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

这个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——研究如何确定可持续性标准。在非洲，捐助者、决策者、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，作为增加农业价值的一种新的科技手段，同时促进可持续发展。本论文的研究解决了技术科学标准中嵌入的价值，并试图了解它们对当前生产网络的影响。这些政策并不是非洲独有的，而是反映了一种利用标准来管理农业粮食系统贸易的全球运动。更具体地说，道德认证的产品已经受到消费者的欢迎，他们认同这些产品所代表的价值主张。这些主张包括可持续发展、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为食品生产商带来更可持续的未来，人们尚未达成一致。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开发商联系起来。研究的重点是如何实现可持续发展、企业社会责任和性别平等的价值观。多种方法（文件分析、实地观察、深度访谈和焦点小组）将用于识别和分析这三个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）和标准关系（认证者-工厂）。对这些表现的持续和比较分析将寻求发展有根据的理论，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。本论文的工作将有助于了解科技标准在农业发展和全球贸易中的应用。此外，从这项研究中产生的可持续性、企业社会责任和性别平等的概念将有助于关于可持续实践性质的学术和政策对话。最后，研究结果将探讨协同效应和协调的可能性，为目前在茶叶行业中努力承担多重认证责任的参与者提供帮助。

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.