Certifying Sustainable Agriculture: Certification Success, Social Impacts, and Rule-Making in Mexican Organic Coffee Producer Groups and E.U./U.S. Certified Markets

近几十年来，全球农产品生产、收获、运输、加工、分配和消费方式的变化极大地改变了农业商业。改变了生产和分销链许多方面的一系列变化之一是，消费者对有机生产商品的需求不断增长。这项研究项目将审查为向国际市场认证农产品所需的认证做法。一个认证有机咖啡商品链的案例研究将检查来自墨西哥瓦哈卡州农场的咖啡，并沿着认证路径运输到欧洲和美国市场。农产品认证提供了一种与空间分散的生产者特别相关的环境保护模式，例如拥有位于高保护价值地区的农地的小农户咖啡种植者。本案例研究将侧重于认证实践，用于验证咖啡起源于认证的地块，符合认证的产品规范，并且随后没有与非认证的商品混合。初步研究发现，一些农民组织在认证他们的产品方面比其他组织更成功。调查员将比较认证成功的数据与村庄普查数据在空间上的配对，并选择8个村庄进行详细的家庭人口统计调查。为了确定与认证相关的增加的行政劳动负担的数量和性质，并确定这种增加的劳动力对村庄经济管理和人力资本使用的影响，调查员将进行工作调查，重点关注认证活动的时间安排和空间影响，并确定这些影响如何影响村庄经济管理和人力资本形成。调查员还将检查村庄内进行的认证工作的细节，以确定哪些要求反映了国际政策论坛(如国际标准化组织和联合国)设定的要求，他还将比较欧盟和美国的认证途径，以确定认证规则和法规的差异。该项目将提供新的见解，了解日益复杂的认证规则和法规对墨西哥和其他地方小农户的农业实践和福祉的影响。通过探索国际组织和外国制定和执行的政策和标准对农场和农村经济管理做法的影响以及生产者、中间商和消费者之间的联系，该项目不仅将增进基本知识，还将帮助寻找具有成本效益的农业认证机制，这些机制可以推广到较贫穷的农民和发展中国家环境重要的地区。

Global changes in the ways that agricultural products are produced, harvested, transported, processed, distributed, and consumed have dramatically altered agricultural business in recent decades. One set of changes that has altered many aspects of the production and distribution chain have been growing demands by consumers for organically produced commodities. This research project will examine the certification practices required to certify agricultural products for international markets. A case study of a certified organic coffee commodity chain will examine coffee that originates on farms in Oaxaca, Mexico, and is transported along certifier pathways to European and U.S. markets. Agricultural product certification provides an environmental conservation model that is of particular relevance to spatially dispersed producers, such as smallholder coffee farmers, who possess agricultural plots located in areas of high conservation value. This case study will focus on certification practices used to verify that coffee originates in certified plots, conforms to certified product norms, and is not subsequently blended with non-certified goods. Preliminary studies have found that some farmer organizations are more successful in certifying their products than others. The investigator will compare data on certification success that is spatially paired with village census data and select eight villages for detailed household demographic surveys. To determine the quantity and character of increased administrative labor burdens associated with certification and to ascertain the effect of this added labor on village economic management and human capital use, the investigator will conduct work surveys that focus on scheduling and spatial impacts of certification activities and determine how these affect village economic management and human capital formation. The investigator also will examine the particulars of certification work undertaken within villages in order to ascertain which demands reflect set within international policy forums, such as the International Organization for Standardization and the United Nations, and he will compare European Union and U.S. certification pathways to identify differences in certification rules and regulations.This project will provide new insights into the impact of increasingly complex certification rules and regulations on the agricultural practices and well-being of small farmers in Mexico and elsewhere. By exploring the ways that the policies and standards established and implemented by international organizations and foreign nations impacts on farm and village economic management practices as well as links between producers, intermediaries, and consumers, this project will both advance basic knowledge and also aid in the search for cost-effective agricultural certification mechanisms that may be extended to poorer farmers and areas of environmental importance located in developing nations.