The purpose of this study was to assess the management practices of three coffee cooperatives in Rwanda and, subsequently, modify existing educational curricular modules in order to address the identified areas of need. Societal and institutional challenges, such as a lack of management training, may hinder the growth of welldeveloped coffee cooperatives in Rwanda. Capacity building through adult education is a central component to development efforts. The research questions used to accomplish the purpose of this study focused on the principles of cooperative identity, participation and decision making, internal and external communications, organizational and leadership development, and the duties of and relationships between the cooperatives’ leadership. The three cooperatives have been assisted by the USAID-funded PEARL project. The sample population consisted of the Members, Management, and Board of Directors of the three coffee cooperatives in Rwanda. A purposive sample of key informants was selected. A total of 65 individuals participated in the research task. The data were collected from mid-July to mid-August, 2005. This study was qualitative and quantitative in design. The research instruments included a quantitative, close-ended category-scale questionnaire and a qualitative, openended standardized interview. The responses to the open-ended standardized interviews were tabulated based on the frequency and percentage of responses. The close-ended category-scale questionnaires were analyzed based on the frequency and percentage of responses. A case study data analysis methodology was used to combine the responses to the quantitative and qualitative methods. Major findings of the study include that one or more of the cooperatives need education programming in the areas of cooperative member ownership, job descriptions, and ways in which to increase participation in decision-making. The cooperatives need to increase internal communications regarding the function of the federation of coffee cooperatives in securing long-term sustainability. The cooperatives need to empower the sector level leadership to resolve conflicts and increase communication flows.

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京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(地域研究) / 甲第23307号 / 地博第288号 / 新制||地||111(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院アジア・アフリカ地域研究研究科グローバル地域研究専攻 / (主査)教授 藤田 幸一, 教授 河野 泰之, 准教授 柳澤 雅之 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Area Studies / Kyoto University / DGAM

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I analyse smallholder tea producer experiences of dual-certification to Fairtrade and Organic Voluntary Private Standards (VPSs). Dual-certification represented a gold-standard in pro-development certifications, implying alignment between the standards and producer priorities. Yet certification required smallholders to implement two different and challenging standards simultaneously, and the smallholder category was heterogeneous. Gaps in knowledge persisted regarding smallholder implementation of dual-certification in South Indian tea. The main contribution of this research was empirical, investigating 1) reasons for the extension of dual-certification, 2) implications for export-market access and 3) conflicts of practice with norms among tea farmers. I adopted an agricultural marketing network scope to tether Global Value Chain analytical tools into producer contexts. This maintained the connection of producers with global tea buyers and global standards, contributing to understanding the exercises of power by institutions. This research examined the context of South Indian tea, identifying tea production and marketing networks of industry actors, local institutions, industry conventions and Fairtrade-Organic governance. The use of secondary data was complimented by qualitative techniques. I used a case study approach, recruiting one Fairtrade-Organic, dual-certified producer group and one non-certified producer group of smallholders. I sampled key power nodes in networks to generate interview data with key agents including farmers, producer group managers, tea buyers, standard setters and background institution informants. I held 40 interviews with 60 participants during 7 months in South India and the UK.Global Value Chain analysis represented the founding framework that considered standards as governing production and trade in certified commodities. GVC approaches analysed the distribution of benefits and market access between actors in GVCs. Powerful lead firms controlled chain coordination, shaped competition, market access and costs of compliance. The sociological redefinition of power led to standards theorised as legitimated conceptions of the good, the fair and the environmental, with attention turning to producer accounts of governance and standards. The thesis contributes to a growing literature highlighting agency, governmentality, and powers of institutions, in GVCs. Global standards were expressions of fragmented power in governmentality. I analysed accounts of the extension of dual-certification, attendant changes to market access and performances of implementation, seeing through farmers‘ eyes. I derived from data 3 empirical contributions. Firstly, producer institutions and gatekeepers exercised power by affecting smallholder certifications. Yet smallholders were purposeful agents who drove their certification statuses. Secondly, certification did not define market access; quality remained paramount. Fairtrade-Organic standards carried definitions of quality that were intangible, taking the ascertainment of leaf quality from the hands of farmers. Finally, smallholder agent behaviours were analysed as negotiations of Fairtrade-Organic and tea industry valuations of good tea practices. Standards were not pre-defined, bringing compliance costs; rather, Fairtrade-Organic existed in, was constituted by, smallholder performances. Attempts to enhance the legitimacy of FLO governance by aligning standards with producer priorities involved producer regional forums. Alignment was skewed by FLO‘s failure to distinguish smallholder from plantation priorities. This parallels a pro-market pragmatism about the future of Fairtrade.

Palm oil is a growing market, and environmental and social concerns have led to a global demand of sustainable palm oil. In this study I investigate the certification process of the Roundtable of Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) from the experiences of independent smallholders. I perform interviews and observations in two independent smallholder associations in the Riau province in Indonesia who are in the end of the RSPO certification process. What I find is that most smallholders have extrinsic motivators (an increase in price) for wanting to join the certi fication, but that a few smallholders express intrinsic motivators as well (a care for the environment). I find that the certification process is creating a lot of changes to the agricultural practices of the smallholders, mainly regarding harvest, fertilisation, pesticide usage, and pruning. The challenges that the independent smallholders experience mainly regard their knowledge, level of organisation, institutional support, fertilisation, and documentation. I find that many of the smallholders use traditional knowledge while the RSPO is an organisation that mainly use modern knowledge, and I claim that some of the dif ficulties that independent smallholders experience when certifying derives from this collision of knowledge systems. Lastly, I claim that the organisation is an expression of modernity and risk society, and that the rise of voluntary sustainability certi fications the last decade can be seen as a response to the modern risk of climate change.

