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Des certifications inutiles ? Les relations asymétriques entre coopératives, labels et cacaoculteurs en Côte d’Ivoire
Abstract
Certification schemes active in cocoa (including Fairtrade) rely on small-scale co-operatives and "committed" partnerships to promote sustainable livelihoods. The cocoa sector in Côte d'Ivoire is marked by the impoverishment of farmers, which leads to distrust in the sector, starting with co-operatives. The expected benefits of certifications, including the distinction of a label, appear to be low. The aim of this article is to enter the "black box" of 80 cooperatives, whereby we study different aspects such as composition of the management teams, education levels and how the premiums are managed as well as their communication thereof. We conclude that the majority of cooperatives are in fact simple "conversions" (and/or formalization) of pre-existing private trading companies into cooperatives. Hence, no real collective identity or cooperative values are present. The conditions at cooperative level are not met for collective and democratic management of the profits derived from supposed sustainability standards. Therefore, the credibility of those standards is undermined.
... Quand bien même les politiques de prime affichées varient selon les certifications (tableau 1), il y a plutôt convergence vers une prime d'environ 100 FCFA (environ 0,15 euro) par kilogramme de cacao certifié vendu, théoriquement répartie à parts égales entre la coopérative et les producteurs certifiés. Cependant, quelles que soient les certifications, rares sont les producteurs qui touchent l'intégralité de leurs parts de primes annoncées (Ruf et al., 2019). ...
... Cette incapacité se justifie en partie par le mauvais fonctionnement des coopératives. En effet, comme l'ont déjà souligné Ruf et al. (2019), nos enquêtes confirment que les coopératives dans les programmes de certification des exportateurs sont des reconversions des business privés des pisteurs ou des traitants. Par exemple, interrogé sur l'origine des coopératives, un fondateur affirme ceci : Dans ces types de coopératives, la défense des intérêts des producteurs de cacao n'est pas privilégiée. ...
... Seuls les intérêts privés d'un groupuscule de personnes à la base de la création de la coopérative sont priorisés, à l'encontre des valeurs et principes coopératifs. En effet, comme le soulignent Ruf et al. (2019), ces coopératives sont caractérisées par une gestion familiale et peu transparente, engendrant une forte méfiance de la part des producteurs. Par ailleurs, même si elles le souhaitaient, les coopératives dans leur grande majorité n'ont pas la capacité de piloter les dispositifs de conseil, car en plus d'avoir un mauvais fonctionnement, elles ne disposent pas d'une autonomie financière. ...
... Quand bien même les politiques de prime affichées varient selon les certifications (tableau 1), il y a plutôt convergence vers une prime d'environ 100 FCFA (environ 0,15 euro) par kilogramme de cacao certifié vendu, théoriquement répartie à parts égales entre la coopérative et les producteurs certifiés. Cependant, quelles que soient les certifications, rares sont les producteurs qui touchent l'intégralité de leurs parts de primes annoncées (Ruf et al., 2019). ...
... Cette incapacité se justifie en partie par le mauvais fonctionnement des coopératives. En effet, comme l'ont déjà souligné Ruf et al. (2019), nos enquêtes confirment que les coopératives dans les programmes de certification des exportateurs sont des reconversions des business privés des pisteurs ou des traitants. Par exemple, interrogé sur l'origine des coopératives, un fondateur affirme ceci : Dans ces types de coopératives, la défense des intérêts des producteurs de cacao n'est pas privilégiée. ...
... Seuls les intérêts privés d'un groupuscule de personnes à la base de la création de la coopérative sont priorisés, à l'encontre des valeurs et principes coopératifs. En effet, comme le soulignent Ruf et al. (2019), ces coopératives sont caractérisées par une gestion familiale et peu transparente, engendrant une forte méfiance de la part des producteurs. Par ailleurs, même si elles le souhaitaient, les coopératives dans leur grande majorité n'ont pas la capacité de piloter les dispositifs de conseil, car en plus d'avoir un mauvais fonctionnement, elles ne disposent pas d'une autonomie financière. ...
Analyse systémique des services de conseil liés aux certifications du cacao en Côte d'Ivoire
... Typically, certifications are implemented as a sustainable programme involving international and local actors (Ingram et al. 2018). Studies have highlighted the leading role played by multinational traders (exporters) in certification programme implementation (Ingram et al. 2018;Ruf et al. 2019). ...
... According to the CCC, about 52% of cocoa producers are organized in more than 3,000 cooperatives. A recent study carried out by Ruf et al. (2019) has shown that the majority of cooperatives in the cocoa sector are a conversion of the former "pisteurs" and "traitants" ...
... Normally, the premium should be shared between cooperatives and producers. However, a recent study carried out by Ruf et al. (2019) points out that the producers' share is not paid to them in full by cooperatives. ...
The participation of the private sector in the advisory service does not only respond to
budgetary arguments for reducing public spending in the agricultural sector. It also is also
based on the idea that the privatization of the farm advice can increase the efficiency and
quality of services. Nevertheless, such an idea is controversial. In addition, there is a lack
of empirical evidence to support this debate, which this thesis aims to provide by
assessing the performance of advisory services offered by exporters to producers in cocoa
certification in Côte d’Ivoire. This thesis combines the contributions of innovation
systems and those of the institutional economics of services to address four questions.
First, it analyzes the organization of certification programs conducted by exporters in
Côte d’Ivoire. Second, the thesis studies the functioning of the advisory schemes
embedded to the exporter certification programs. Third, the thesis examines the quality
of advisory services provided to producers in exporter certification programs. Fourth, it
assesses the effects of advisory services on the agricultural practices of cocoa farmers.
The thesis is based on data collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with
a variety of actors involved in the exporter certification programs, observations,
document review and surveys of 193 producers. A thematic analysis of the interviews
was used to examine the functioning of the certification programs and the advisory
services embedded in them and the quality of services provided to producers. We used a
Poisson regression augmented with thematic analysis to study the effects of advisory
services on changes in producer practices. Our results show that certification programs
can be seen as networks orchestrated by exporters. As orchestrators, exporters participate
in building the network, facilitate the mobility of knowledge and financial resources
within the network, manage the certification implementation process, and appropriate the
rents from the certification. The advisory services in these certification programs are
multi-organizational schemes in which exporters act as intermediaries that facilitate
access by cooperatives to resources needed to provide advisory services to producers. The
advice provided in these schemes is highly prescriptive, offering very few opportunities
for producers to participate in the production of the farm advice. In addition, it neglects
the environmental and social concerns of certification. The poor quality of services
coupled with the inadequacy of certification standards to producers’ realities have as a
consequence a weak and partial adoption of these standards. The results of the thesis
strongly weaken the arguments asserting that the participation of the private sector in the
advisory services would improve the quality and efficiency of the services. They also call
into question the ability of exporter-led certification programs and associated advisory
services to address the serious and persistent environmental and social problems of the
cocoa supply chain in Côte d’Ivoire.
