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Davies M, Haklay M, Kiprutto T, Laws M, Lewis J, Lunn-Rockliffe S, McGlade J, Moreu M, Yano A, Kipkore W. Supporting the capacities and knowledge of smallholder farmers in Kenya for sustainable agricultural futures: a Citizen Science pilot project. UCL Open Environ 2023; 5:e065. [PMID: 38045732 PMCID: PMC10691338 DOI: 10.14324/111.444/ucloe.000065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 09/18/2023] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
Sub-Saharan Africa is often presented as the continent most vulnerable to climatic change with major repercussions for food systems. Coupled with high rates of population growth, continued food insecurity and malnutrition, thus the need to enhance food production across the continent is seen as a major global imperative. We argue here, however, that current models of agricultural development in Eastern Africa frequently marginalise critical smallholder knowledge from the process of future agricultural design due to a lack of a methodological tools for engagement. This paper addresses this by outlining a potential means to capture and share locally produced agronomic information on a large scale. We report on a 'Citizen Science' pilot study that worked with smallholder farmers in Elgeyo-Marakwet County, Western Kenya, to co-design a mobile application using the well-developed Sapelli platform that easily allows farmers to identify, record and geolocate cropping patterns and challenges at multiple stages in the agricultural calendar using their own understanding. The pilot project demonstrated the technical and epistemological benefits of co-design, the abilities of smallholder farmers to co-design and use smartphone applications, and the potential for such technology to produce and share valuable agricultural and ecological knowledge in real time. Proof-of-concept data illustrates opportunities to spatially and temporally track and respond to challenges related to climate, crop disease and pests. Such work expounds how smallholder farmers are a source of largely untapped ecological and agronomic expert knowledge that can, and should, be harnessed to address issues of future agricultural resilience and food system sustainability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Davies
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Muki Haklay
- Department of Geography, University College London, London, UK
| | - Timothy Kiprutto
- Prosperity Co-Lab Africa and British Institute in Eastern Africa, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Megan Laws
- Department of Anthropology, London School of Economics, London, UK
| | - Jerome Lewis
- Department of Anthropology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Samuel Lunn-Rockliffe
- McDonald Institute for Archaeological Research, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jaqueline McGlade
- Institute for Global Prosperity, University College London, London, UK
| | - Marcos Moreu
- Department of Geography, University College London, London, UK
| | | | - Wilson Kipkore
- School of Natural Resource Management, Department of Forestry and Wood Science, University of Eldoret, Eldoret, Kenya
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Patterson K, Berrang-Ford L, Lwasa S, Namanya DB, Ford J, Research Team IHACC, Harper SL. Food security variation among Indigenous communities in South-western Uganda. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition 2021. [DOI: 10.1080/19320248.2020.1852146] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kaitlin Patterson
- Dept. Of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
- School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta
| | - Lea Berrang-Ford
- Priestley International Centre for Climate, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
- Indigenous Health Adaptation to Climate Change Research Group, School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Shuaib Lwasa
- Indigenous Health Adaptation to Climate Change Research Group, School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- Dept. Of Geography Geoinformatics and Climatic Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Didacus B. Namanya
- Indigenous Health Adaptation to Climate Change Research Group, School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- Ugandan Ministry of Health, Kampala, Uganda
| | - James Ford
- Priestley International Centre for Climate, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK
- Indigenous Health Adaptation to Climate Change Research Group, School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - IHACC Research Team
- Indigenous Health Adaptation to Climate Change Research Group, School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Sherilee L. Harper
- Indigenous Health Adaptation to Climate Change Research Group, School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- School of Public Health, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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McElwee P, Calvin K, Campbell D, Cherubini F, Grassi G, Korotkov V, Le Hoang A, Lwasa S, Nkem J, Nkonya E, Saigusa N, Soussana JF, Taboada MA, Manning F, Nampanzira D, Smith P. The impact of interventions in the global land and agri-food sectors on Nature's Contributions to People and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Glob Chang Biol 2020; 26:4691-4721. [PMID: 32531815 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.15219] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2019] [Revised: 02/14/2020] [Accepted: 03/14/2020] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Interlocked challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation require transformative interventions in the land management and food production sectors to reduce carbon emissions, strengthen adaptive capacity, and increase food security. However, deciding which interventions to pursue and understanding their relative co-benefits with and trade-offs against different social and environmental goals have been difficult without comparisons across a range of possible actions. This study examined 40 different options, implemented through land