IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/zbw/ifwkwp/1997.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

The relevance of certifications and business practices in linking smallholders and large agro-businesses in Sub-Sahara Africa

Author

Listed:
  • Kleemann, Linda

Abstract

Smallholders often have to certify according to international standards and produce under contract for large agro-businesses to access the export market. While mostly positive effects for the farmers have been found for contracts and certifications, little is known about the role of individual firm behavior and certifications in shaping farmer-agro-business relationships and contract success. This is what this article does. Data of 386 smallholders in the pineapple export sector in Ghana is analyzed quantitatively and enriched by a detailed case study of a large-scale agro-business in Ghana called Blues Skies. The results show that certification is an agent of change in farmer-agro-business relations. Building trust and aligning expectations of farmers and firms is important for success. Additionally, individual firm behavior matters more than taken into account in previous research. Our case study shows that three 'R', reliability, reputation and respect, constitute the basis for contract relationships that benefit all.

Suggested Citation

  • Kleemann, Linda, 2015. "The relevance of certifications and business practices in linking smallholders and large agro-businesses in Sub-Sahara Africa," Kiel Working Papers 1997, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:ifwkwp:1997
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.econstor.eu/bitstream/10419/110351/1/825544653.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Schuster, Monica & Maertens, Miet, 2013. "Do private standards create exclusive supply chains? New evidence from the Peruvian asparagus export sector," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 291-305.
    2. Subervie, Julie & Vagneron, Isabelle, 2013. "A Drop of Water in the Indian Ocean? The Impact of GlobalGap Certification on Lychee Farmers in Madagascar," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 57-73.
    3. Henson, Spencer & Masakure, Oliver & Cranfield, John, 2011. "Do Fresh Produce Exporters in Sub-Saharan Africa Benefit from GlobalGAP Certification?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 375-386, March.
    4. Barrett, Christopher B. & Bachke, Maren E. & Bellemare, Marc F. & Michelson, Hope C. & Narayanan, Sudha & Walker, Thomas F., 2012. "Smallholder Participation in Contract Farming: Comparative Evidence from Five Countries," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 715-730.
    5. Miyata, Sachiko & Minot, Nicholas & Hu, Dinghuan, 2009. "Impact of Contract Farming on Income: Linking Small Farmers, Packers, and Supermarkets in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(11), pages 1781-1790, November.
    6. 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.
    7. Charles F. Manski, 2004. "Measuring Expectations," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 72(5), pages 1329-1376, September.
    8. Bellemare, Marc F., 2012. "As You Sow, So Shall You Reap: The Welfare Impacts of Contract Farming," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(7), pages 1418-1434.
    9. Kleemann, Linda & Abdulai, Awudu, 2013. "Organic certification, agro-ecological practices and return on investment: Evidence from pineapple producers in Ghana," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 330-341.
    10. Bolwig, Simon & Gibbon, Peter & Jones, Sam, 2009. "The Economics of Smallholder Organic Contract Farming in Tropical Africa," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 37(6), pages 1094-1104, June.
    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. Kleemann, Linda, 2016. "The relevance of business practices in linking smallholders and large agro-businesses in Sub-Sahara Africa," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 19(4), August.
    2. Kleemann, Linda & Abdulai, Awudu & Buss, Mareike, 2014. "Certification and Access to Export Markets: Adoption and Return on Investment of Organic-Certified Pineapple Farming in Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 79-92.
    3. Kleemann, Linda & Abdulai, Awudu & Buss, Mareike, 2013. "Is organic farming worth its investment? The adoption and impact of certified pineapple farming in Ghana," Kiel Working Papers 1856, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    4. Briones, Roehlano M., 2015. "Small Farmers in High-Value Chains: Binding or Relaxing Constraints to Inclusive Growth?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 43-52.
    5. John C. Beghin & Miet Maertens & Johan Swinnen, 2017. "Nontariff Measures and Standards in Trade and Global Value Chains," World Scientific Book Chapters,in: Nontariff Measures and International Trade, chapter 2, pages 13-38 World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    6. John C. Beghin & Miet Maertens & Johan Swinnen, 2017. "Nontariff Measures and Standards in Trade and Global Value Chains," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: John Christopher Beghin (ed.), Nontariff Measures and International Trade, chapter 2, pages 13-38, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    7. Viet Hoang & Vinh Nguyen, 2023. "Determinants of small farmers' participation in contract farming in developing countries: A study in Vietnam," Agribusiness, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 39(3), pages 836-853, July.
    8. Soullier, Guillaume & Moustier, Paule, 2018. "Impacts of contract farming in domestic grain chains on farmer income and food insecurity. Contrasted evidence from Senegal," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 179-198.
    9. Herrmann, Raoul T., 2017. "Large-Scale Agricultural Investments and Smallholder Welfare: A Comparison of Wage Labor and Outgrower Channels in Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 294-310.
    10. Marc F. Bellemare, 2018. "Contract farming: opportunity cost and trade†offs," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(3), pages 279-288, May.
    11. Neda Trifković, 2014. "Governance Strategies and Welfare Effects: Vertical Integration and Contracts in the Catfish Sector in Vietnam," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(7), pages 949-961, July.
    12. Ragasa, Catherine & Lambrecht, Isabel & Kufoalor, Doreen S., 2018. "Limitations of Contract Farming as a Pro-poor Strategy: The Case of Maize Outgrower Schemes in Upper West Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 30-56.
    13. Wendimu, Mengistu Assefa & Henningsen, Arne & Gibbon, Peter, 2016. "Sugarcane Outgrowers in Ethiopia: “Forced” to Remain Poor?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 84-97.
    14. Maertens, Miet & Vande Velde, Katrien, 2017. "Contract-farming in Staple Food Chains: The Case of Rice in Benin," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 73-87.
    15. repec:lic:licosd:41019 is not listed on IDEAS
    16. Ayuya, Oscar I. & Gido, Eric O. & Bett, Hillary K. & Lagat, Job K. & Kahi, Alexander K. & Bauer, Siegfried, 2015. "Effect of Certified Organic Production Systems on Poverty among Smallholder Farmers: Empirical Evidence from Kenya," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 67(C), pages 27-37.
    17. Celina Schelle & Benno Pokorny, 2021. "How Inclusive Is Inclusive? A Critical Analysis of an Agribusiness Initiative in Kenya," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-17, October.
    18. Delelegne A. Tefera & Jos Bijman, 2021. "Economics of contracts in African food systems: evidence from the malt barley sector in Ethiopia," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 9(1), pages 1-21, December.
    19. Ton, Giel & Vellema, Wytse & Desiere, Sam & Weituschat, Sophia & D'Haese, Marijke, 2018. "Contract farming for improving smallholder incomes: What can we learn from effectiveness studies?," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 46-64.
    20. Amare, Mulubrhan & Mariara, Jane & Oostendorp, Remco & Pradhan, Menno, 2019. "The impact of smallholder farmers’ participation in avocado export markets on the labor market, farm yields, sales prices, and incomes in Kenya," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    21. Ruml, Anette & Qaim, Matin, 2020. "Effects of marketing contracts and resource-providing contracts in the African small farm sector: Insights from oil palm production in Ghana," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    contract farming; certification; smallholders; Ghana; firm behavior;
    All these keywords.

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    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:zbw:ifwkwp:1997. 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: ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iwkiede.html .

    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.