... L'ingénierie de projet s'évertue alors à « inciter », « sensibiliser », « contrôler » la plantation et le maintien des arbres. Cependant, des études empiriques montrent que les agriculteurs mettent déjà en place des associations d'espèces, notamment en utilisant des arbres qui ont repoussé spontanément (Ruf, Uribe Leitz, et al., 2019;Sanial, 2019). Dans les forêts classées de l'État, la situation des paysans est délicate, car ils sont censés être regroupés au sein des "Agro-Forêts" et encouragés à adopter l'agroforesterie. ...
... Certains planteurs ne sont pas conscients de leur appartenance à une coopérative ou de leur statut de certifiés. Les problèmes de gouvernance révèlent une concentration du pouvoir et une distribution inéquitable des bénéfices(Ruf, Uribe Leitz, et al., 2019). Par ailleurs, une grande partie de la production agricole est gérée par des pisteurs individuels, responsables de l'achat, de la collecte, du transport et de la commercialisation. ...
... This was confirmed during FGDs, where participants underscored a lack of transparency in the distribution of inputs, credit, and equipment within cooperatives when these were available, but also highlighted the fact that the quantities put at their disposal were not enough for everyone to benefit. Ruf et al. (2019) in Ivory Coast also highlighted FOs limitations in providing services to their members. Finally, the high cost for providing these services might explain their lower perceived quality, especially in a context where farmers do not contribute much to the service costs. ...
... When transparency is not a rule, capture and favouritism easily occur, especially for scarce and costly services such as equipment and inputs. For instance, in Ivory Coast, Ruf et al. (2019) found that certification benefits accruing to cooperatives did not benefit all the members. Moreover, it is plausible that, together with experienced cocoa farmers, groups leaders request for more services due to the witnessed benefits accruing from previous services. ...
... Most cocoa beans processed around the world are grown by smallholder farmers in these areas whose livelihoods depend on their produce (Giacometti et al., 2015) Major challenges identified in the cocoa value chain have been associated with farmers and their immediate environment. Some key issues noted are poverty, deforestation and climate change, pests and diseases as well as child labour (Ingram et al., 2018;Ruf et al., 2019). Sustainable certification schemes have been a widely used measuring standard over decades in assessing quality beans for processing and responding to sustainability challenges (Ollenderf et al., 2022). ...
Cocoa is traded internationally and is highly significant to most economies. The majority of cocoa beans are sourced from West Africa, exporting over 70 % of cocoa globally. Despite this, West Africa makes minimal profits as compared to the consumer countries controlling the chocolate industry. A lot of sustainability interventions have been rolled out to ensure the continuous production of the crop. Europe and other international organizations have invested largely in cocoa sustainability. Some interventions have been in the form of certification standards, sensitization and awareness programs, training and empowering farmers, particularly in the West African region. Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire have benefitted from a lot of sustainability programs as the world’s largest cocoa producers. This review delves into several sustainability initiatives implemented in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire through Voluntary Sustainability Standards, local government regulations, and international organizations. It also highlights the importance of sustainability in ensuring a consistent supply of high-quality cocoa beans for processors and highlights its associated health benefits.
... Uribe-Leitz and Ruf (2019) and Woods (1999) highlight criticisms such as their dependence on external assistance, conflicting economic interests, elite capture and lack of inclusiveness. Ruf et al. (2019) emphasize that most cooperatives in Côte d'Ivoire do not apply the values of collective decision-making and democratic management, as many have been established by former cocoa buyers and traders. Additional challenges arise from from administrative practices that do not align with the realities of land ownership and on-the-ground farm management. ...
In Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, many small-scale cocoa producers cultivate cocoa in unshaded or low-shaded plots, leading to challenges such as reduced biodiversity, soil fertility depletion, and increased soil erosion. To assess the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices in the cocoa sector, we develop a scale that incorporates dimensions of agroforestry, soil conservation, pest and disease management and farm sanitation. Using data from >1700 cocoa producers, we examine farmer participation in cooperatives and three main certification schemes (incl. Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance and Organic) to understand their roles in promoting sustainable practices. We apply a multinomial endogenous switching regression model to control for potential selection bias and estimate the impact of participating in certification schemes, farmer cooperatives or both. In Côte d'Ivoire, econometric results show that joint participation in both a certification scheme and a farmer cooperative is associated with a significantly higher sustainability score. In Ghana, certification scheme membership shows the highest effect.
... En même temps, plusieurs travaux soulignent que les études sur les alternatives food networks (AFN) se sont concentrées sur les pays plus avancés et n'ont pas fait la lumière nécessaire sur les espaces du « Sud global » (Abrahams, 2007) ou de la « périphérie globale » (Bidwell et al, 2018). D'autres ont montré que des démarches comme le commerce équitable, qui vise à donner du pouvoir aux petits agriculteurs et aux travailleurs de la périphérie, ne réalisent pas toujours cette promesse, offrant à ces acteurs relativement peu de gains en termes de capacité d'agir (Moberg, 2014 ;Ruf et al, 2019). L'absence de prise en compte des particularités géo-historiques des îles tropicales peut occasionner des biais, lorsqu'il s'agit de rendre compte du lien entre dynamiques marchandes et agroécologie (Cerdan et al, 2017). ...
... De plus, peu de données existent sur les taux de survie des plants distribués. Bien que la distribution d'arbres aille généralement de pair avec des systèmes de contrôle, l'audit est si difficile à mener sérieusement sur le terrain que les effets de telles initiatives sont contestés (Kouassi et al., 2023 ;Ruf, 2023 ;Ruf et al., 2019). ...
En Côte d’Ivoire, l’agroforesterie devient une notion incontournable après une déforestation massive pour les cultures de plantation. Depuis les années 2010, le terme se généralise dans le vocabulaire politique, les normes internationales de durabilité et la communication des entreprises chocolatières. Cette note examine comment l'agroforesterie s’est imposée dans l'agenda politique ivoirien. Adoptant une approche compréhensive et à partir d’une soixantaine d’entretiens et des documents politiques, elle analyse la manière dont la notion d’agroforesterie est mobilisée en Côte d’Ivoire, les instruments de sa promotion et les controverses qu’elle suscite. D’abord, ce travail montre que la mise à l’agenda de l’agroforesterie en Côte d’Ivoire se fait suivant des canaux pluriels. Différents instruments de promotion de l’agroforesterie se côtoient, tels que les normes de certification privée, la norme africaine régionale de durabilité pour le cacao, les paiements pour services environnementaux ou encore un dispositif national dit « Agro-Forêt », issu du nouveau Code forestier. Ensuite, malgré le consensus sur la promotion de l'agroforesterie, sa définition large permet à des acteurs aux intérêts divergents de s'approprier le concept. Ce travail met par ailleurs en évidence la pluralité des objectifs et des perspectives que recouvre la notion en Côte d’Ivoire. Il identifie ainsi des controverses concernant les critères du système agroforestier, sa finalité, la place des agriculteurs, l’échelle d’analyse et la temporalité à considérer. En définitive, cette note contribue à expliciter les traductions politiques plurielles d’une notion issue des sciences. Les liens complexes entre les recherches biophysiques et la pratique politique soulignent l'importance de prendre en compte cette interface pour une meilleure conception de l'agroforesterie et une transition efficace.
