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Consumers are paying more and more attention to ethical and social criteria during grocery shopping. As a result, Fair Trade products which are certified to address global supply chain issues (e.g., forced labor, working conditions, fair pay), are gaining popularity. However, it is unclear to which extent Fair Trade labels might influence how consumers perceive such labelled food products. The aim of this research was to examine the potential effect of Fair Trade labels on several measurements (overall liking, sensory profiling, emotions, willingness-to-pay and kCal estimations). Furthermore, tests were carried out at a sensory lab and at home to examine if the evaluation context might impact the label effect. In total, 179 consumers participated in this study of which 90 carried out the test in the sensory test facilities (central location test—CLT) and 89 at home (home-use-test—HUT). Participants evaluated three pairs of food products (nuts, juice and chocolate) of which one was labelled as conventional and the other one as Fair Trade. However, participants were each time evaluating the same Fair Trade product. Results showed that the Fair Trade label increased the overall liking. For the juice and chocolate, a higher willingness-to-pay was found when the product was labelled as ‘Fair Trade’ while no effect of the label was established for the nuts. The Fair Trade label did not affect the kcal estimation of the samples. The Fair Trade label had a rather limited influence on the sensory and emotional profiling of the food products. Furthermore, the results of the CLT and HUT were highly similar indicating that the evaluation context has little impact on the labelling effect.

Both certification and participation in farmer organizations are associated with economic and social benefits for farmers. However, knowledge about potential differences in perceived benefits resulting from participating in different forms of organization and certification schemes is limited. In this paper, we distinguish three types of farmer organizations in the Indonesian coffee sector: farmer groups, cooperatives and KUBEs. We compare the perceived benefits of farmers in these different forms of organization, including unorganized farmers, and of farmers in different certification schemes (i.e., Fairtrade, UTZ certified, Rainforest Alliance, and 4C). We found that certified farmers perceive higher benefits than uncertified farmers, and organized farmers perceive higher benefits than unorganized smallholders. Farmers with a dual membership (for example of a farmer group and a KUBE or cooperative) experience more benefits than farmers who only participate in farmer groups. Although farmers belonging to different certification schemes do significantly differ in their perceived benefits, we could not identify clear patterns based on the different schemes. Weconclude that integration of the different organizational forms, and a more intense collaboration between the different ministries underlying each organizational form, may further improve the benefits perceived by farmers in the Indonesian coffee sector.

(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)Coffee is one of the most-traded commodities and highest-valued cash crops worldwide. Since coffee is mostly produced on small-scale holdings in developing countries, its production plays a vital role in the livelihoods of 25 million rural households in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In India alone, it provides livelihoods for more than 150,000 growers and one million workers and their families (United Nations (UN) 2012) and small-scale holdings account for 70 percent of the nation's production (Coffee Board of India (CBI) 2015). Coffee became an important export commodity for India after its independence, and today, almost 80 percent of the coffee produced is exported (CBI 2015). Globally in 2012, India was the fifth-largest coffee producer in the world and the third-largest in Asia (Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 2012), contributing 4 percent of the world's total production (UN 2012).The majority of the small-scale coffee producers in India are poor, and the worldwide coffee crisis in the early 2000s further impoverished them. During the crisis (Ponte 2002), many of India's smallholders suffered from hunger and took on large amounts of debt, and a few committed suicide (Chattopadhayay and John 2007). In response to volatile market prices, credit constraints, and supply shocks, several alternative market channels-fair trade, organic, Smithsonian bird-friendly, and Rainforest Alliance certification -have been promoted as possible solutions. These certification schemes are based primarily on environmental and social parameters. Fair trade certification, for example, is aimed at improving the living conditions of operators of certified farms, and organic and bird-friendly certification schemes promote organic agriculture and preservation of bird species on certified farms. Simultaneously, certification schemes recognize that profitability is the major driver of adoption of such certifications by smallholders and hence incorporate provisions for price premiums for certified farmers.Another factor in development of certification schemes worldwide is demand by consumers in developed countries for environmentally friendly and socially responsible coffees (Rice 2001, Basu, Chau, and Grote 2003). Fair trade certification, which is one of the oldest and is the second-largest initiative after organic certification, is known for promoting social justice and having high standards in terms of development that favors small-scale producers (Raynolds, Murray, and Heller 2007). Under the fair trade regime, small-scale coffee farmers in developing countries are supposed to benefit from longterm trading relationships, price premiums, social projects such as establishing schools and healthcare centers, flexible credit arrangements, and greater labor rights (Muradian and Pelupessy 2005, Raynolds, Murray, and Heller 2007).Several empirical studies, conducted mostly in Latin America and Africa, have examined factors that influence adoption of fair trade certification and its impacts on household welfare in terms of incomes and consumption expenditures (Arnould, Plastina, and Ball 2009, Jena et al. 2012, Ruben and Fort 2012, Chiputwa, Spielman, and Qaim 2015). The results have been mixed. Jena et al. (2012) studied coffee-growers in Ethiopia and found that organic and fair trade certifications there did not contribute to incomes or reduce poverty but did have a significant impact on per capita consumption. Ruben and Fort (2012) also found no significant gains in income for fairtrade-certified Peruvian coffee farmers. However, Arnould, Plastina, and Ball (2009) found small, uneven increases in household welfare in Peru, Guatemala, and Nicaragua. Recently, in a study in Uganda, Chiputwa, Spielman, and Qaim (2015) found that fair trade certification had a significant positive impact on household living standards relative to organic and UTZ certification. All of these studies were based on cross-section data and used propensity score matching with either a binary or multiple treatments. …