management, value chains, or risk management, for their relative impacts across 18 Nature's Contributions to People (NCPs) and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We find that a relatively small number of interventions show positive synergies with both SDGs and NCPs with no significant adverse trade-offs; these include improved cropland management, improved grazing land management, improved livestock management, agroforestry, integrated water management, increased soil organic carbon content, reduced soil erosion, salinization, and compaction, fire management, reduced landslides and hazards, reduced pollution, reduced post-harvest losses, improved energy use in food systems, and disaster risk management. Several interventions show potentially significant negative impacts on both SDGs and NCPs; these include bioenergy and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, afforestation, and some risk sharing measures, like commercial crop insurance. Our results demonstrate that a better understanding of co-benefits and trade-offs of different policy approaches can help decision-makers choose the more effective, or at the very minimum, more benign interventions for implementation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pamela McElwee
- Department of Human Ecology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
| | - Katherine Calvin
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Joint Global Change Research Institute, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Donovan Campbell
- The University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Kingston, Jamaica
| | - Francesco Cherubini
- Industrial Ecology Program, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Giacomo Grassi
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy
| | - Vladimir Korotkov
- Yu. A. Izrael Institute of Global Climate and Ecology, Moscow, Russia
| | - Anh Le Hoang
- Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD), Hanoi, Vietnam
| | - Shuaib Lwasa
- Department of Geography, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Johnson Nkem
- United Nations Economic Commission for Africa, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
| | - Ephraim Nkonya
- International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Washington, DC, USA
| | - Nobuko Saigusa
- Centre for Global Environmental Research, National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Japan
| | - Jean-Francois Soussana
- French National Institute for Agricultural, Environment and Food Research (INRA), Paris Cedex 07, France
| | - Miguel Angel Taboada
- Natural Resources Research Centre (CIRN), Institute of Soils, National Agricultural Technology Institute (INTA), Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Frances Manning
- Institute of Biological & Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | - Dorothy Nampanzira
- Department of Livestock and Industrial Resources, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda
| | - Pete Smith
- Institute of Biological & Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
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Smith P, Calvin K, Nkem J, Campbell D, Cherubini F, Grassi G, Korotkov V, Le Hoang A, Lwasa S, McElwee P, Nkonya E, Saigusa N, Soussana J, Taboada MA, Manning FC, Nampanzira D, Arias‐Navarro C, Vizzarri M, House J, Roe S, Cowie A, Rounsevell M, Arneth A. Which practices co-deliver food security, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and combat land degradation and desertification? Glob Chang Biol 2020; 26:1532-1575. [PMID: 31637793 PMCID: PMC7079138 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/2019] [Accepted: 10/13/2019] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
There is a clear need for transformative change in the land management and food production sectors to address the global land challenges of climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, combatting land degradation and desertification, and delivering food security (referred to hereafter as "land challenges"). We assess the potential for 40 practices to address these land challenges and find that: Nine options deliver medium to large benefits for all four land challenges. A further two options have no global estimates for adaptation, but have medium to large benefits for all other land challenges. Five options have large mitigation potential (>3 Gt CO2 eq/year) without adverse impacts on the other land challenges. Five options have moderate mitigation potential, with no adverse impacts on the other land challenges. Sixteen practices have large adaptation potential (>25 million people benefit), without adverse side effects on other land challenges. Most practices can be applied without competing for available land. However, seven options could result in competition for land. A large number of practices do not require dedicated land, including several land management options, all value chain options, and all risk management options. Four options could greatly increase competition for land if applied at a large scale, though the impact is scale and context specific, highlighting the need for safeguards to ensure that expansion of land for mitigation does not impact natural systems and food security. A number of practices, such as increased food productivity, dietary change and reduced food loss and waste, can reduce demand for land conversion, thereby potentially freeing-up land and creating opportunities for enhanced implementation of other practices, making them important components of portfolios of practices to address the combined land challenges.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pete Smith
- Institute of Biological & Environmental SciencesUniversity of AberdeenAberdeenUK
| | - Katherine Calvin
- Pacific Northwest National LaboratoryJoint Global Change Research InstituteCollege ParkMDUSA
| | - Johnson Nkem
- United Nations Economic Commission for AfricaAddis AbabaEthiopia
| | | | - Francesco Cherubini
- Industrial Ecology ProgrammeDepartment of Energy and Process EngineeringNorwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)TrondheimNorway
| | | | | | - Anh Le Hoang
- Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD)HanoiVietnam