... Though certification schemes are third-party audited, which in principle provides them higher accountability than voluntary sustainability commitments, the capacity of auditing bodies is questioned (Greenpeace, 2021;Ruf et al., 2019) and even certification shows limited evidence of efficacy, with heterogeneous impacts on farm worker incomes and deforestation (Dietz and Grabs, 2021;Meemken et al., 2021;Oberlack et al., 2023;Tayleur et al., 2018). Moreover, certifications focus on an even narrower set of sustainability topics than commitments, and their benefits have been reported to not match with the implementation costs (Ingram et al., 2018a;Mcdermott et al., 2022;Thorlakson, 2018;van der Ven et al., 2018). ...
The production and trade of agricultural commodities, such as cocoa, have important impacts on farmer livelihoods and the environment, prompting a growing number of companies to adopt public commitments to address sustainability issues in their value chains. Though trading companies, who handle the procurement and export of these commodities, are key actors in corporate sustainability efforts, cross-country data on their identity, market share, and adoption of sustainability commitments is lacking. Here, we address this gap for the cocoa sector by compiling detailed shipping data from eight countries responsible for 80% of global cocoa exports, developing a typology of trader types, and assessing their adoption of sustainability commitments. We find that cocoa trading is a highly concentrated market: seven transnational companies handled 62% of the global cocoa trade, with even larger shares in individual cocoa producing countries. The remaining 38% of exports were handled by domestic trading companies and farmer cooperatives. Overall, the adoption of public sustainability commitments is low. We estimated that just over one quarter (26%) of cocoa is traded under some form of sustainability commitment, with gaps arising from their exclusion of indirect sourcing, low adoption rates by domestic traders, and commitment blind spots, notably on forest degradation and farmer incomes. Low rates of traceability and transparency pose a further barrier to the broadscale implementation and monitoring of these commitments: one-quarter of traders report being able to trace at least some of their cocoa back to farmer cooperatives and only half of them openly disclose the identity of their suppliers. We discuss the opportunities and limitations of voluntary sustainability commitments in a highly concentrated market and argue that, to realize visions of sustainable trade, the gaps in commitment coverage must be closed by extending current efforts to smaller traders and indirect suppliers. However, companies must support, coordinate and align with government efforts so that voluntary initiatives are ultimately rendered more transparent and accountable.
... First, cooperatives play a crucial role in traceability but they are poorly structured (El Makhloufi et al 2018). Many are the result of traders or local leaders' business interest, with a membership 'on paper' , rather than farmers deciding to work together (Ruf et al 2019). As a result, links between farmers and buyers are fluid with farmers selling to multiple buyers to cope with delays in payments (El Makhloufi et al 2018, BASIC and FAO 2020, Nitidae and EFI 2021 and cooperatives buying from non-member farmers to meet the needs of their clients (IDEF 2021, Stoop et al 2021. ...
Cocoa production has been identified as a major global driver of deforestation, but its precise contribution to deforestation dynamics in West Africa remains unclear. It is also unknown to what degree companies and international markets are able to trace their cocoa imports, and satisfy their sustainable sourcing commitments. Here, we use publicly-available remote-sensing and supply chain data for Côte d’Ivoire, the world’s largest cocoa producer, to quantify cocoa-driven deforestation and trace 2019 cocoa exports and the associated deforestation from their department of origin, via trading companies, to international markets. We find 2.4 Mha of cocoa deforestation and degradation over 2000–2019, i.e. 125 000 ha y⁻¹, representing 45% of the total deforestation and forest degradation over that period. Only 43.6% (95% CI: 42.6%–44.7%) of exports can be traced back to a specific cooperative and department. The majority of cocoa (over 55%) thus remains untraced, either indirectly sourced from local intermediaries by major traders (23.9%, 95% CI: 22.9%–24.9%), or exported by untransparent traders—who disclose no information about their suppliers (32.4%). Traceability to farm lags further behind, and is insufficient to meet the EU due-diligence legislation’s proposed requirement for geolocation of product origins. We estimate that trading companies in the Cocoa and Forests Initiative have mapped 40% of the total farms supplying them, representing only 22% of all Ivorian cocoa exports in 2019. We identify 838 000 hectares of deforestation over 2000–2015 associated with 2019 EU imports, 56% of this arising through untraced sourcing. We discuss issues of company- and state-led traceability systems, often presented as solutions to deforestation, and stress the need for transparency and for the sector to work beyond individual supply chains, at landscape-level, calling for collaboration, stronger regulatory policies, and investments to preserve the remaining stretches of forests in West Africa.
... Over the past decade, cocoa production and its myriad sustainability challenges, such as extreme poverty among many cocoa producers, and related issues of child labor o and biodiversity degradation in producing countries (Fountain and Hütz-Adams 2020;Ingram et al. 2018;Ruf et al. 2019) have received increasing attention in sustainability debates. This has put the low sustainability of cocoa production on the political agenda of multiple actors on various scales. ...
In the global cocoa-chocolate chain, sustainability certification became the most widely applied industry tool to respond to sustainability challenges, such as extreme poverty among cocoa producers, and related issues of child labor and deforestation. This contribution analyzes how sustainability certification shapes broader social dynamics in targeted communities by applying the concept of social cohesion. This framework allows for the discussion on the appropriateness of sustainability certification to foster the needed societal conditions for community empowerment and collective action, both of which often regarded as key for a broader sustainability transition. Insights from key informant interviews in two Ghanaian cocoa communities targeted by a Rainforest Alliance cocoa sustainability project indicate that there is an enhanced interaction between scheme participants leading to new ingroup-outgroup patterns among community members. Further, while some informal institutions and one particular societal group are negatively affected by the sustainability intervention, no broader effect on communities’ overall social cohesion was measured. Finally, despite contributing to the greening of cocoa production, certification implements measures that risk to hamper the spread of collective action and may dilute the “societal glue” in targeted communities.
