One of the key aspects of Fair Trade certification and development, is the focus on social upliftment and economic development of farm workers and smallholder farmers made possible through the use of a social premium. This premium is managed by an elected Fair Trade Premium Committee. SKA has developed training material on a range of topics that can be used to tailor make training programmes to capacitate and enable Fair Trade Premium Committees to make a meaningful and sustainable contribution to the improvement of social and economic circumstances on the farms where they work and in the communities where they live.

As a preferred service provider to the Fresh Produce Exporters Forum, SKA has on several occasions facilitated the SETA-accredited Top of the Class (TOC) programme.

In 2012 SKA developed along with the FPEF, Fruit South Africa and International Produce Limited, the Leadership and Mentorship training programme. This programme is today housed by the FPEF and is aimed at changing the leadership profile on South African fruit farms, in pack houses and exporting companies.

In 2012, South African Breweries (SAB) in collaboration with the WWF-South Africa started the “Better Barley, Better Beer” initiative focussed on assisting barley farmers in farming more sustainably.

In 2010, UTZ Certified identified the need to develop a Standard for the certification of Rooibos tea adapted for the unique nature of the product and the local context. SKA was responsible for the management and implementation of this process from inception until the final delivery of an auditable standard.

SKA implemented a Fisheries Improvement Project in collaboration with WWF-SA. This project involved the value chain analysis and benchmarking of small scale fishery practises against the Fairtrade International Small Producer Organization and Trade Standards and the Marine Stewardship Council Standards to determine development needs for more sustainable practises and entering formal supply chains.

SKA worked in collaboration with national and international partners to develop over a period of three years a sustainable avocado supply chain between farmers in the Limpopo Province of South Africa and a prominent Dutch retailer.

Rural Horizons is an online platform that was developed by Solidaridad to enable smallholder farmers to assess their farming practice against 4 pillars of sustainability including production, environmental, social and business.

UTZ Certified is a well-established international business-to-business certification scheme that was initially involved in certifying and sourcing from Rooibos tea producers in South Africa.

This project was done in collaboration with the Centre for Fair and Alternative Trade (CFAT) and the Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) and focussed on the capacity building of emerging farmers in the Rooibos Industry to enable sustained development and market access.