| | - Shuaib Lwasa
- Department of GeographyMakerere UniversityKampalaUganda
| | - Pamela McElwee
- Department of Human EcologyRutgers UniversityNew BrunswickNJUSA
| | | | - Nobuko Saigusa
- Center for Global Environmental ResearchNational Institute for Environmental StudiesTsukubaIbarakiJapan
| | - Jean‐Francois Soussana
- French National Institute for Agricultural, Environment and Food Research (INRA)ParisFrance
| | - Miguel Angel Taboada
- National Agricultural Technology Institute (INTA)Natural Resources Research Center (CIRN)Institute of SoilsCiudad Autónoma de Buenos AiresArgentina
| | - Frances C. Manning
- Institute of Biological & Environmental SciencesUniversity of AberdeenAberdeenUK
| | - Dorothy Nampanzira
- Department of Livestock and Industrial ResourcesMakerere UniversityKampalaUganda
| | - Cristina Arias‐Navarro
- French National Institute for Agricultural, Environment and Food Research (INRA)ParisFrance
| | | | - Jo House
- School of Geographical SciencesUniversity of BristolBristolUK
| | - Stephanie Roe
- Department of Environmental SciencesUniversity of VirginiaCharlottesvilleVAUSA
- Climate FocusBerlinGermany
| | - Annette Cowie
- NSW Department of Primary IndustriesDPI AgricultureLivestock Industries CentreUniversity of New EnglandArmidaleNSWAustralia
| | - Mark Rounsevell
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Atmospheric Environmental Research (KIT, IMK‐IFU)Garmisch‐PartenkirchenGermany
- Institute of GeographyUniversity of EdinburghEdinburghUK
| | - Almut Arneth
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Atmospheric Environmental Research (KIT, IMK‐IFU)Garmisch‐PartenkirchenGermany
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Hornby D, Nel A, Chademana S, Khanyile N. A Slipping Hold? Farm Dweller Precarity in South Africa’s Changing Agrarian Economy and Climate. Land 2018; 7:40. [DOI: 10.3390/land7020040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Braha K, Cupák A, Pokrivčák J, Qineti A, Rizov M. Economic analysis of the link between diet quality and health: Evidence from Kosovo. Econ Hum Biol 2017; 27:261-274. [PMID: 28930700 DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2017.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2017] [Revised: 08/22/2017] [Accepted: 08/30/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
We analyse the link between diet diversity, (which is a proxy of diet quality) and health outcomes measured by body-mass index (BMI) in a representative sample of Kosovar adults using household expenditure micro-data. Building on a household model of health production we devise a two-stage empirical strategy to estimate the determinants of diet diversity and its effect on BMI. Economic factors and demographic characteristics play an important role in the choice of balanced diets. Results from the BMI analysis support the hypothesis that diet diversity is associated with optimal BMI. One standard deviation increase in diet diversity leads to 2.3% increase in BMI of the underweight individuals and to 1.5% reduction in BMI of the obese individuals. The findings have important implications for food security policies aiming at enhancing the public health in Kosovo.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kushtrim Braha
- Faculty of Economics and Management, Slovak University of Agriculture, Slovakia.
| | - Andrej Cupák
- Research Department, National Bank of Slovakia, Slovakia.
| | - Ján Pokrivčák
- Faculty of Economics and Management, Slovak University of Agriculture, Slovakia; University of West Bohemia, Pilsen, Czech Republic.
| | - Artan Qineti
- Faculty of Economics and Management, Slovak University of Agriculture, Slovakia.
| | - Marian Rizov
- Lincoln International Business School, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln LN6 7TS, United Kingdom.
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Lazzaroni S, Wagner N. Misfortunes never come singly: Structural change, multiple shocks and child malnutrition in rural Senegal. Econ Hum Biol 2016; 23:246-262. [PMID: 27794258 DOI: 10.1016/j.ehb.2016.10.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2016] [Revised: 10/20/2016] [Accepted: 10/20/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
This study considers the two most pronounced shocks Senegalese subsistence farmers struggle with, namely increasing purchase prices and droughts. We assess the relationship of these self-reported shocks with child health in a multi-shock approach to account for concomitance of adverse events from the natural, biological, economic and health sphere. We employ a unique farming household panel dataset containing information on children living in poor, rural households in eight regions of Senegal in 2009 and 2011 and account for structural changes occurring between survey periods due to the large scale, national Nutrition Enhancement Program. By zooming in to the micro level we demonstrate that Senegal as a Sahelian country, mainly reliant on subsistence agriculture, is very vulnerable to climate variability and international price developments: According to our conservative estimates, the occurrence of a drought explains 25% of the pooled weight-for-age standard deviation, income losses 31%. Our multi-shock analysis reveals that the shocks are perceived as more severe in 2011 with droughts explaining up to 44% of the standard deviation of child health, increased prices up to 21%. Yet, the concomitance of droughts and increased prices after the structural change, i.e. the Nutrition Enhancement Program, indicates that the health of children experiencing both shocks in 2011 has improved. We argue that these results are driven by the increase in rural household income as theoretically outlined in the agricultural household model. Thus, adequate policy responses to shocks do not only depend on the nature but also on the concomitance of hazardous events.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Lazzaroni
- Department of Economics, University of Bologna, Piazza Scaravilli 2, 40126 Bologna, Italy.
| | - Natascha Wagner
- International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam, Kortenaerkade 12, 2518 AX The Hague, Netherlands.