... Pouvant être de taille variable, et parfois appuyés par des institutions publiques ou des organismes de développement, les collectifs se caractérisent avant tout par leur autonomie et par la singularité de leurs règles de fonctionnement et de leurs objectifs, en cohérence avec la vision d' Ostrom (1990) sur la gouvernance des communs. Ils se distinguent par conséquent des expériences collectivistes qui, dans bien des pays des Suds, ont reposé ou reposent encore sur la mise en place de coopératives au fonctionnement vertical et parfois autoritaire, laissant peu de place à l'initiative des agriculteurs (Chaléard et al., 2008 ;Foy, 2015 ;Ruf et al., 2019). ...
In Tunisia, mountain territories have been little concerned in recent decades by rural and agricultural development policies. Moreover, they have been partially addressed in scientific productions, which have often only proposed reflections on pastoralism or the degradation of forest resources. While the lack of knowledge about them is an additional factor of their marginalization, this article intends to offer a new look at the rural mountain territories in Tunisia, in a post-2011 revolution context that invites questions about the development of interior regions. To do this, it draws on the results of a series of interviews conducted in 2020 with researchers, representatives of agricultural services and farmers of Jbel Bargou. By restoring and comparing their discourse, this text provides elements for reflection on the prospects for transition of rural mountain territories in Tunisia. He indicates that the lack of a "collective" among farmers is, for the time being, an obstacle to the implementation of innovative agricultural practices, and specifies that this situation is mainly the result of inadequate and partly outdated action by agricultural services.
... Plus fondamentalement, tant qu'il s'agit de faciliter l'accès aux engrais pour une coopérative dans un pays de seconde importance pour le produit agricole considéré, et sous réserve que le coût de l'engrais reste abordable, une augmentation de production peut se traduire par une hausse des revenus des planteurs (et des coopératives). En revanche, quand toutes les TNC entendent augmenter les rendements de centaines de milliers de planteurs dans le pays champion du cacao, on peut se poser la question de l'impact d'un supplément d'offre sur le cours mondial : risque de baisse du cours, et donc chute des revenus des planteurs, risque de nouvelles dépendances et d'endettement des planteurs (Odijie, 2015(Odijie, , 2018Ollendorf, 2021 ;Ruf et al., 2019a). En corollaire, au-delà d'une amélioration conjoncturelle des revenus affirmée par les TNC et les organisations non gouvernementales (ONG) partenaires (Solidaridad, 2021), un tel scénario reviendrait à dire que les planteurs s'appauvrissent pour enrichir les TNC. ...
Pendant des siècles, combinés avec le travail de migrants, la forêt et la rente forêt ont été les principaux facteurs de production du cacao. C’est le modèle universel du cacao, qui a fait de la Côte d’Ivoire le premier producteur mondial. Mais le niveau de déforestation est tel qu’une partie des planteurs doivent trouver des alternatives à la rente forêt, notamment l’engrais minéral. Cet intrant chimique est de fait un facteur d’amélioration des rendements et a priori des revenus. Cependant, si la consommation d’engrais chimique est poussée par le « système », composé des Transnational Corporations (TNC) du cacao, des coopératives, des agences de crédit, des organisations non gouvernementales internationales et des labels de cacao dit « durables », n’y a-t-il pas danger d’effets inverses : contribution à l’excès d’offre de cacao, baisse du cours mondial, endettement et appauvrissement des planteurs ? À partir de trois enquêtes auprès de 150 à 250 planteurs entre 2013 et 2017, d’une enquête auprès de 41 coopératives en 2017 et d’un suivi des prix du cacao et de l’engrais sur 30 ans, l’étude aborde le rôle du prix relatif cacao/engrais et du crédit sur la consommation d’engrais, et leur impact sur la chute du cours du cacao en 2016–2017. L’impact est certain, même si le processus d’expansion cacaoyère par le binôme migration-déforestation reste le facteur essentiel de la hausse de l’offre et de la chute du cours. Le discours selon lequel les gains de rendement vont créer un « cacao durable » et dissuader les planteurs de défricher les forêts reste un mythe. Les migrations continuent aux dépens des toutes dernières forêts classées du pays, à l’est vers Abengourou, à l’ouest vers Blolequin, Man et Touba. Là encore, en dépit de leur communication sur la durabilité, les certifications ont totalement échoué : le cacao de Côte d’Ivoire dépend encore beaucoup de la déforestation. Enfin, de l’autre côté du fleuve Cavally, la grande forêt dense du Libéria disparaît à son tour, sur la voie d’un nouveau boom du cacao. Même si les responsabilités sont partagées avec les politiques publiques, que reste-t-il de « durable » dans la certification et les actions de la majorité des TNC ? Le fossé entre leur communication virtuelle et la réalité n’a jamais été aussi grand.
... As such, they manage the advisors and bear all the costs related to the implementation of the advisory activities. However, given the weakness of cooperatives in the cocoa sector (Ruf et al. 2019), the exporter helps them implement advisory activities in different ways. First, the exporter defines the methods and tools to be used by the advisors. ...
Purpose
This study investigated the impact of privatization of advisory services on the quality of the services.
Design/methodology/approach
The front- and back-office dimensions of advisory activities were analyzed through interviews with 43 advisers involved in the advisory services provided as part of a cocoa exporter's certification program.
Findings
Our results showed that the ratio of advisors per producer in the private advisory system is too high, and the means of transport for advisors are inadequate. The training received by the advisors is strongly oriented towards mastering technical subjects related to certification requirements, while soft or process topics that would provide them with knowledge and skills required to co-produce with farmers is neglected. Regarding the front office dimension, advice to cocoa producers is largely prescriptive and fails to co-produce knowledge that is relevant to their needs.
Practical implications
The study produced empirical data that allows us to go beyond the theoretical farm advice approach derived from micro-economic modeling.
Theoretical implications
Our findings weaken the arguments in favor of privatization of farm advisory services.
Originality/value
The study provides insights into the consequence of privatizing farm advisory services in the West Africa context by producing one of the first study on this subject in Côte d'Ivoire.
The Social and Solidarity Economy (SSE) exhibits distinct characteristics in African countries. This study investigates the motivations driving farmers to participate in SSE organizations. The findings highlight the significance of informal solidarity as a cornerstone of SSE success. Moreover, the study identifies barriers hindering farmer engagement in solidarity-based economic and organizational initiatives. The foremost obstacle is rooted in the negative symbolic perception of cooperatives inherited from Tunisia's institutional history, exacerbated by the traumatic memory of the collectivist experience in the 1960s. Additionally, institutional and political factors contribute to this situation, notably the Tunisian state subsequent weaknesses before and after the revolution.
