IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/sustdv/v31y2023i2p668-679.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Value chains and sustainable development: A perspective of sustainable coffee value chains in East Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Vincent Canwat

Abstract

Sustainable development concerns have been integrated into global value chains through the enforcement of sustainability standards, making the chains sustainable. Understanding the sustainability effects of sustainable value chains has been limited by the narrow focus on one standard, few larger comparative perspectives, methodological weaknesses, and diversity of contexts. This article analyses how sustainable coffee value chains contribute to sustainable development. Systematically, the study reviewed peer‐reviewed publications based on causal methodologies and primary data collected from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, and Ethiopia. The paper shows that sustainable value chains promote sustainable development, but their effects vary across sustainability dimensions and standards. Fairtrade has a higher contribution to social sustainability because it emphasizes social issues. Organic standards and the Rainforest Alliance also have a higher contribution to ecological sustainability because they emphasize ecological conservation. Sustainable coffee value chains have more contributions to social and ecological sustainability than economic sustainability because of the trade‐offs that ensues from conversion to sustainable value chains. However, combining standards reduces trade‐offs. The sustainability effects of sustainable value chains also vary across cooperatives because of their heterogeneity.

Suggested Citation

  • Vincent Canwat, 2023. "Value chains and sustainable development: A perspective of sustainable coffee value chains in East Africa," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 31(2), pages 668-679, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:31:y:2023:i:2:p:668-679
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.2444
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2444
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/sd.2444?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pradyot Ranjan Jena & Bezawit Beyene Chichaibelu & Till Stellmacher & Ulrike Grote, 2012. "The impact of coffee certification on small-scale producers’ livelihoods: a case study from the Jimma Zone, Ethiopia," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 43(4), pages 429-440, July.
    2. Valkila, Joni, 2009. "Fair Trade organic coffee production in Nicaragua -- Sustainable development or a poverty trap?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(12), pages 3018-3025, October.
    3. Beuchelt, Tina D. & Zeller, Manfred, 2011. "Profits and poverty: Certification's troubled link for Nicaragua's organic and fairtrade coffee producers," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(7), pages 1316-1324, May.
    4. Ans Kolk, 2013. "Mainstreaming sustainable coffee," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 21(5), pages 324-337, September.
    5. Dietz, Thomas & Auffenberg, Jennie & Estrella Chong, Andrea & Grabs, Janina & Kilian, Bernard, 2018. "The Voluntary Coffee Standard Index (VOCSI). Developing a Composite Index to Assess and Compare the Strength of Mainstream Voluntary Sustainability Standards in the Global Coffee Industry," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 72-87.
    6. Elder, Sara D. & Zerriffi, Hisham & Le Billon, Philippe, 2012. "Effects of Fair Trade Certification on Social Capital: The Case of Rwandan Coffee Producers," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(11), pages 2355-2367.
    7. Barham, Bradford L. & Weber, Jeremy G., 2012. "The Economic Sustainability of Certified Coffee: Recent Evidence from Mexico and Peru," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(6), pages 1269-1279.
    8. Kevin Teopista Akoyi & Miet Maertens, 2018. "Walk the Talk: Private Sustainability Standards in the Ugandan Coffee Sector," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(10), pages 1792-1818, October.
    9. Chiputwa, Brian & Spielman, David J. & Qaim, Matin, 2015. "Food Standards, Certification, and Poverty among Coffee Farmers in Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 400-412.
    10. Takahashi, Ryo & Todo, Yasuyuki, 2017. "Coffee Certification and Forest Quality: Evidence from a Wild Coffee Forest in Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 158-166.
    11. Thomas Dietz & Janina Grabs & Andrea Estrella Chong, 2021. "Mainstreamed voluntary sustainability standards and their effectiveness: Evidence from the Honduran coffee sector," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(2), pages 333-355, April.
    12. Oya, Carlos & Schaefer, Florian & Skalidou, Dafni, 2018. "The effectiveness of agricultural certification in developing countries: A systematic review," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 282-312.
    13. Minten, Bart J. & Dereje, Mekdim & Engeda, Ermias & Tamru, Seneshaw, 2015. "Who benefits from the rapidly increasing Voluntary Sustainability Standards? Evidence from Fairtrade and Organic coffee in Ethiopia," 2015 Conference, August 9-14, 2015, Milan, Italy 212708, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    14. Friederike Albersmeier & Holger Schulze & Achim Spiller, 2009. "Evaluation and reliability of the organic certification system: perceptions by farmers in Latin America," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(5), pages 311-324.
    15. Fikadu Mitiku & Yann De Mey & Jan Nyssen & Miet Maertens, 2017. "Do Private Sustainability Standards Contribute to Income Growth and Poverty Alleviation? A Comparison of Different Coffee Certification Schemes in Ethiopia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-21, February.
    16. Mitiku, Fikadu & de Mey, Yann & Nyssen, Jan & Maertens, Miet, 2017. "Do Private Sustainability Standards Contribute to Poverty Alleviation? A Comparison of Different Coffee Certification Schemes in Ethiopia," Working Papers 253589, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Centre for Agricultural and Food Economics.
    17. Minten, Bart & Dereje, Mekdim & Engeda, Ermias & Tamru, Seneshaw, 2015. "Synopsis: Who benefits from the rapidly increasing voluntary sustainability standards? Evidence from fairtrade and organic certified coffee in Ethiopia," ESSP research notes 35, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    18. Ruben, Ruerd & Fort, Ricardo, 2012. "The Impact of Fair Trade Certification for Coffee Farmers in Peru," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(3), pages 570-582.
