Valerie Nelson

University of Greenwich · Department of Livelihoods and Institutions

Increasing and competing demands on agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa mean that policy and investment decisions become more complex. Despite growing consensus on the need for sustainable agricultural intensification, there is limited agreement on how to achieve this in practice. Governments and societies face uncertainty and complex choices. This p...

Sustainable Agricultural Intensification (SAI) was initially defined as increasing agricultural production without adverse environmental impacts and without increasing the area under agriculture. Over time the concept has been broadened to integrate social, economic, and environmental components of sustainability, each of which covers multiple face...

This paper analyses the changing nature of sustainability initiatives and their capacity to tackle sustainability challenges, focusing on cocoa in West Africa, and distilling lessons pertinent across agro-export industries and regions. Using data from empirical studies, literature review and consultations with key cocoa actors, we find ‘sustainable...

This study conducted in western Kenya demonstrates how a gendered intersectionality lens can be used to explore how and the extent to which farming communities are coping with climate change. Results from a quantitative survey undertaken with 51 farmers and from 4 focused group discussions held with 33 farmers (19 males and 14 females) indicate tha...

2 Acknowledgements Thanks are extended to all the farmers and organisation leaders who agreed to participate in the study and who gave their valuable time and were willing to share information with us. We hope that the report findings are of value to them and will be shared with them by Fairtrade International. Thanks are extended to other key info...

Developing more inclusive and sustainable agricultural value chains at scale is a development priority. The 'Cassava: Adding Value for Africa' project has supported the development of value chains for high quality cassava flour (HQCF) in Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria, and Malawi to improve the incomes and livelihoods of smallholder households, i...

This report presents the findings of a four year study on Fairtrade impact in Ghanaian cocoa. The study forms one of four country studies undertaken as part of a DFID funded research project - assessing the poverty impact of voluntary sustainability standards.

The rise of private standards, including those involving multi-stakeholder processes, raises questions about whose interests are served and the kind of power that is exerted to maintain these interests. This paper critically examines the battle for ideas – the way competing factions assert their own narratives about value chain relations, the role...

A chapter in this workshop proceedings (Innovation in smallholder farming in Africa by Triomphe et al, 2014). African farmers, rural communities and agricultural stakeholders urgently need to adapt to changing climates. In East Africa, agriculture is an important economic activity and contributes significantly to economic growth, yet is highly vuln...

This article explores the evolution of Fairtrade impact assessment, which reflects the wider context of international development evaluation practice and debates. Appropriate designs and methods in evaluation are hotly contested, ultimately reflecting different development philosophies and values. Earlier Fairtrade impact studies were primarily cas...

This chapter explores the potential of multi-stakeholder standards initiatives (MSIs) to open up new spaces for engagement between the private sector, trade unions, NGOs and others for dialogue and action to promote labour rights. We focus primarily on an MSI in Kenya, HEBI. MSIs in agri-food chains represent a new form of ethical policy space, whi...

Count: 7, 630 (without footnotes; 8,409 with footnotes) Abstract This chapter explores the potential of multi-stakeholder standards initiatives (MSIs) to open up new spaces for engagement between the private sector, trade unions, NGOs and others for dialogue and action to promote labour rights. We focus primarily on an MSI in Kenya, HEBI. MSIs in a...

This Policy Brief sets out the headline findings of a 4 year evaluation of the impact of voluntary sustainability standards, such as Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance, in global tea and cocoa value chains.

This paper presents the findings of a four year study of the poverty impact of voluntary sustainability standards in Ecuador. This is a component of a wider DFID funded impact evaluation of the poverty impact of voluntary sustainability standards, such as Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance, in four countries.

Private standards initiatives (PSIs) in agri-food value chains raise questions of democratic governance and accountability relating to the voice and agency of those whom the standards are designed to benefit or whom they most affect. We employ the concept of ‘spaces for participation’ to analyse participation in a particular PSI, GlobalGAP, and ass...

This report presents the findings from a study of the poverty impact of Fairtrade in Ghanaian cocoa. This is one of the four country cases completed as part of a DFID funded project to systematically assess the poverty impact of voluntary sustainability standards.