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Abstract
Tuberculosis transmission and progression are largely driven by social factors such as poor living conditions and poor nutrition. Increased standards of living and social approaches helped to decrease the burden of tuberculosis before the introduction of chemotherapy in the 1940s. Since then, management of tuberculosis has been largely biomedical. More funding for tuberculosis since 2000, coinciding with the Millennium Development Goals, has yielded progress in tuberculosis mortality but smaller reductions in incidence, which continues to pose a risk to sustainable development, especially in poor and susceptible populations. These at-risk populations need accelerated progress to end tuberculosis as resolved by the World Health Assembly in 2015. Effectively addressing the worldwide tuberculosis burden will need not only enhancement of biomedical approaches but also rebuilding of the social approaches of the past. To combine a biosocial approach, underpinned by social, economic, and environmental actions, with new treatments, new diagnostics, and universal health coverage, will need multisectoral coordination and action involving the health and other governmental sectors, as well as participation of the civil society, and especially the poor and susceptible populations. A biosocial approach to stopping tuberculosis will not only target morbidity and mortality from disease but would also contribute substantially to poverty alleviation and sustainable development that promises to meet the needs of the present, especially the poor, and provide them and subsequent generations an opportunity for a better future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katrina F Ortblad
- Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Joshua A Salomon
- Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Till Bärnighausen
- Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA; Wellcome Trust Africa Centre for Health and Population Studies, Mtubatuba, South Africa
| | - Rifat Atun
- Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T H Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA, USA.
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López-Giraldo LA, Franco-Giraldo Á. [Review of food policy approaches: from food security to food sovereignty (2000-2013)]. CAD SAUDE PUBLICA 2015; 31:1355-69. [PMID: 26248092 DOI: 10.1590/0102-311x00124814] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2014] [Accepted: 03/02/2015] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Food policies have attracted special interest due to the global food crisis in 2008 and promotion of the Millennium Development Goals, leading to approaches by different fields. This thematic review aims to describe the main theoretical and methodological approaches to food security and food sovereignty policies. A search was performed in databases of scientific journals from 2000 to 2013. 320 complete articles were selected from a total of 2,699. After reading the articles to apply the inclusion criteria, 55 items were maintained for analysis. In conclusion, with the predominance of food security as a guiding policy, food sovereignty has emerged as a critical response to be included in designing and researching food policies. Food policies are essential for achieving public health goals. Public health should thus take a leading role in linking and orienting such policies.
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Azadi H, Ghanian M, Ghoochani OM, Rafiaani P, Taning CNT, Hajivand RY, Dogot T. Genetically Modified Crops: Towards Agricultural Growth, Agricultural Development, or Agricultural Sustainability? Food Reviews International 2015. [DOI: 10.1080/87559129.2014.994816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
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Duarte R, Pinilla V, Serrano A. The Spanish Food Industry on Global Supply Chains and Its Impact on Water Resources. Water 2015; 7:132-52. [DOI: 10.3390/w7010132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Campion B, Acheampong E. The Chieftaincy Institution in Ghana: Causers and Arbitrators of Conflicts in Industrial Jatropha Investments. Sustainability 2014; 6:6332-50. [DOI: 10.3390/su6096332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
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Thavat M. The tyranny of taste: the case of organic rice in Cambodia. Asia Pac Viewp 2011; 52:285-298. [PMID: 22216476 DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8373.2011.01458.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Fair-trade and organic products are often sold at price premiums justified by smaller production volumes that are associated with greater social and environmental responsibility. The consumption of these products confers on the consumer a greater sense of morality – and usually a claim to better taste. This paper tells the story of attempts to promote organic/fair-trade rice production by de facto organic Cambodian farmers for export to North American and European markets in order to assist poor farmers to trade their way out of poverty. It demonstrates that instead of promoting sustainable agriculture and fair trade between developed and developing markets, organic/fair-trade projects may impose First World consumer ideals and tastes that are out of step with the larger realities of agrarian transition in Cambodia and the wider region of developing Southeast Asia.
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