Au service d’une industrie du chocolat florissante, les planteurs de cacao de Côte d’Ivoire sont majoritairement en dessous du seuil de pauvreté. En septembre 2019, les gouvernements ivoiriens et ghanéens imposent le Différentiel de revenu décent (DRD) aux compagnies privées, un supplément de 400 $ par tonne par rapport au prix du marché international, répercuté sur le prix au producteur (prix bord champ). Début 2020 surgit la Covid-19. Dans ce double contexte, comment évoluent les prix ? L’espoir d’augmentation des revenus a-t-il été atteint ? Trois approches principales sont utilisées : a) un suivi mensuel des prix des produits agricoles vendus et des biens achetés par les planteurs de cacao ; b) un suivi des prix du cacao payés aux producteurs ; c) une analyse des productions nationales de Côte d’Ivoire et du Ghana, du cours mondial, des variations de la demande en fèves par l’industrie du broyage et du prix au producteur, sur 20 ans. Le premier résultat est une hausse temporaire et limitée du prix du cacao bord champ fin 2020, puis sa chute en 2021 alors que les prix des intrants et des produits de consommation flambent. Le ciseau des prix se resserre encore plus en 2021–2022. C’est donc l’échec du DRD, mais le rôle de la Covid-19 dans cet échec est très nuancé au regard des déclarations de l’État et des multinationales. La baisse des prix et les pertes de revenus des planteurs de cacao en 2020–2022 s’inscrit plutôt dans la théorie économique des jeux. Sans contrôle de leur offre et de celle du partenaire, un accord entre deux entreprises ou pays ne peut pas fonctionner. L’échec s’inscrit dans un changement structurel : croissance démographique, politiques d’encouragement aux migrations et à la déforestation, opacité de la filière, et finalement croissance continue de l’offre de cacao de Côte d’Ivoire sur le marché international.
This chapter analyzes the impacts of the application of fairtrade principles by producer organizations in Côte d'Ivoire. It identifies the basic principles of the Fairtrade label and its potential implications for sustainable development and responsible consumption. The chapter explores the application and implications of these principles in the context of Côte d'Ivoire. It focuses on the West African branch of Fairtrade Africa, and more specifically on the case of Côte d'Ivoire. Standards for traders are applied, in particular, to actors who buy and sell Fairtrade products. The Fairtrade minimum price is extremely useful as it protects producers from the volatility of the global markets by establishing a minimum amount that must be paid to them. The Fairtrade label plays an important role as it takes into account both the quality of the product delivered and the well-being of the consumer in society.
Cameroon plans to double its cocoa production in the coming decade in line with international requirements for sustainable and deforestation-free cocoa. Private certification, which has developed considerably in recent years, should help achieve this objective. Based on a literature review and 63 individual interviews with farmers, we identified four archetypes of cocoa production using the criteria of plantation size, degree of shade, and support from public or private extension services. We analyzed the average operating accounts of the four archetypes. Our findings show that the net profit rates obtained by small-scale certified producers are 14% (in the savannah zone) and 24% (in the forest zone). These rates are much higher than for the other two production models. Certification schemes provide technical and financial support, which has a positive influence on the practices of many small-scale producers and compensates for the lack of public services, which are now almost non-existent. A hybrid governance of the cocoa sector in Cameroon could clarify and improve the organization of the interactions between public regulation and private certification systems.
‘Transparency’, ‘Traceability’, ‘Sustainable standards’, ‘good agricultural practices’ and ‘zero-deforestation’ are all fine terms which [alongside many others] have emerged in connection with the cocoa sector’s certification process. But does the reality of this process justify using such terms? Our initial conclusions in this study, based on an analysis of existing research over recent years, revealed that a considerable number of investigations had been commissioned by the certification schemes themselves. Key findings presented by the various studies all conveyed a positive tone. However, on closer inspection we felt that smallholders covered by the programmes were ‘following party lines’ rather than speaking freely. This suspicion was well-founded. Having built up trust in the villages during several years of field-work, we eventually gained access to exclusive data held by the cooperatives and certification programmes. We have used this evidence in order to draw a comparison between the virtual world portrayed by certification schemes’ narrative and the real world being faced by cocoa producers. Certification schemes claim that they give a sense of trust within the value chain, particularly in regard to produce traceability. They also claim to assist farmers, by way of training, various inputs (fertilisers etc.) and credit schemes. In reality, these ‘advantages’ are not visible at farm level. Budgets prepared by cooperatives to justify the use of premiums reflect structural flaws in certification and access to information. Serious questions arise surrounding deforestation, child labour and the payment of premiums. Social investment is minimal and consumers’ perception diverges from the reality. In conclusion, we make a number of key proposals and suggestions based on stakeholders’ complaints and recommendations
Using a case study, this article uses the concept of network orchestration to examine the role of exporters in the implementation of voluntary cocoa certification in Côte d’Ivoire. To this end, data were collected from literature reviews, surveys of two exporters, and 20 cooperatives. Actor linkage matrix, actor linkage map and discourse analysis are used to understand the role of exporters in cocoa certification in Côte d’Ivoire. The findings show that exporters not only participate in the construction of a network of actors around the implementation of cocoa certification, but above all they pilot the
network to facilitate certification implementation by actively participating in the mobility of knowledge and financial resources within the network and managing the certification process. However, although exporters play a key role in the implementation of voluntary certifications, their role as network orchestrator is dilemmatic. Indeed, they use their position as orchestrator to control sales of cooperatives’ certified cocoa and their premium.
This report examines the cocoa supply chain, its associated deforestation, and the role and limitations of certification schemes to reduce deforestation. The deforestation-related commitments from cocoa companies are analyzed across the value chain by looking at commitment types, implementation, and the enabling environment. These findings are compared with lessons from palm oil since it has the most similarities to cocoa due to its large contingent of smallholder producers and limitations that exacerbate deforestation. Finally, a vision for zero-deforestation cocoa with key principles and strategies is described. This work is meant to inform industry, governments, and development partners to be effective actors in a zero-deforestation cocoa future.
Sustainability issues are urgent in cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire. The cocoa sector continues to face deeply embedded, interrelated challenges around productivity; low income and working conditions; scaling up grouping and service delivery to farmers; negative environmental impacts; and a tight supply and demand relationship with recession and expansion affecting global market and farm-gate prices.
This report analyses the contributions of UTZ and the interventions of companies implementing UTZ certification with groups of farmers in Côte d’Ivoire. The outcomes analysed are increased yields, improved income, improved working and living conditions, and better environmental protection. UTZ initiated a certification programme for cocoa in Côte d’Ivoire in 2008. By 2012 the programme covered 189 cooperatives comprising over 44,624 cocoa farmers and partnerships with eight companies. In 2017 the programme had grown to 425 UTZ certificate holders comprising 330,000 farmers and seven partners (due to mergers).
