The rise of private food standards has brought forth an ongoing debate about whether they work as a barrier for smallholders and hinder poverty reduction in developing countries. This paper uses a global value chain approach to explain the relationship between value chain structure and agrifood safety and quality standards and to discuss the challenges and possibilities this entails for the upgrading of smallholders. It maps four potential value chain scenarios depending on the degree of concentration in the markets for agrifood supply (farmers and manufacturers) and demand (supermarkets and other food retailers) and discusses the impact of lead firms and key intermediaries on smallholders in different chain situations. Each scenario is illustrated with case examples. Theoretical and policy issues are discussed, along with proposals for future research in terms of industry structure, private governance, and sustainable value chains.food safety | agrifood supply chain | value chain governance T he proliferation of food standards, particularly private safety and quality standards, has brought forth an ongoing debate about whether they work as a barrier for smallholders in developing countries and hinder poverty reduction through agrifood exports (1, 2). Although evidence is mixed (3, 4), the existing literature generally suffers from its exclusive focus on the relationship between private standards and smallholders with little consideration of industry structure, which may affect both of them. This paper uses a global value chain (GVC) approach to bring industrial structure back in the discussion of food standards and smallholders. It proposes a framework to investigate how value chain structure affects small-scale producers through the food standards imposed on them. Different value chain structures generate a welter of food standards and potentially divergent outcomes in the well-being of smallholders. Specifically, the type of lead firm and the degree of market concentration in a given chain differentiate the chain actor's incentives and capacity for adopting and implementing enhanced standards. Value chain structure and food standards shape the conditions of smallholders involved in the chain, offering them different options as they face growing burdens in complying with higher requirements. Based on the proposed framework, four scenarios are mapped for smallholders in diverse chain governance situations, and each of them is illustrated with case examples. Theoretical and policy issues emerging from the cases are evaluated, along with proposals for future research. Smallholders, Food Standards, and GVCsThe GVC analysis of agrifood chains and their governance structure provides a conceptual framework to capture the diverse conditions of small-scale producers in the contemporary agrifood industry. It specifies the role and position of smallholders within the intersection of global and local agrifood value chains by mapping the geographic dispersion and organizational integration of these chains. It also highligh...

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