Local alternatives to private agricultural certification in Ecuador: Broadening access to ‘new markets’?

Clark, Patrick; Martínez, Luciano

doi:10.1016/j.jrurstud.2016.01.014

Cited by 35 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…According to the authors included in this review, organic agriculture has indeed lost his distinction of "alternativeness" in switching from its original social and economic ideals linked to fairness and environmental protection, towards a focus on production standards [58,87,88,90]. In the same logic, organic certification is seen as financially out of reach for many smallholders [85]. Alternative certification strategies such as Participatory Guarantee Systems play an important role as a community development instruments in other parts of the world [86] and are identified as a crucial factor in the development and increasing participation in many AFNs in Europe [39].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies have explored the role of local and or public initiatives in supporting small-scale producers to access new markets. The need of such initiatives is based on the fact that private third-party certifications (TPCs) are considered to be too expensive for such farmers [85]. Zanasi et al [86] find in the Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) an outstanding community development instrument.…”

Section: Fair and Organicmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Multi-Actor Literature Review on Alternative and Sustainable Food Systems for the Promotion of Cereal Biodiversity

et al. 2018

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Organic and low-input food systems are emerging worldwide in answer to the sustainability crisis of the conventional agri-food sector. “Alternative” systems are based on local, decentralized approaches to production and processing, regarding quality and health, and short supply-chains for products with strong local identities. Diversity is deeply embedded in these food systems, from the agrobiodiversity grown in farmers’ fields, which improves resilience and adaptation, to diverse approaches, contexts and actors in food manufacturing and marketing. Diversity thus becomes a cross-sectoral issue which acknowledges consumers’ demand for healthy products. In the framework of the European project “CERERE, CEreal REnaissance in Rural Europe: embedding diversity in organic and low-input food systems”, the paper aims at reviewing recent research on alternative and sustainable food systems by adopting an innovative and participatory multi-actor approach; this has involved ten practitioners and twenty-two researchers from across Europe and a variety of technical backgrounds in the paper and analysis stages. The participatory approach is the main innovation and distinctive feature of this literature review. Partners selected indeed what they perceived as most relevant in order to facilitate a transition towards more sustainable and diversity based cereal systems and food chains. This includes issues related to alternative food networks, formal and informal institutional settings, grass root initiatives, consumer involvement and, finally, knowledge exchange and sustainability. The review provides an overview of recent research that is relevant to CERERE partners as well as to anyone interested in alternative and sustainable food systems. The main objective of this paper was indeed to present a narrative of studies, which can form the foundation for future applied research to promote alternative methods of cereal production in Europe.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Fair and Organicmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Multi-Actor Literature Review on Alternative and Sustainable Food Systems for the Promotion of Cereal Biodiversity

et al. 2018

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“…Governments in producing countries sometimes use NGO-led certification systems as models to create systems of traceability and certification to improve market access for their producers. Several provincial governments in Ecuador have created alternative models of local agricultural certification based on a multistakeholder governance and independent auditing (97). These systems include a certification of small-scale producers in sustainable agriculture, a certification of geographical origin, and the unification of local producers' initiatives for organic production (97).…”

Section: Nongovernmental Organization-led Certification Influencing Public Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several provincial governments in Ecuador have created alternative models of local agricultural certification based on a multistakeholder governance and independent auditing (97). These systems include a certification of small-scale producers in sustainable agriculture, a certification of geographical origin, and the unification of local producers' initiatives for organic production (97). These public initiatives represent alternatives to NGO-led certification.…”

Section: Nongovernmental Organization-led Certification Influencing Public Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainability Standards: Interactions Between Private Actors, Civil Society, and Governments

Lambin

Thorlakson

2018

Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour.

167

119

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New partnerships between governments, private companies, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) are reshaping global environmental governance. In particular, there has been a rise of voluntary sustainability standards in an attempt to manage social and environmental impacts of global supply chains. We analyze the large spectrum of interactions between private, public, and civil society actors around voluntary sustainability standards, primarily for tropical agriculture and forestry. This review uncovers a policy ecosystem dominated by a proliferation of standards that complement, substitute, or compete against each other, with coordination mechanisms beginning to arise. Contrary to widely held views, interactions between governments, NGOs, and private companies surrounding the adoption of sustainable practices are not generally antagonistic, and public and private environmental governance regimes rarely operate independently. The influence of these interactions on the effectiveness of sustainability standards needs more attention. Better understanding how private regulations interact with the policy ecosystem will help design more effective interventions.

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“…Here, we explore whether private food standards could possibly serve to mitigate negative effects of agricultural commercialization on gender equality. Private food standards -such as Fairtradeare gaining in importance in global food chains that involve smallholder farmers in developing countries (Clark and Martínez, 2016;Lee et al, 2012;Maertens and Swinnen, 2009). These standards cover a wide range of issues, such as food safety, human welfare, labor conditions, and environmental stewardship.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can private food standards promote gender equality in the small farm sector?

Meemken

Qaim

2018

Journal of Rural Studies

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Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. Terms of use: Documents in AbstractAgricultural commercialization can help to lift subsistence farmers out of poverty, but can also have adverse effects on gender equality. We explore whether private food standards -with their particular elements to regulate production and trade -could serve as a vehicle to promote gender equality in the small farm sector. We use gender-disaggregated data from coffee producers in Uganda and focus on two sustainability standards that explicitly address gender issues, namely Fairtrade and UTZ. Entropy balancing techniques, combined with estimates of farmers' willingness to accept standards, are used to control for possible selection bias when comparing certified and non-certified households. We find that standards and their certification programs increase wealth in male-headed and female-headed households. In male-headed households, standards also change the intra-household distribution of asset ownership: while in non-certified households, assets are predominantly owned by the male household head alone, in certified households most assets are jointly owned by the male head and his female spouse. Standards also improve access to agricultural extension for both male and female farmers. Effects on women's access to financial services are statistically insignificant. Private standards cannot completely eliminate gender disparities, but the findings suggest that they can contribute towards this goal.

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Local alternatives to private agricultural certification in Ecuador: Broadening access to ‘new markets’?

Cited by 35 publications

References 39 publications

A Multi-Actor Literature Review on Alternative and Sustainable Food Systems for the Promotion of Cereal Biodiversity

A Multi-Actor Literature Review on Alternative and Sustainable Food Systems for the Promotion of Cereal Biodiversity

Sustainability Standards: Interactions Between Private Actors, Civil Society, and Governments

Can private food standards promote gender equality in the small farm sector?

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