In 2012, UTZ, IDH and Solidaridad commissioned WUR to determine the effects of the UTZ certification programme, starting with a baseline study. This report presents a follow-up with the results of the independent endline survey. To explore the expected pathway of impacts at farmer household level, changes at farmer group level, company and service provider were analysed using a mixed method approach, based on interviews in 2013 and 2017 with 944 and 426 cocoa farmers respectively, interviews and data from cooperative managers, UTZ and companies. Using a counterfactual, a statistical analysis and qualitative content analysis, comparisons were made of results for 2013 and 2017, of UTZ compared to non-certified farmers, and of farmers receiving different types of services and service packages, and varying intensity of services.
The results indicate that farmers do gain knowledge and implement good agricultural, social and environmental practices, with knowledge and implementation rates improving between 2013 and 2017, especially for non-UTZ farmers. However, knowledge and implementation rates are still low for both UTZ and non-UTZ farmers. Whilst implementation rates are generally higher than farmer's knowledge, barriers were found for fertiliser application and handling diseased pods.
The extent to which cocoa farmers implement good practices as a result of certification, training and other services, has been mixed and limited. UTZ certification plus service packages have not resulted in changing farmer practices to the extent expected. The intensity of training and services decreased over time, levelling out knowledge and implementation improvements. Non-UTZ farmers have also benefitted from training and services between 2013 and 2017.
The question of whether adopted practices lead to better lives, incomes, crops and environment was answered by looking at four main areas derived from the UTZ theory of change. Farmers receiving high intensity service packages are most impacted. UTZ farmers continue to have significantly higher cocoa productivity than non-UTZ farmers. Changes in productivity on a seasonal basis however are attributed largely to the weather. Over time non-UTZ farmers are catching up to similar yields as UTZ farmers. Farmers generally produce under potential, on average 480 kg/ha, indicating there is still room for major improvement. UTZ farmers had significantly higher net cocoa income per hectare in 2017 than non-UTZ farmers. Total cocoa income per household member/day for 2017 is similar for UTZ and non-UTZ farmers. Cocoa per capita incomes remain low, at USD 1.25 per day.
UTZ farmers have seen improvements in their lives, working and living conditions, whereas non-UTZ farmers have experienced fewer changes. UTZ farmers perceive improvements in water and soil, but non-UTZ farmers note few changes towards a better environment.
Positive spill-over effects were also detected, although not anticipated in the pathway to change, contributing to the impact of certification. Service packages appear to work, with specific packages ('agricultural training + one input' and 'agricultural training +pesticides and fertiliser' packages) being significantly associated with increased productivity and net cocoa income improvement for UTZ farmers.
Although the pathways to impact and change are largely confirmed, there remains a gap between what certification is expected to deliver and what it actually has delivered. Impacts have not been felt by all UTZ farmers, and the level of impacts have generally been marginal for crop productivity, incomes and the environment. Lessons learnt from this study are that:
UTZ certification alone has not led to impacts such as improving farmers' livelihoods beyond poverty levels and assuring social risk-free cocoa. One reason is that productivity and income increases are levelling off, with results suggesting that a ceiling has been reached as productivity increases for UTZ farmer plateauing while non-UTZ farmers are catching up to the levels experienced by UTZ farmers.
Confirming the theory of change, pathways to impacts were largely as foreseen: well-functioning cooperatives formed a vehicle to certification, providing packages of services to members. Training and adherence to the UTZ Code of Conduct generally is associated with better crops, incomes and environmental outcomes and knowledge is applied in practice. There were also unanticipated outcomes at producer and company level and the professionalisation of farmers and cooperatives; increased intensity and broader range of services alongside certification and increased farmer satisfaction with cooperatives. There appear to be positive spill-over effects as non-UTZ farmers come into contact with certified farmers, learn and adopt similar techniques to generate higher productivity and cocoa-related income. Certification has functioned as a vehicle to which services have been attached, enabling an increased intensity and broader package of services to be provided.
Recommendations:
1. Focus on topics that matter most: target interventions to match farmers' demographic, economic and farm characteristics, with tailored mixes of service packages that focus on farmers' specific needs and the most problematic practices relating to child labour, input use, shade trees and waste management.
2. Identify barriers and enablers to improve sustainable cocoa production and livelihoods: current incentives of certification and associated services are insufficient to motivate all value chain actors, requiring investments to close sustainability gaps and reinventing tools to sufficiently and adequately implement and diagnose and address sustainability gaps and underlying causes. This includes tensions of (over)supply and low prices which harm farmer incomes, risk mitigation and accessing more profitable value chains, and enabling access to credit.
3. Combine a high intensity package of Good Agricultural Practice training plus pesticides and fertilisers to have higher impact.
4. Engage with complementary sector level interventions, based on evidence of what works.
5. Facilitate the meeting of bottom-up farmer and top-down industry and government visions.
6. Take a transformational approach to provoke systemic change in the Ivorian cocoa sector.
Cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire (40% of the world market) has tripled in the past 35 years even as the country’s forests are depleted. The chocolate industry, concerned about production so concentrated in one country and its dependence on the forest, is trying to convince smallholders to obtain ‘cocoa certification.’ This scheme, while couched in environmental terms, aims to increase cocoa yields and recommends the removal of kola trees from cocoa plots. This advice, ultimately largely ignored by the cocoa farmers, reflects a lack of understanding of farmer practices and kola tree’s economic, social, and cultural role. The chocolate industry reveals its vision for agroforestry as limited to production and demonstrates an unwillingness to participate in the smallholder-driven innovation system that is transforming Ivorian cocoa cultivation.
Theory of change (ToC) is currently the approach for the evaluation and planning of international development programs. This approach is considered especially suitable for complex interventions. We question this assumption and argue that ToC’s focus on cause–effect logic and intended outcomes does not do justice to the recursive nature of complex interventions such as advocacy. Supported by our work as evaluators, and specifically our case study of an advocacy program on child rights, we illustrate how advocacy evolves through recursive interactions, with outcomes that are emergent rather than predictable. We propose putting “practices of change” at the center by emphasizing human interactions, using the analytical lenses of strategies as practice and recursiveness.
This provides room for emergent outcomes and implies a different use of ToC. In this article, we make a clear distinction between theoretical reality models and the real world of practices.
In the 2010s, governments, NGOs and private companies invented slogans such as ‘zero deforestation cocoa’ or ‘cocoa, the friend of the forests’ which remain pure myths until today, in 2017. Behind these slogans, the reality in Côte d’Ivoire is that forest clearance continues. Zero deforestation cocoa only exists where all the forest has already disappeared, and with few exceptions, protected areas and classified forests are not actually protected in any way.
