UK ‘missing in action’ as Iran war hits farmers around the world

UK ‘missing in action’ as Iran war hits farmers around the world Millions of smallholder farmers supplying the UK are being squeezed by climate change and the Iran war — while the government is over two months overdue on announcing supply chain oversight rules that would help them - Bookmark - CommentsGo to comments The government has been accused of being “missing in action” after failing to meet a deadline at which it was expected to announce plans to introduce new supply chain rules that could transform the UK’s environmental and human rights footprint on the world - and also help to support smallholder farmers as they grapple with the knock-on effects of the Iran War. As part of the UK’s Trade Strategy, which was announced last year, the government launched a review into responsible business conduct policy, with a focus on the global supply chains of businesses operating in the UK. It was expected that the outcome of this review would be announced at the end of March. Campaigners have been pushing for a “mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence (HREDD) law” to be introduced, which would see companies compelled to measure and address problems in their supply chain related to human rights and the environment. Recent years have shown just how vulnerable our supply chains can be, with events such as the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as the escalating climate crisis all causing disruptions to food and energy prices. Weak oversight of supply chains also poses significant risks for the people in developing countries that supply UK businesses, with human rights concerns like forced labour or child labour, as well as environmental risks like land degradation and extreme weather patterns hitting farmers around the world. The government has, however, failed to announce its response to the sustainable business review, and it remains to be seen whether the UK will introduce legislation that could finally ensure that the millions of small-scale producers around the world that supply the UK get a fair deal. “Having promised they would share their views on it in March, the Government currently seems to be missing in action when it comes to pushing through this vital piece of legislation,” Sophia Ostler, senior policy manager at the Fairtrade Foundation told The Independent. “We think it is crucial that a Labour government pushes this, because a future government might take the opposite approach and just think: No more regulation and just cut everything,” she added. Martin Rhodes, the Labour MP for Glasgow North, has previously told The Independent that reforming supply chain laws will be critical if the UK still wants to continue having a positive impact on global development in the wake of aid cuts. "With the reductions in official development assistance by the UK and globally, and the ongoing climate emergency, we should be viewing ethical trade including through mandatory HREDD as a cost-effective way to put our principles into practice,” he said. Fairtrade’s Ostler added that the impacts of the War in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz - which has sent energy and fertiliser costs soaring around the world - means that the need for such legislation is more urgent than ever. “Farmers growing everyday essentials like bananas, sugar and cocoa are already being hit by soaring input costs, conflict-driven trade disruptions and escalating climate shocks,” she said. “While we wait for stronger regulation, many businesses continue to put pressure downwards onto producers,” she continued. “A law like this would prevent businesses from resorting to those practices.” Impacts of the Iran War that have been tracked by Fairtrade include a £50 bag of fertiliser in Kenya - the UK’s top supplier of tea - increasing from 3500 Kenyan Shillings (£20) to 6500 (£37). The cost to freight flowers from East Africa has tripled from $0.40 to $1.20 per kilo, while one cooperative in Côte D’Ivoire has said that more than 70 per cent of its members currently cannot access the inputs they need (such as fertiliser) for the coming season. In response to the suggestion that the UK should be moving faster on new supply chain regulations, a Department for Business and Trade spokesperson said: "This Government is committed to rooting out forced labour, human rights abuses, exploitative environmental practices, bribery and corruption. That's why the UK launched the Responsible Business Conduct review. "The review is progressing at pace, and Ministers will update Parliament when it is complete." Silvia Herrera, a small-scale coffee farmer from Mexico, understands first-hand how events like the War in Iran and the climate crisis are squeezing farmers hard. She met The Independent last week in London, after giving evidence to the International Development Select Committee on the effectiveness of UK climate aid programmes. “Our cost of transport is up 50 per cent since the War began - and if you imagine how we have to move our coffee from our farm to the warehouse, and then from our warehouse to the [neighbouring state of] Veracruz, you can see how this is such a big cost,” she said. Ms Herrera further described how over the past ten years the climate crisis has begun to play havoc with the weather that she and other coffee farmers in her cooperative depend on. The most significant impact for all producers has been the fact that the rain patterns have changed, and producers are struggling to know when to plant crops and when to hire hands to help harvest. “We are not currently covering the cost of production, and we are paying to produce coffee” she said. Last year, half of her harvest was lost because it did not rain enough and the coffee beans did not ripen at the correct time, so they were not ready at the time of harvest. “We have also seen more fires come in recent years, which have threatened many of the farmers,” she added. “At other times, there have been landslides after heavy rain which have destroyed parts of farms and cut off roads, leaving some of our producers trapped without any communication.” Campaigners say that a new law around HREDD in supply chains could make a huge difference to producers such as herself. “It would help level the playing field for all businesses, so that businesses that currently give workers a fair deal are competing with others who are not,” said Fairtrade’s Ostler. “It could mean that a living wage for farmers is the norm rather than an exception.” Coffee is also a commodity that climate change has in recent years significantly inflated prices, according to analysts, with UK Consumer Price Inflation (CPI) of coffee in the UK increasing after unusually hot and dry weather hit production of Arabica beans from Brazil and Robusta beans from Vietnam through 2023 and 2024. More effective supply change due diligence could help ensure that climate risks can be more effectively hedged against, meaning that the price of UK consumer products like coffee would swing less violently, according to campaigners. While giving evidence to the International Development Select Committee, Ms Herrera further described how it is currently extremely difficult to access the ‘climate finance’ that wealthy countries such as the UK are required to provide to developing countries under the terms of the Paris Agreement, which could help farmers like herself better adapt to the climate crisis. “It is hard for anyone in our countries to reach that financing, but it is even harder for women, young people and indigenous people, because of these land rights,” she told MPs. “It is harder for us to have those documents or even the safe room to participate and bring our thoughts.That is why it is important to integrate [us] at the designing moment, not just at the end of it.” Ms Herrera told The Independent that some funds to help farmers adapt to climate change have been made available from the German government for coffee producers in her region, which has helped some farmers invest in new tools, and diversify some of the land towards other crops. But it is hard to apply for and not enough to cope with the scale of the problem, she said, and the biggest support that she herself currently receive in efforts to address the climate crisis comes from the Premium that they receive as accredited Fairtrade producers. Earlier this year, the UK announced that it would cut its overall provision of climate finance from the aid budget, but development minister Jenny Chapman has subsequently told The Independent that the UK still plans to increase its climate finance provision year-on-year by leveraging more private capital. This article has been produced as part of The Independent’s Rethinking Global Aid project Join our commenting forum Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies Comments