Buy two items fairtrade items a week to help rackle poverty in Africa and India supporters told

Shoppers were called on to help tackle poverty in developing countries by popping two fair-trade items into their basket each week.

Brent Fairtrade Network and Brent Council put out the message at an anti-poverty convention at Brent Town Hall as part of Fairtrade Fortnight.

More than 100 people gathered at the event to hear how cotton farmers in West Africa and India are being helped out of poverty through trade rather than aid.

However a �700million a year EU subsidy to European farmers was devastating Africans’ access to its markets, Ed Butcher of FF said.

Peter Moore, chair of BFN, said: “It went really well. We want to raise a greater awareness of the issue. Kids tend to pick up the idea very readily so we hope they take it home to their parents.”