Voluntary standards and certification schemes aim to play an important role in the creation of a more sustainable production of agricultural commodities in the South. In this paper, we contend that most studies on the sustainability of these certifications take the objectives of voluntary standard-setting and certifying arrangements as the reference point, thereby implicitly accepting a problem definition that is not necessarily aligned with the needs, interests and preferences of the smallholder producers in a developing context. Based on the results of a four years research project on coffee and palm oil smallholders and certifications in Indonesia, this paper questions the transformative capacity of the standards and certifications regarding a more sustainable agricultural production. This capacity is located at the interface of the global demands, which are channeled down from the top of the value chain, and the local context where local producers take their decisions. Based on the empirical research it is argued that voluntary standards and certifications pave the way for a more sustainable agricultural production, but are not necessarily the right way forward to a more systemic change.

Private sustainability standards are increasingly important in food trade with developing countries, but the implications for smallholder farmers are still poorly understood. We analyze the implications of different coffee certification schemes in Ethiopia using cross-sectional survey data, and regression and propensity-score-matching techniques. We find that: Rainforest Alliance (RA) and double Fairtrade-Organic (FT-Org) certifications are associated with higher incomes and reduced poverty, mainly because of higher prices; Fairtrade (FT) certification hardly affects welfare; and Organic (Org) certification reduces incomes, chiefly due to lower yields. Cooperative heterogeneity importantly shapes these results. Results imply that private standards may not always deliver what they promise to consumers.

fair trade is a business model approach that pretends to enhance the access to progress opportunities for rural populations through an empowering framework that supports small producers’ organizations and encourages investment decisions that improve welfare and sustainable development in their own communities. The values and practices underlying fair-trading emphasize a greater sensitivity on the conditions of small growers. The model integrates good agricultural practices, environmental stewardship, organizational transparency, empowerment, participative democracy, economic incentives and technology transfer in an alternative trade framework with the specific purpose of improving the income of rural producers of agricultural goods in developing countries. The most distinctive mechanism fair trade models use to improve the income of these producers is the direct payment of a minimum sales price to the farmer, which is at least equal to the market price. In exchange for this price security, the farmer commits to environmentally sound and socially responsible production practices. The main objective of this document is to provide a model for a handbook for small producers and organizations in Colombia interested in fair trade certification schemes. The paper collects relevant information for producers and organizations starting from an introduction of the fair trade system and the different labeling alternatives available in the market. It also provides general information about the background of the rural population in Colombia, useful for other audiences like researchers, and project leaders. In addition to explaining how the world’s leading fair trade labeling organization works and the procedure to obtain a certificate from them, the paper suggests screening and organizational-fitness tests intended to help interested producers and organizations to identify the suitability of the system to their own needs and detect internal strengths and weaknesses in relation to the specific certification requirements. The core of the document is a detailed analysis and compilation of the relevant compliance criteria producers and organizations must meet in order to become certificate holders and retain the certificate successfully. The standards set by the labeling body chosen for this work are paired to the compliance requirements of the respective auditing organization, local legal demands and practical guidance for compliance. The analysis is based on fair trade certification case studies, literature review and interviews with fair trade certified producers and experienced certification consultants in Colombia. Relevant local legislation and further informative documents for applicants are included in the Annexes. Its productive and demographic structure makes of fair trade schemes a relevant model for Colombia, a net producer and exporter of agricultural products. Production and trade patterns in Colombia, in combination with relentless land ownership concentration and inequality call for the implementation of alternative strategies with the potential of improving income in the short term; and strengthening capacity building, enhancing negotiation power of small farmers’ organizations and developing their skills for agro-business management in the long term.