Retail Trade in Agriculture, Environment, and Fair-Trade Practices: Review of Experiences and Future Pathways

This chapter aims at reviewing the existing debate as well as evidence on environmental impact of the agri-food retail sector; identifying likely implications on environment and poor’s livelihood in Indian context; looking at some of the recent initiatives towards environmental standards and fair trade practices in India and discusses possibilities for mainstreaming environmental considerations domestic policy discourse. The main contention of the chapter is that the onus of promoting sustainable production and food security for the large segment of the poor may rest mainly with crafting of appropriate domestic policies and the institutional mechanisms to support the policies; for that matter large scale retailers could hardly be a solution to the problems that are hugely structural-institutional in nature, thereby beyond markets, competition and inflow of foreign capital. It is further stressed that if creating agri-infrastructure is so vital for the poor producers and consumers of food products in the country, it should not be left merely to market forces. The state must accord due priority to these investment; the large private sector players, including multinationals, may at best supplement the new investment to be made by the state, which the poor and the hungry are entitled for.