg, was also awarded a Faironika from dairy farmers as a kind of gilded thanks. This organisation advocates for farmers and advises them on issues like feed rationing, digital registration, carbon footprint as well as innovative, environmentally-friendly production methods.
The Maison Relais de la commune de Sanem is another important partner that was honoured with a Golden Faironika. Sanem in Luxembourg was one of the first municipality to recognise the importance of fair prices for producers and provided its schools with the necessary resources to permit the administration of the Maison Relais, together with its chef, to buy fair and local milk products.
The hard work that all farmers put in, day in and day out, to ensure food security for everyone was and continues to be a massive advantage for Europe as a whole. Without this strong commitment, it would have been impossible for our societies, especially during the last year and through the months of the pandemic, to count on such reliable and safe food supplies. For this reason, the EMB would like to award the Golden Faironika to all European farmers. It is impossible to overstate their significance for society.
During the conference, the European Fair Milk farmers also conveyed their warmest regards to their colleagues in Africa. With projects like Fairefaso in Burkina Faso and Fairemali in Mali, they have taken an important step in laying the foundation for Fair Milk on this neighbouring continent for African producers.
For EMB President Sieta van Keimpema, the International Fair Milk Conference is a very special event: “The Fair Milk projects in Africa and Europe are made possible thanks to the unbelievable commitment of some very important people. They prove on a daily basis that fair prices for producers are absolutely possible. The Fair Milk Conference celebrates this commitment and these success stories. And it reminds the policy-makers and dairy-industry stakeholders who continue to support scandalous milk prices through their political and business strategies that ending the exploitation of farmers worldwide is their responsibility
Photos of Fair Milk Conference
Contacts:
EMB President Sieta van Keimpema (EN, DE, NL): +31 (0)6 12 16 80 00
EMB Management Silvia Däberitz (EN, FR, DE): +32 (0)2 808 1936
EMB Press Office Vanessa Langer (EN, FR, DE): +32 (0)2 808 1935
