Minimizing the exclusionary effects of standards. What works?

The research has two thematic focuses. One concerns the extent to which new generations of standards and auditing, influenced by development methodologies such as Participatory Rural Appraisals, have had more success than earlier ones in mitigating the possible exclusionary effects (on Southern producers and workers) of standards in global agro-food value chains. The other concerns the extent to which new more sophisticated and/or civic labour control systems are emerging in large-scale agriculture in East Africa and the possible drivers of such changes in line with both new competitive and ethical pressures, as well as changes in production systems. The second of these concerns is being pursued together with Peter Gibbon (senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies.)