Mainstreaming Responsible Trade in Tropical Agricultural Global Supply Chains

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Obstacles and Opportunities for Scaling up Responsible Trading Linkages between Transnational Corporations and (Smallholder) Farmers in Cocoa, Coffee and Tea.
This research investigates the conditions under which (brands of) Transnational Companies from the North and cocoa, coffee and tea (smallholder) farmers in the South can scale up responsible trading linkages through the supply chain. Through literature on Value Chain Analysis, agribusiness and responsible trade, the author arrives at a framework of relevant issues. Building upon this framework and the insights gained through 15 interviews, five case studies are presented and scrutinised. The argument developed is twofold. First, for the advantages of responsible trade to be enjoyed by more than a small minority of cocoa, coffee and tea (smallholder) farmers, we must study the operational obstacles and drivers that (brands of) TNCs face when scaling up the purchasing of produce through certification NGOs. Second, smallholder farmer inclusion is possible only if certification NGOs and individual TNC-level sustainability initiatives are capable of matching the scale-related needs of (brands of) TNCs with smallholder farmer capacities.

This project was carried out as part of the MSc Development Management at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and as background research for the "Farmers in Business" business plan competition of the BiD Network.

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