Fair Trade And Organic Agriculture

The markets for organic and fair trade certified commodities are growing rapidly, with environmentally sound and more equitable certification systems likely to offer benefits for both small-scale farmers and society at large. Despite much debate about their contribution to sustainability, there has been little scientific analysis, so it is vital to assess if it is technically and economically feasible to meet growing consumer demands regarding food safety, quality and ethics through smallholder and marginal producers. Overall, there is a need to explore the potential of these certification systems as emerging areas in research and development cooperation. This book is an important read for researchers and students in agricultural and development economics, and it is also a useful resource for policy makers and practitioners involved in organic and fair trade agriculture.

In addition to constituting an evolving area of inquiry within the social sciences, agricultural certification, and particularly its Fair Trade and organic components, has emerged as a significant tool for promoting rural development in the global South. This book is unique for two reasons. First, in contrast to existing studies that have tended to examine Fair Trade and organic certification as independent systems, the studies presented in this book reveal their joint application within actual production settings, demonstrating the greater complexity entailed in these double certification systems through the generation of contradictions and tensions compared with single certification systems. Second, the authors, who are both Asian, reveal the realities of applying Fair Trade and organic certification systems within Asian agriculture. In doing so, they challenge the fact that most Fair Trade studies have been undertaken by Western scholars who have tended to focus on Latin American and African producers. Drawing on a wealth of grounded case studies conducted in India, Thailand, and the Philippines, this pioneering study on double certification makes a significant contribution to studies on Fair Trade and organic agriculture beyond Asia.

This publication is a summary of the presentations and discussions that took place during the meeting on "Voluntary Standards and Certification for Responsible Agricultural Production and Trade" organized by FAO in April 2004. It presents the situation of the main import markets for certified products and the evolution of demand. Case studies aimed at comparing sustainable farming methods with conventional methods are presented. These comparisons focus on production cost, yield, price premium and net profit. The difficulties with which the producers are confronted are analysed and possible solutions to overcome them are explored. The publication also discusses the roles of nongovernmental organizations, private stakeholders and other institutions involved in sustainable agriculture and explores ossibilities for greater collaboration among them.

The markets for organic and fair trade food are growing rapidly. Although there are some important differences, both seek to address the consumer desire for “better” food: fair trade because it offers economically disadvantaged producers a better financial return; organic because it is perceived to be a more sustainable system delivering better-tasting, healthier and safer food than that produced by non-organic methods. The Handbook of Organic and Fair Trade Food Marketing provides a practical guide to successful marketing in these two dynamic sectors, underpinned by case-histories and lessons from companies that have been successful in these areas, including Green & Black's, Yeo Valley and Duchy Originals. It includes a review of the international markets for organic and fair trade food and drink; an analysis of organic and fair trade consumers; a review of successful retailing practice and a section on organic and fair trade divergence and convergence. Chapters are also included on perspectives from the USA, Germany and Italy. The book is written by industry experts, augmented by academic contributions where appropriate, offering for the first time the practical marketing advice required by companies in this sector.

Modern agriculture and food systems, including organic agriculture, are undergoing a technological and structural modernisation and are faced with a growing globalisation. Organic agriculture (OA) can be seen as pioneering efforts to create sustainable development based on other principles than mainstream agriculture. There are however large differences between the challenges connected to, on one hand, modern farming and consumption in high-income countries and, on the other, smallholder farmers and resource poor consumers in low-income countries. The point of departure is the increasing globalisation and the production and trade of food and fodder and how this influences the role of OA. This book provides an overview of the potential role and challenges of organic agriculture in this global perspective, as seen from different perspectives such as sustainability, food security and fair trade.

Twenty years ago, Fair Trade started as an effort to enable smallholder producers from developing countries to successfully compete in international markets. Better access to market outlets and stable prices are considered key principles for sustainable poverty reduction and stakeholder participation based on 'trade, not aid'. While Fair Trade is primarily conceived as a trading partnership - based on dialogue, transparency and mutual respect - seeking greater equity in international trade, it relies on an organized social movement promoting standards for production practices and delivery procedures, working conditions and labour remuneration, environmental care and social policies in supply chains of certified tropical goods. Over the past two decades, sales of Fair Trade products have considerably increased. After the first shipments of coffee, the range of products has gradually broadened to include fruit (particularly bananas, pineapple and citrus), tea, cocoa, textiles, cosmetics and a whole series of other products. Global Fair Trade sales have steadily grown to approximately EUR 1.6 billion worldwide, covering almost 600 producer organizations in more than 55 developing countries that represent close to a million families of farmers and workers. In recent years, efforts have been made towards mainstreaming of Fair Trade involving large international companies and retail chains. While numerous case studies and descriptive overviews are available to illustrate the importance of Fair Trade for producers and their families in developing countries, little quantitative evidence has been presented to review the socio-economic impact of Fair Trade. This collection of articles provides the first balanced in-depth analysis of the real welfare impact of Fair Trade, paying attention to key dimensions of income, consumption, wealth, environment, empowerment and gender. The core articles are based on extensive field surveys in Peru, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Ghana, Kenya and Mexico, and provide valuable insights in the contributions and constraints for producers’ involvement in Fair Trade. In addition, attention is paid to the broader implications for international trade regimes and the ethical perspectives on Fair Trade.

This book sets out to examine what really is going on in the organic sector socially and politically. In the process, it debunks a number of apparently common-sense beliefs: that organic consumers are wealthy environmental and health extremists; that growth in the industry will inevitablyundermine its environmental values; that mainstream media is antagonistic to organics; and that the industry is driven by consumer demand. This book seeks to make a practical contribution to the development of more sustainable food systems by articulating what it takes to get people involved inorganics at each stage of the food chain.

Workplace safety and environmental sustainability can be promoted by agreed standards, certification and labelling. This publication contains 22 case studies on the impact of standards and certification programmes for cash crops in developing countries, including organic agriculture, fair-trade labelling, "Social Accountability 8000", the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Programme, the Ethical Trading Initiative, ISO-14001 and EurepGap. It examines the origins, scope and certification systems of these initiatives, as well as stakeholder involvement, the standard-setting process, verification methods, the relationship with the World Trade Organization agreements and the potential role of governments.