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Name:

Small Organic Farmers Association

Business Name:

Small Organic Farmers Association

Location:

7.662677911745827, 80.61767578125

Country:

Sri Lanka

Region:

Southern Asia

Website:

http://www.sofasl.org/

Do you have experience exporting directly?

Yes

Describe yourself in 140 characters or less:

Established in 1997, SOFA is an umbrella organization consisting of 46 branch societies in Sri Lanka. The group has more than 2,000 farmers.

Bio:

Established in 1997, SOFA is an umbrella organization consisting of 46 branch societies distributed in different districts in Sri Lanka. Mr. Bernard Ranaweera is the overall President of this 100% independent farmer organization of branch societies with a total of more than 2000 small organic farmers. Previously operated as a monoculture plantation, SOFA and Bio Foods have transitioned to certified organic farming, focusing on organic compost, manual weeding, and companion planting to reduce pests. Older, less productive plants have also been replaced to improve harvest yields.

Through a series of land reforms in the mid-1970’s, abandoned tea plantations were divided by the Sri Lankan government and sold to some of the tea labourers. Low tea prices and isolation left these farmers vulnerable to exploitive middlemen. SOFA was born from a vision of Bio Foods founder, Dr Sarath Ranaweera. Bio Foods processes and exports the agricultural products that SOFA farmers produce.

Managed entirely by elected farmer members, SOFA has become a sustainable model of Fair Trade in Sri Lanka. The equivalent of over $50,000 (Cdn) is received annually in Fair Trade premiums directed to initiatives that improve the standard of living for these farmers and the surrounding

**All images from Creative Commons. Specific Authors: David Bote Estrada, Kristina D.C Hoeppner, Romain Guy.

Number of employees:

11-50

Size of business (annual sales in US$)

US$50, 001-US$250, 000

What is your primary language?

Fiji

Type (select all that apply)

Wholesaler, distributor or broker

Export to

United States,

Business - First/Last Name

SOFA Sri Lanka

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