To date, research on organic farming and certification has focused on the production and trade possibilities of the industry. Farmers‟ opinions are underrepresented and this study endeavours to capture their opinions. In this study, the economic problem is to investigate the low participation of farmers in certified organic farming, highlight the economic benefits which are normally not clearly defined, as well as study the often complicated and frustrating certification process. The main objective is to investigate the determinants, which affect the smallholder farmer‟s participation, and to analyse farmers‟ perceptions of certified organic farming in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. The specific focus was on the participation of smallholder farmers in certified organic farming. The dependent variable was participation as measured by a farmer‟s decision to either certify their farm or not. The independent variables included factors that make up farmer and farm characteristics, certification and market related characteristics. The study used a standard questionnaire to obtain information from farmers. The research methodology, analysis and the presentation of the study was quantitative. The study used descriptive statistics (percentages, means, standard deviations, Chi-squares and significance intervals) to evaluate the significance of the variables. These were analysed and described quantitatively by making use of EVIEWS and IBM AMOS software. In estimating the influential factors, a probit model was adopted, and in analysing farmer perception, structural equation modelling was used. v Descriptive statistics indicated that among farmers interviewed, the majority (61%) were female farmers and 39 per cent were male farmers. Among the female respondents, 46% participated in certified organic farming and 15 per cent of female farmers were not certified organic farmers. From the male group, 29 per cent were certified organic farmers and 7% were not. In determining factors influencing farmer participation, three of the variables were positively associated with the probability of participating in certified organic farming, these being: the age of the farmer, membership to a farmer organisation and market premium prices for certified commodities. The other five significant factors were negatively associated with the probability of participating in certified organic production. These factors were: the gender of the farmer, the farmers‟ income, farming experience, information access and certification costs. All these factors tended to decrease the likelihood of participating. With the exception of the farmers‟ income and farming experience, all the significant variables had the expected signs. Farmers‟ perceptions of certified organic farming were analysed and the results showed that a high percentage of farmers had a positive view of certified organic farming. In other words, the perceived benefits of certified organic farming meet farmers‟ expectations. The perceived premium price of certified organic products is the most important factor affecting farmer perception. This is not unusual because South Africa‟s organic production is mainly focused on exportation and targets high value markets. As hypothesized, the costs associated with the certification process, that is: inspection costs (-0.578) and annual certification costs (-0.719), negatively affect farmer perception. In conclusion, a combination of factors influence a farmer‟s decision as to whether or not to participate in certified organic farming. One cannot rely only on specific factors to determine farmers‟ participation in certified organic farming. Farmer perception of certified organic farming is also an important aspect. The more farmers positively perceive the farming enterprise, the higher the rate of participation will be. The same applies to the perceived costs, which have a negative impact on participation. The study finally recommends that government complete and put into practice the South African organic regulations, which may motivate farmers to get involved in certified organic farming and encourage local capacity building in certified organic farming. However, in the meantime, government should place an vi emphasis on self-regulation within farmer groups and cooperatives for organic production, and set up a regulator to monitor the current activities. This would enhance interest from potential farmers, and strengthen consumer confidence. The study further recommends that information on organic farming should be improved by encouraging more research in this area, which will enable farmers, consumers and regulators to access data on socio-economic, production and trade in the industry. Government should support or create a partnership between farmers and processors to establish cost effective processing of organic products and to increase the availability of processed products for market. Government should assist non-certified smallholder organic farmers to become certified, potentially resulting in a price premium for their products and enhancing export capabilities. / Dissertation (MSc Agric)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / gm2014 / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

Smallholding coffee farmers in Colombia face many obstacles to satisfy their needs due to a changed climate, a low coffee price and the lack of saved financial capital, that in turns creates a vulnerability to unpredictable events. An increased sustainability in those smallholding systems could therefore be crucial. The objectives of this study were to identify sustainability constraints experienced by smallholding coffee farmers among two cooperatives in Colombia. Likewise to explore the usefulness of FAO:s sustainability tool “Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture Systems (SAFA)” in the context of small-holding coffee systems. The study was conducted by the use of SAFA smallholder app and a participatory consultation, which evaluated four aspects of sustainability: environmental, social, economic and organizational governance, at male and female farmers from two coffee cooperatives. The results highlight that the farmers sustainability challenges were seen to be greatest due to climate and insects related losses and a low income. For them to meet these challenges, the financial capital was understood to be an obstacle. Obtaining external advice and help was often therefore seen as an opportunity to achieve those challenges. The SAFA tool gave in whole, a distinct illustration of the farm’s sustainability, while some parts of the configuration were perceived as not fully adapted to small farmers in developing countries.

京都大学 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(地球環境学) / 甲第24305号 / 地環博第236号 / 新制||地環||45(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院地球環境学舎環境マネジメント専攻 / (主査)准教授 森 晶寿, 教授 竹内 憲司, 教授 西前 出, 教授 水野 広祐 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Global Environmental Studies / Kyoto University / DFAM

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