This paper presents the findings of a four year study of the poverty impact of voluntary sustainability standards, such as Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and Organic, in Ecuadorian Cocoa. It is one of four country cases covered in a larger DFID funded impact assessment of the poverty impact of voluntary sustainability standards.

change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)/ International Center For Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), 2 Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, 3 Independent consultant and NRI associate, 4 CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) East Africa Key Challenges • Climate modelling/projections have inh...

Purpose The recent departure of Fair Trade USA (FTUSA) from Fairtrade International is the most seismic event in the fair trade movement in the past decade. This paper aims to analyse recent dynamics between and within multiple fair trade strands and the attendant changes in vision and approach. Design/methodology/approach The authors use and deve...

Private standards initiatives (PSIs) in agri-food value chains raise questions of democratic governance and accountability relating to the voice and agency of those whom the standards are designed to benefit or whom they most affect. We employ the concept of ‘spaces for participation’ to analyse participation in a particular PSI, GlobalGAP and asse...

This report was commissioned by RESOLVE in late 2011, on behalf the Steering Committee of State-of-Knowledge Assessment of Standards and Certification. The researchers were asked to draw on the available literature, data, and own expert knowledge to summarize what is known about the impacts and performance of certification systems in addressing env...

What is the evidence base for the impact of Fairtrade and how and why is the impact agenda evolving? We explore issues of design and the use of theories of change in mapping impact pathways as part of evaluations. We outline some of the findings on the different dimensions of impact (e.g. household income, livelihoods and quality of life, organizat...

Study of the Impact of Fairtrade for Peruvian Cocoa Farmers

This working paper sets out how a team at the NRI developed the use of theories of change in assessing the impact of voluntary sustainability standards such as Fairtrade and Rainforest Alliance.

The significance of private standards and associated local level initiatives in agri-food value chains are increasingly recognised. However whilst issues related to compliance and impact at the smallholder or worker level have frequently been analysed, the governance implications in terms of how private standards affect national level institutions,...

Climate change poses the most significant foreseeable threat to the development of humankind. Among the parts of the globe liable to be affected, the developing world is the most vulnerable to climate risks. Introducing a DPR theme issue on how development policy is responding to the increasingly pressured global climate agenda, this article review...

Rapid changes to the climate are predicted over the next few years, and these present challenges for women's empowerment and gender equality on a completely new scale. There is little evidence or research to provide a reliable basis for gender-sensitive approaches to agricultural adaptation to climate change. This article explores the gender dimens...

This article presents the findings of an innovative, longitudinal, comparative study of the impacts of social and environmental codes of practice in the South African wine and Kenyan cut flower industries. The research aimed to provide systematic empirical evidence of whether such codes can make a difference to the livelihoods of workers, since thi...

As retailers in the North increasingly adopt codes of practice containing social and/or environmental provisions in global supply chains, there is a need for rigorous assessment of their social impact. Moving beyond the rhetoric, it is important to establish the actual impact of such codes on poorer workers, their families, and other local stakehol...

Vulnerability to environmental degradation and natural hazards is articulated along social, poverty, and gender lines. Just as gender is not sufficiently mainstreamed in many areas of development policy and practice, so the potential impacts of climate change on gender relations have not been studied, and remain invisible. In this article we outlin...

In this paper we consider the social impact of ethical trade schemes, particularly the kinds of benefits ethical trade provides for smallholder farmers and their livelihoods and for sustainable forestry. We focus oil two cases, which are linked to the fair trade movement: brazil nuts collected from forests in Peru and cocoa grown under agroforestry...

There has been an assumption that agricultural research carried out by developed country research institutions would be ultimately transferred to developing countries through national research and extension organizations. In recent years, this paradigm has been increasingly challenged by the increased prominence of nongovernmental organizations (NG...

Until recently, information on the impact of social and environmental codes has been anecdotal. However, a critical mass of information is now emerging, including lessons regarding the methods that can be employed. This study, an independent 4-year DFID funded project, focused on the impact of codes on workers at the farm level in the South African...

Ensuring that decision-making institutions and processes, including research and innovation processes, are socially inclusive is a priority for the SWITCH project, because it is essential if the project outcomes are to be socially sustainable and equitable. But securing the meaningful participation of the most deprived can be difficult. A lack of a...

1. Introduction The integration of climate change (CC) adaptation and adaptive capacity issues within development processes is now a central issue for development policy and practice. This paper aims to tease out how adaptation, adaptive capacity and development inter- relate, and to explore the way forward in terms of building response capacity. I...