IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/annpce/v94y2023i4p1111-1131.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The socio‐economic impact of certification schemes in conflict‐affected regions: The case of arabica coffee in the Eastern DRC

Author

Listed:
  • Wannes Slosse
  • Jeroen Buysse
  • Koen Schoors
  • Ivan Godfroid
  • Michaela Boyen
  • Marijke D'Haese

Abstract

The paper investigates the benefits of certification of cooperatives in conflict‐affected areas. We study whether and how certification may contribute to attenuate the impact of conflicts on the members of coffee cooperatives in the Eastern DRC. We use an inverse probability weighted difference‐in‐difference approach to study data collected between December 2017 and October 2019 from four NGO‐supported cooperatives. Two of these cooperatives got organic certification in 2018, of which one got an additional Small Producers Symbol (SPP) certification in 2018. Certified cooperatives allow Arabica coffee producers to access markets and buffer against drops in market prices. Results indicate that certified cooperatives were better able to resist the international price drop than non‐certified cooperatives and the alternative informal markets. The results also suggest that certified cooperative members increased their sales to the cooperative instead of turning to informal side‐selling. We find a decrease in reported food deficits by the members of certified cooperatives and an increase in the importance of coffee in their household's income. We conclude that certification is an effective way forward for smallholder coffee producers and cooperatives in unstable regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Wannes Slosse & Jeroen Buysse & Koen Schoors & Ivan Godfroid & Michaela Boyen & Marijke D'Haese, 2023. "The socio‐economic impact of certification schemes in conflict‐affected regions: The case of arabica coffee in the Eastern DRC," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 94(4), pages 1111-1131, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:annpce:v:94:y:2023:i:4:p:1111-1131
    DOI: 10.1111/apce.12399
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/apce.12399
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/apce.12399?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. 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.
    2. Alberto Abadie, 2005. "Semiparametric Difference-in-Differences Estimators," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 72(1), pages 1-19.
    3. Miles Larmer & Ann Laudati & John F. Clark, 2013. "Neither war nor peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC): profiting and coping amid violence and disorder," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 40(135), pages 1-12, March.
    4. Richey, Lisa Ann & Ponte, Stefano, 2021. "Brand Aid and coffee value chain development interventions: Is Starbucks working aid out of business?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 143(C).
    5. Catherine Ragasa & Jennifer Golan, 2014. "The role of rural producer organizations for agricultural service provision in fragile states," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 45(5), pages 537-553, September.
    6. Raluca Dragusanu & Eduardo Montero & Nathan Nunn, 2022. "The Effects of Fair Trade Certification: Evidence from Coffee Producers in Costa Rica," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 20(4), pages 1743-1790.
    7. Franck Galtier & Giovanni Belletti & Andrea Marescotti, 2013. "Factors Constraining Building Effective and Fair Geographical Indications for Coffee: Insights from a Dominican Case Study," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 31(5), pages 597-615, September.
    8. John Herbert Ainembabazi & Piet Asten & Bernard Vanlauwe & Emily Ouma & Guy Blomme & Eliud Abucheli Birachi & Paul Martin Dontsop Nguezet & Djana Babatima Mignouna & Victor M. Manyong, 2017. "Improving the speed of adoption of agricultural technologies and farm performance through farmer groups: evidence from the Great Lakes region of Africa," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 48(2), pages 241-259, March.
    9. 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.
    10. Brian Chiputwa & Matin Qaim, 2016. "Sustainability Standards, Gender, and Nutrition among Smallholder Farmers in Uganda," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(9), pages 1241-1257, September.
    11. Ssebunya, Brian Robert & Schader, Christian & Baumgart, Lukas & Landert, Jan & Altenbuchner, Christine & Schmid, Erwin & Stolze, Matthias, 2019. "Sustainability Performance of Certified and Non-certified Smallholder Coffee Farms in Uganda," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 35-47.
    12. Filip Reyntjens, 2014. "Regulation, taxation and violence: the state, quasi-state governance and cross-border dynamics in the Great Lakes Region," Review of African Political Economy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(142), pages 530-544, October.
    13. 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.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Boonaert, Eva & Maertens, Miet, 2023. "Voluntary sustainability standards and farmer welfare: The pathways to success?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    4. 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.
    5. 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.
    6. 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).
    7. Knößlsdorfer, Isabel & Sellare, Jorge & Qaim, Matin, 2021. "Effects of Fairtrade on Farm Household Food Security and Living Standards," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315073, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    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. 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.
    10. Helene Naegele, 2019. "Where Does the Fairtrade Money Go? How Much Consumers Pay Extra for Fairtrade Coffee and How This Value Is Split along the Value Chain," Discussion Papers of DIW Berlin 1783, DIW Berlin, German Institute for Economic Research.
    11. Anja Garbely & Elias Steiner, 2023. "Understanding compliance with voluntary sustainability standards: a machine learning approach," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(10), pages 11209-11239, October.
    12. Meemken, Eva-Marie & Veettil, Prakashan Chellattan & Qaim, Matin, 2017. "Toward Improving the Design of Sustainability Standards—A Gendered Analysis of Farmers’ Preferences," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 285-298.
    13. Giordano Ruggeri & Stefano Corsi, 2021. "An Exploratory Analysis of the FAIRTRADE Certified Producer Organisations," World, MDPI, vol. 2(4), pages 1-14, October.
    14. 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.
    15. Johanna Gather & Meike Wollni, 2022. "Setting the standard: Does Rainforest Alliance Certification increase environmental and socio‐economic outcomes for small‐scale coffee producers in Rwanda?," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 44(4), pages 1807-1825, December.
    16. Naegele, Helene, 2020. "Where does the Fair Trade money go? How much consumers pay extra for Fair Trade coffee and how this value is split along the value chain," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    17. 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.
    18. Hannah Holmes & Katsushi S. Imai, 2019. "Fair Trade and Wellbeing Improvements: Evidence from Sri Lanka," Discussion Paper Series DP2019-25, Research Institute for Economics & Business Administration, Kobe University.
    19. Sekabira, Haruna & Qaim, Matin, 2016. "Mobile Money, Agricultural Marketing, and Off-Farm Income in Uganda," GlobalFood Discussion Papers 234998, Georg-August-Universitaet Goettingen, GlobalFood, Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development.
    20. Maja Tampe, 2018. "Leveraging the Vertical: The Contested Dynamics of Sustainability Standards and Labour in Global Production Networks," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 56(1), pages 43-74, March.

    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:bla:annpce:v:94:y:2023:i:4:p:1111-1131. 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://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=1370-4788 .

    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.