    19. van Rijsbergen, Bart & Elbers, Willem & Ruben, Ruerd & Njuguna, Samuel N., 2016. "The Ambivalent Impact of Coffee Certification on Farmers’ Welfare: A Matched Panel Approach for Cooperatives in Central Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 277-292.
    20. Ibanez, Marcela & Blackman, Allen, 2016. "Is Eco-Certification a Win–Win for Developing Country Agriculture? Organic Coffee Certification in Colombia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 14-27.
    21. Firdu Gemech & John Struthers, 2007. "Coffee price volatility in Ethiopia: effects of market reform programmes," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 19(8), pages 1131-1142.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Vincent Canwat, 2023. "Political economy of COVID-19: windows of opportunities and contestations in East Africa," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-16, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jorge Sellare & Eva‐Marie Meemken & Christophe Kouamé & Matin Qaim, 2020. "Do Sustainability Standards Benefit Smallholder Farmers Also When Accounting For Cooperative Effects? Evidence from Côte d'Ivoire," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 102(2), pages 681-695, March.
    2. Karla Rubio‐Jovel, 2023. "The voluntary sustainability standards and their contribution towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals: A systematic review on the coffee sector," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(6), pages 1013-1052, August.
    3. Ninon Sirdey & Sylvaine Lemeilleur, 2021. "Can fair trade resolve the “hungry farmer paradox”?," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Springer, vol. 102(1), pages 81-106, March.
    4. Fikadu Mitiku & Yann De Mey & Jan Nyssen & Miet Maertens, 2017. "Do Private Sustainability Standards Contribute to Income Growth and Poverty Alleviation? A Comparison of Different Coffee Certification Schemes in Ethiopia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-21, February.
    5. Oya, Carlos & Schaefer, Florian & Skalidou, Dafni, 2018. "The effectiveness of agricultural certification in developing countries: A systematic review," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 282-312.
    6. Meemken, Eva-Marie & Spielman, David J. & Qaim, Matin, 2017. "Trading off nutrition and education? A panel data analysis of the dissimilar welfare effects of Organic and Fairtrade standards," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 74-85.
    7. Giuliani, Elisa & Ciravegna, Luciano & Vezzulli, Andrea & Kilian, Bernard, 2017. "Decoupling Standards from Practice: The Impact of In-House Certifications on Coffee Farms’ Environmental and Social Conduct," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 294-314.
    8. Thomas Dietz & Janina Grabs & Andrea Estrella Chong, 2021. "Mainstreamed voluntary sustainability standards and their effectiveness: Evidence from the Honduran coffee sector," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 15(2), pages 333-355, April.
    9. Ruifeng Liu & Zhifeng Gao & Rodolfo M. Nayga & Lijia Shi & Les Oxley & Hengyun Ma, 2020. "Can “green food” certification achieve both sustainable practices and economic benefits in a transitional economy? The case of kiwifruit growers in Henan Province, China," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 36(4), pages 675-692, October.
    10. Estrella, Andrea & Navichoc, David & Kilian, Bernard & Dietz, Thomas, 2022. "Impact pathways of voluntary sustainability standards on smallholder coffee producers in Honduras: Price premiums, farm productivity, production costs, access to credit," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 27(C).
    11. AKOYI, Kevin Teopista & MAERTENS, Miet, 2016. "Private Sustainability Standards in the Ugandan Coffee Sector: Empty Promises or Catalysts for Development?," Working Papers 235004, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Centre for Agricultural and Food Economics.
    12. Meemken, Eva-Marie & Qaim, Matin, 2017. "Can Private Food Standards Promote Gender Equality in the Small Farm Sector?," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 258088, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    13. Mitiku, Fikadu & de Mey, Yann & Nyssen, Jan & Maertens, Miet, 2017. "Do Private Sustainability Standards Contribute to Poverty Alleviation? A Comparison of Different Coffee Certification Schemes in Ethiopia," Working Papers 253589, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Centre for Agricultural and Food Economics.
    14. Sellare, Jorge & Meemken, Eva-Marie & Qaim, Matin, 2020. "Fairtrade, Agrochemical Input Use, and Effects on Human Health and the Environment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    15. Ruifeng Liu & Zhifeng Gao & Gongan Yan & Hengyun Ma, 2018. "Why Should We Protect the Interests of “Green Food” Certified Product Growers? Evidence from Kiwifruit Production in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-14, December.
    16. Iddrisu, Mubarak & Aidoo, Robert & Abawiera Wongnaa, Camillus, 2020. "Participation in UTZ-RA voluntary cocoa certification scheme and its impact on smallholder welfare: Evidence from Ghana," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 20(C).
    17. Tran, Duc & Goto, Daisaku, 2019. "Impacts of sustainability certification on farm income: Evidence from small-scale specialty green tea farmers in Vietnam," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 70-82.
    18. Ibanez, Marcela & Blackman, Allen, 2016. "Is Eco-Certification a Win–Win for Developing Country Agriculture? Organic Coffee Certification in Colombia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 14-27.
    19. van Rijsbergen, Bart & Elbers, Willem & Ruben, Ruerd & Njuguna, Samuel N., 2016. "The Ambivalent Impact of Coffee Certification on Farmers’ Welfare: A Matched Panel Approach for Cooperatives in Central Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 277-292.
    20. Chiputwa, Brian & Spielman, David J. & Qaim, Matin, 2015. "Food Standards, Certification, and Poverty among Coffee Farmers in Uganda," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 400-412.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:31:y:2023:i:2:p:668-679. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-1719 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.