Also, the removal of trees on smallholder farms has been equally continuous throughout the 1990s and 2000s, and is only slowing down now because so few trees remain.
To improve further tree planting into the future, institutions and legislation must acknowledge the value of trees and their tenure, to the smallholders who plant them. The 2014 Forestry Code guarantees ownership of planted trees to the planter, but the law is ambiguous and is far from well-known and widely applied, and farmers remain excluded of all rights regarding native timber trees left during clearing. Together, these are probably the main factors behind the absence of timber trees in most cocoa farms in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana
But there is hope, if there is a greater understanding of the problems, and how smallholder farmers think and why they do what they do.
REDD+ programmes are certainly not ‘zero-deforestation’ but show some potential in afforestation/agroforestry systems. However, they rely or should rely on the innovation of a minority of farmers, and their will to overcome their fear of loggers and plant or regenerate trees by themselves, without cocoa certification that has been a massive failure.
The best strategy, however, may be to not certify cocoa itself, but to certify timber trees planted in cocoa farms.
The pattern of sustainable standard diffusion has received much attention from social science researchers. We contribute to existing literature with a case study on the Rainforest Alliance (RA) initiative in the Ivorian cocoa sector. We scrutinise the RA standard, by drawing on seminal contributions on the pervasive effects of information asymmetry in markets (Akerlof, 1970) and on the inherent uncertainty of credence properties (Darby and Karni, 1973). We examine the uncertainty surrounding standard compliance, in particular, the capacity to enforce the standard. We argue that the translation of principles into auditable technical specifications is very rough. Furthermore, our empirical results from producer surveys show that criteria addressing the productivity issue receive more attention than environmental issues. In a context where chocolate companies are extremely interested in ensuring sustainable supplies, we argue that certification, proclaimed to be 'in the name of sustainability', is mainly perceived as a productivity-enhancing tool.
The monoculture systems that were encouraged by governments since the 1960s have led to major socio-economic and environmental crises. Now the diversification of tree crop systems is advancing throughout the tropics. Why and when does diversification take place? What categories of farmers diversify? What obstacles do they have to overcome, and how do public and private policies interfere in this process? How do land use systems and landscapes evolve as a result of this diversification? According to the authors of this volume, diversification is certainly a response to market risks, but also to the depletion of environmental resources. Ecological changes such as declining soil fertility and increasing pressure from pests, diseases and weeds intensify at the end of monoculture cycles, driving crop change and diversification of farming systems. Meanwhile, diversification is encouraged by governments but increasingly also by the private sector that offers free seedlings, credit, technical assistance and market outlets to farmers to encourage the adoption of certain crops in a context of increasing competition for land resources. Social changes such as the return of young people to the villages, investments of urban middle classes in plantation agriculture, aging of the rural work force and increasing population pressure also play a role in this process. Through 15 case studies from Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Pacific, the authors provide us with in-depth insights into the economy and ecology of family agriculture and its recent developments.
Since 2008 UTZ Certified has implemented a programme in Ivory Coast to enhance sustainability in the cocoa supply chain through the implementation of the UTZ Code of Conduct. The programme has supported farmers who are members of the cooperatives receive training on farm management and organisational capacity building, and become certified. Starting off with four cooperatives, two traders and Solidaridad as partners, it has grown into a large scale programme. By June 2012 86 cooperatives were certified, 44,624 farmers reached, and 128,582 tons of certified cocoa had been produced from an estimated farm area of 219,100 hectares. Eight traders and the Sustainable Trade Initiative (IDH) are now partners, who are implementing certification as part of broader activities to support cocoa farmers, their cooperatives and communities. As of June 2013, a further 103 cooperatives were in the process of certification. This report serves two purposes: it provides a baseline of farm-level situation as of mid-2013, which can be used to measure changes in indicators in future impact assessments. It also provides an initial assessment of impacts by comparing different groups of cocoa farmers. It provides information about
the inclusiveness of the UTZ Certified cocoa programme in Ivory Coast. It evaluates how
certification and related activities have affected farmers’ knowledge and implementation of good agricultural practices, social and environmental issues in line with the UTZ Certified Code of Conduct and assesses the added value of certification. Lessons learned are drawn from the results, feeding recommendations to improve the quality and effectiveness of the programme.
Sustainability standards and certification schemes have been promoted as a market-driven instrument for realising development impacts and receive public funding. As a result, companies, NGOs and supporting donors and governments want to know if these ambitions have been fulfilled. Their tendency is to commission household surveys to assess net effects of certification in areas such as poverty, productivity and food security. This article argues that, rather than trying to measure precise net effects on farmer income, the focus should be on detailed measurement of more immediate outcomes in terms of knowledge and implementation of good agricultural practices. Contribution analysis is proposed as an overall approach to verify the theory of change, combining survey-based net-effect measurement of these immediate and intermediate outcomes with less precise, lean monitoring of indicators to verify the contributory role of these outcomes that are outside the span of direct influence, such as household income and poverty alleviation.
Members' attitudes and perceptions play a significant role in their behavior toward their organization and the performance of such organizations. This study examines the role of these “people” factors in a sample of fruit and vegetable growers' cooperatives in the Mid‐Atlantic United States. Although the Theory of Planned Behavior is used as the framework of analysis, the objective of this study was not to test the theory. Study findings provide additional insights into how cooperative members' beliefs and knowledge may shape their attitudes and the consequent behavior. Given the gradual decline of both cooperative memberships and the number of cooperatives in the United States and other countries, a good understanding of members' attitudes and behaviors is necessary because a cooperative's success may depend on it.
Les attitudes et les perceptions des membres d'une coopérative jouent un rôle important dans le comportement envers l'organisme et la performance de ce dernier. La présente étude a examiné le rôle de ces facteurs ≪humains≫ dans un échantillon de coopératives de producteurs de fruits et légumes dans les États du centre du littoral atlantique. Bien que la théorie du comportement axé sur un objectif ait été utilisée comme cadre d'analyse, l'objectif de l'étude ne consistait pas à tester la théorie. Les résultats de l'étude ont fourni des éclaircissements supplémentaires sur la façon dont les croyances et les connaissances des membres d'une coopérative peuvent façonner leurs attitudes et leur comportement subséquent. Compte tenu du déclin progressif du nombre de membres de coopérative et du nombre de coopératives aux États‐Unis et dans d'autres pays, il est important de bien comprendre les attitudes et les comportements des membres puisque le succès d'une coopérative peut en dépendre .
Considérant que le modèle coopératif ne peut se résumer à sa seule dimension marchande mais se fonde sur des échanges sociaux, cet article aborde le lien adhérent-coopérative dans sa complexité en montrant le rôle médiateur de l’implication organisationnelle dans la relation entre confiance et comportements de fidélité. Il présente les fondements théoriques du modèle hypothétique testé ensuite sur un échantillon de 264 adhérents céréaliers de coopératives agricoles.
