On March 19, Jorge Sellare spoke at the FAO Geneva’s webcast series Agriculture Trade Talks. The series started in 2018 and it aims to be a platform for dialogue where member countries can discuss about trade policies and agreements that are conducive to improved food security.
This latest iteration of the webcast was titled “Agri-food Value Chains (GVCs) & Sustainability Certification.” It counted with the participation from members of the academia, the private sector, development organizations, and representatives of three FAO member states. The panelists spoke about how standards can contribute to sustainable development, emerging trends in sustainably-certified products, and the potential of new technologies that can facilitate traceability across value chains.
Jorge Sellare presented a brief overview of the latest research on the impacts of certification under sustainability standards on smallholder farmers in developing countries. He presented some evidence that sustainability standards can have positive impacts on all three dimensions of sustainability, but highlighted that the average effects tend to be rather heterogeneous. He emphasized the importance of distinguishing between different standards and noted that we still have a significant knowledge gap regarding how value chain structures might affect whether and how smallholder farmers benefit from certification.
More information about this event can be found at the FAO Geneva’s website (http://www.fao.org/geneva/news/detail/en/c/1379083/) and the full recording can be seen below.