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The present study employed a choice experiment to forecast the adoption of private GLOBALG.A.P. standards among Thai horticultural producers. It is based on primary data from 400 orchid and mango producers from the major production areas in Thailand. Mixed logit model estimations show that producers with higher levels of education and awareness about environmental and social requirements are more likely to adopt GLOBALG.A.P. standards. Prior experience in high-value market channels and with public Good Agricultural Practice standards are also crucial factors that motivate producers to adopt GLOBALG.A.P. standards. However, certification costs and time needed for record keeping and training are major adoption barriers. Against this background, we propose more education and stakeholder workshops to increase the likelihood of adoption among Thai horticultural producers. The formation of regular discussion groups would allow fruitful interaction among producers and with advisors, eventually providing vital links between implementation of standards and day-to-day farm practices.

To reduce potential food hazards and increase the image of Thai horticultural products abroad, the Thai government introduced public standards of Good Agricultural Practices (Q-GAP). What makes orchid and mango producers in Thailand adopt Q-GAP standards and how do these affect their income and export shares? Primary data from 400 certified and non-certified orchid and mango producers was collected from main exporting provinces in Thailand. The binary probit model estimations show that it is the orchid and mango producers with higher education, and more physical and social capital who tend to comply with Q-GAP standards. Results from the Propensity Score Matching approach reveal that adoption of public GAP standards results in positive income effects for mango producers, but not for orchid producers. This can be explained by the fact that certified mango producers can sell their products to high-value retail chains which offer higher prices for their products, while certified and non-certified orchid producers cooperate with traders from the same value chain.

There has been an ongoing interest in how important forests are for employment and what measures need to be taken to reduce decent work deficits. This study aims to contribute to the existing debate on the extent of informal and subsistence employment globally, with a particular focus on the forestry and logging sub-sector. Estimates on employment numbers not captured in the official statistics are aggregated with the recent official reported data to demonstrate a partial overview of global forest-based employment. The previous estimation method is extended by incorporating clustering techniques in response to the paucity of available labour productivity rates. Related employment and production data compiled by FAO are used as a basis of analyses. Main findings reveal that at least two-thirds of the entire forestry and logging-based employment is informal or subsistence. Estimates are highly concentrated in developing countries where decent forestry work need to be strengthened most. Aggregating official employment statistics and our additional estimates, the global forest-related workforce amounts to at least 64 million persons FTE in 2015. The study can be considered a step towards a more profound assessment approach in estimating informal and subsistence employment in the global forest sector based on the officially reported statistics. Disaggregated data based on employment status and gender is essential for improving the indirect estimation of the forest sector’s informal economy and thus requires more attention by policymakers in the near future.

Editorial on the Research Topic Sustainable certification standards: Environmental and social impacts Sustainable agricultural practices are required to conserve ecosystems without harming the physical environment such as soil, water, and human health, and to maintain and increase farm productivity. There is ample evidence of overuse of fertilizer and pesticides in agriculture to achieve higher income, with negative consequences for soil (soil desertification), ecosystem (methane emission), and human health (Geiger et al., 2010;Wang et al., 2021). Third-party voluntary certification standards such as Organic, Fairtrade, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), and Rainforest Alliance are often advocated as solutions to enhance sustainability in agriculture worldwide. These certification standards embody specific practices that when followed properly would lead to less methane emission, soil improvement, yield enhancement, and fair social outcomes. These standards are market-based instruments to create economic benefits for stakeholders involved in the value chain and to improve sustainability practices in the agricultural sector.Major meta-analyses of socio-economic impacts of agricultural certification