Fresh Markets Australia (FMA) has endorsed Fair Farms, a workplace training and certification programme developed by Queensland horticulture body Growcom in association with industry members.
The move will extend the reach of the Fair Farms platform to Australian wholesalers, with FMA representing the market chambers at Australia’s five central markets (Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth).
“FMA represents over 430 market wholesaling businesses operating in Australia’s central fresh produce markets, and having their support is a great step for ethical practices across the supply chain,” said Fair Farms programme manager Marsha Aralar. “This is a clear signal that the horticulture industry is standing firmly behind Fair Farms.
“Fair Farms is about creating an industry standard for ethical employment practices which all horticulture businesses can subscribe to.
“We are excited about the commitment from FMA and look forward to the collaboration.”
FMA general manager, Gail Woods, said the organisation was very pleased to support Fair Farms and work with Growcom on the national expansion of the programme.
“Our industry must take responsibility for ensuring that Australian workplace relations laws and industry standards are correctly implemented on farm,” Woods said.
“As an industry-led initiative, Fair Farms allows each player in the supply chain to take ownership of their employment practices and access appropriate training and certification to demonstrate compliance to customers and the wider industry.”
Fair Farms training and certification program has been offered to growers since launching in June 2019.