The goal of this chapter is to discuss various implementation challenges of current cocoa certification schemes at the farm level in West Africa. To this end, the chapter presents a selection of certification criteria (requirements) from the two leading certification schemes: UTZ Certified and Rainforest Alliance. The criteria selected exemplify typical implementation problems in the West African cocoa sector, though they are by no means an exhaustive list.
Certification systems (CS) set and monitor voluntary standards to make agricultural production sustainable in socioeconomic terms and agricultural trade fairer for producers and workers. They try to achieve a wide range of socioeconomic and environmental effects through bundles of interventions that include the process of standard setting and compliance, advocacy among consumers, capacity building for producers , building supply chains, price interventions, and the application of acceptable labour standards, overall to improve the wellbeing of farmers and agricultural workers. This paper presents the results of a mixed-method systematic review that synthesized the literature on socioeconomic effects of certification systems on agricultural producers and wage workers in low and middle income countries. The review followed the Campbell Collaboration guidelines for systematic reviews, and included studies published between 1990 and 2016 in different languages, with evidence on low and middle income countries. The review included a quantitative effectiveness question focused on a range of intermediate (e.g. prices, wages) and endpoint outcomes (e.g. household income). It also included a question on barriers, facilitators and contextual factors shaping effectiveness which drew on qualitative or mixed-method studies. Eligible certification systems were based on second-(industry-level) or third-party certifications, and excluded own-company standards. For the effectiveness review, quantitative impact evaluations must use experimental or non-experimental methods demonstrating control for selection bias. With these inclusion criteria, the review includes 43 studies used for analysing quantitative effects, and 136 qualitative studies for synthesizing barriers, enablers and other contextual factors. Most included studies report on initiatives in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa and focus primarily on agricultural producers. The quality of the included studies is mixed, and several studies are weak on a number of methodological fronts, especially on statistical reporting. Overall, there is limited and mixed evidence on the effects of CS on a range of intermediate and final socioeconomic outcomes for agricultural producers and wage workers. There are positive effects on prices and income from the sale of produce is higher for certified farmers. However, workers' wages do not seem to benefit from the presence of CS and, further along the causal chain, we find no evidence that total household income improves with certification. The integrated synthesis of quantitative and qualitative studies shows that context matters substantially in all causal chains and multiple factors shape the effectiveness and causal mechanisms that link interventions associated with certification and the wellbeing of producers, workers and their families.
Le gendarme tient plus du juge que de l'automate. Sa marge de manœuvre, appelée aussi «pouvoir discrétionnaire » est bien réelle. Face aux infractions routières -contentieux de masse avec ses vingt millions de PV par an -il lui revient de «voir », de constater, d'enregistrer, de transmettre, bref, de sélectionner et de prendre des décisions. Mêlant observations ethnographiques de terrain (neuf cents heures) et analyses longitudinales (de cohortes de contraventions), l'auteur montre que verbaliser c'est toujours choisir, faire preuve de discernement et, en définitive, rendre un jugement. L'examen du travail de police-route est ici mis au service d'une position théorique plus générale qui voit dans l'approche «bottom up » une façon de renouveler la réflexion sur la mise en œuvre des politiques publiques.
'Given the current global economic crisis that has its root causes in the psychology of the marketplace every bit as much as any other factor, the Handbook of Social Capital is timely, insightful, informed, informative, thoughtful and thought-provoking reading... A compilation of impressive and extensive scholarship, the Handbook of Social Capital is strongly recommended for academic and professional library reference collections.' - Library Bookwatch, Midwest Book Review. © Gert Tinggaard Svendsen and Gunnar Lind Haase Svendsen 2009. All rights reserved.
The diversification model proposed in Chapter 1 emphasizes ecological change after a few decades of quasi-monoculture. Is it also a primary determinant of diversification for the world’s leading producer of cocoa? In the early-to-mid 2010s, cocoa production in Côte d’Ivoire is above 1.5 million tonnes per year. This growth dynamic is mainly explained by the universal model of cocoa economies: new migrations leading to massive clearing of forests. The decline of the old cocoa farms rarely appears in statistics due to the massive new planting mostly at the expense of the last pockets of forests. However, in the old cocoa and coffee regions, the lure of rubber and oil palm cultivation has increasingly gone hand in hand with lower cocoa yields, the fight against insect damage and diseases, and difficulties of replanting. It has led to the clearing of cocoa plantations or the cultivation of rubber in the understory of old cocoa trees waiting to be felled. In addition to factors of price and public policy (for example, the creation of a hybrid oil palm and clonal rubber sectors in the 1960s), the process of diversification was partly driven by deforestation and exhaustion of the forest rent. For many smallholders, even more than markets and cocoa prices which need a serious stimulus, and besides the land conflicts, the answer rests on the ability of research and the chocolate industry to come up with technological advances applicable at low cost to help them to solve the universal problems of cocoa replanting.
Dans le contexte de l’internationalisation des marchés et de la financiarisation de l’agriculture, les exploitations agricoles connaissent de profondes mutations. Ce mouvement s’accompagne d’une évolution conjointe des pratiques et des formes d’organisation. La relation que la nouvelle génération d’agriculteurs entretient avec la coopérative se distancie. Mieux formés et utilisant Internet, ces nouveaux agriculteurs se mettent à spéculer. Ils s’autonomisent de plus en plus du point de vue économique et participent de moins en moins à la vie de la coopérative. Selon les auteurs qui se sont intéressés à cette question, la confiance pourrait permettre de resserrer le lien entre l’adhérent et la coopérative. Aussi les coopératives auraient-elles tout intérêt à se donner les moyens de restaurer cette confiance.
The survival of agricultural marketing co-operatives depends on their capability of satisfying and maintaining their base
of farmer members. Hypotheses regarding these two success factors are developed in neoclassical economics and transaction
cost economics. They are tested with a survey of 321 members of marketing co-operatives specialising in fresh fruits and vegetables.
Our results show support for both perspectives. Price paid to farmers is important for their satisfaction with the co-operative.
Farmers' perceptions of transaction costs are even more important.
This paper aims to explain the participative behavior of farmers-members of agricultural cooper-atives in the governance of the latter. The study introduces two concepts from the organizational behavior literature: trust and organizational commitment. It tests a mediator effect of commit-ment in the relationship between the trust a farmer has in the cooperative and his/her participa-tive behavior in its governance. Based on a sample of 259 members of French agricultural coop-eratives, results showed that affective commitment had a mediating role in the relationship be-tween trust and participation in the governance of cooperatives, notwithstanding the cognitive or affective nature of trust. © 2012 International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA).
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