Doctoral Dissertation Research: SustainabiliTea: Shaping Sustainability in Tanzanian Tea Production

这篇博士论文研究改进基金--由美国国家科学基金会的科学、技术和社会项目资助--考察了可持续性标准是如何确定的。在非洲，捐助者、政策制定者、私营部门和民间社会正在推动对符合道德标准的农业做法进行认证，将其作为增加农业价值、同时促进可持续发展的一种新的技术科学手段。本文研究了技术科学标准所蕴含的价值，并试图了解它们在当前生产网络中的影响。这些政策并不是非洲独有的，它们反映了一种全球趋势，即使用标准来管理农业食品系统的贸易。更具体地说，经过道德认证的产品在那些认同它们所代表的价值主张的消费者中变得流行起来。这些主张包括可持续性、企业社会责任(CSR)和性别平等的价值观；然而，对于这些标准是否能够为食品生产者带来更可持续的未来，还没有达成一致意见。本研究项目采用案例研究方法，考察这些价值观在四个可持续茶叶价值链(道德茶叶伙伴关系、公平贸易、有机和雨林联盟)中的关键互动中的表现，这些价值链将坦桑尼亚的生产者和加工商与肯尼亚的买家和西欧的标准制定者联系起来。研究的重点是可持续发展、企业社会责任和性别公平的价值观是如何实现的。将使用多种方法(文件分析、实地观察、深度访谈和焦点小组)来确定和分析这三种价值观在可持续茶叶价值链谈判的关键地点的表现：生产(种植者-工厂)、市场(工厂-搅拌机)和标准联系(认证-工厂)。对这些业绩的不断和比较分析将寻求发展扎根的理论，揭示每个网络如何设想可持续性和如何实施可持续性之间的差异和共同点。这篇论文的工作将有助于在农业发展和全球贸易中使用技术科学标准的知识。此外，这项研究产生的可持续性、企业社会责任和性别平等的概念将有助于就可持续做法的性质进行学术和政策对话。最后，研究结果将为那些目前在茶叶行业中为多重认证的责任而苦苦挣扎的参与者探索协同效应和协调的可能性。

This doctoral dissertation research improvement grant--funded by the Science, Technology & Society program at NSF--examines how sustainability standards are determined. In Africa, certification of agricultural practices to meet ethical standards is being promoted by donors, policy-makers, the private sector and civil society as a new techno-scientific means to add value to agriculture, while simultaneously promoting sustainable development. This dissertation research addresses the values embedded in techno-scientific standards and seeks to understand their impact in current production networks. These policies are not unique to Africa, but reflect a global movement towards the use of standards to govern trade in the agri-food system. More specifically, ethically certified products have become popular with consumers who identify with the value claims they represent. These claims include the values of sustainability, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and gender equity; yet, there is no agreement over whether these standards enable more sustainable futures for food producers. This research project adopts a case study approach that examines the performances of these values in key interactions within each of the four sustainable tea value chains (Ethical Tea Partnership, Fairtrade, Organic, and Rainforest Alliance) that link producers and processors in Tanzania with buyers in Kenya and standards developers in Western Europe. The research focuses on how the values of sustainability, CSR and gender equity are performed. Multiple methods (document analysis, field observations, in-depth interviews and focus groups) will be used to identify and analyze the performance of these three values at key sites of negotiation in the sustainable tea value-chains: in production (grower-factory), the market (factory-blender) and standards nexus (certifier-factory). Constant and comparative analysis of these performances will seek to develop grounded theory that will reveal differences and commonalities between how each network envisions sustainability and how they enact it. This dissertation work will contribute to knowledge on the use of techno-scientific standards in agricultural development and global trade. Moreover, the concepts of sustainability, CSR and gender equity that emerge from this research will contribute to academic and policy dialogue on the nature of sustainable practices. Finally, the findings will explore synergies and possibilities for harmonization for those actors currently struggling with the onus of multiple certifications in the tea industry.