A group of 14-15 year olds who visited Ghana in October to witness African farming conditions first hand are pledging to make their home town, Witney, Oxfordshire, a Fairtrade town.

They are among 16,00 people who have signed a petition asking the town council to sign up to the promotion of products from developing countries.

The group of 10 teens from Witney’s Base 33 youth centre visited pineapple farmers who depend on Fairtrade links to get a sustainable price for their crop, some of which is sold in Witney’s Waitrose store.

Jude Levermore, Base 33 leader, said: “We asked the pineapple growers what difference Fairtrade makes. They said if they didn’t have Fairtrade, they would die. We saw the difference it makes to some of the poorest people.”

Two of the teenagers, Caprice Barber and Staci Beevor, told Witney council’s policy and finance committee of their experiences at a special presentation. The full council will decide on the issue on Wednesday.

Tory leader and Witney MP David Cameron is also backing the petition.

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