The Chinese Organic Export Model, Globalization and a Danish Future Perspective

China has gained a top position in the world of Certified Organic Agriculture (COA). This article briefly portrays the development and institutional nature of the Chinese success as an exporter of organic products in a process of globalization. It then reflects on possible lessons from this case of globalization, to be implied from the point of view of future development and integrity of the Danish organic sector

New Challenges in Underprivileged Regions Call for People-Centered Research for Development

The need for enhancing food production and availability in underprivileged regions of the world requires the attention of scientists. This article explores the possibilities for rethinking agricultural research for development (R4D) in the light of new challenges characterized by a high degree of scientific uncertainty along with associated intense political differences of interest. New challenges that particularly influence food production in underprivileged regions include global climate change, globalization of food chains, and emerging low-carbon energy systems. We argue that by applying the people-centered sustainable livelihoods approach as a research paradigm in R4D, researchers may be more successful in producing knowledge that is useful to entrepreneurial smallholder farmers. Without such rethinking, traditional scientific approaches and logic may limit the contribution that agricultural R4D can make toward the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals of halving extreme hunger by 2015 and improving the livelihoods of all

The Green New Deal and Evolution of Institutional Environments for Multifunctionality: the case of Certified Organic Agriculture in Brazil and China

The Global Green New Deal (GGND) aim to green the global economy across a range of sectors including agriculture, to pursue future prosperity and job creation, while at the same time addressing social and environmental challenges. Taking its point of departure in some of the institutional changes envisioned in GGND publications, the paper proceeds to present results of the authors’ current research, within a research programme on institutional dimensions of the current globalization of certified organic agriculture. Case study results from Brazil and China are used to illustrate how institutional environments for organic agriculture differ between nations and to provide a basis for discussing the potential of organic certification to transform global agriculture towards higher overall levels of sustainability. The paper concludes linking the institutional analysis of the GGND and the findings of the presented cases to a broader analysis and discussion on the state of art of institutional environments for multifunctional agriculture

Global Governance for Environmentally Sustainable Food Systems: Certified Organics in a North – South and South-South Perspective

Challenged to consume with less environmental impact, consumers buy certified organic products to “proxy” environmental governance. The paper explores how far certified organic agriculture is institutionally embedded in Brazil, China, and Egypt. The three case studies illustrate how regulation, including standard-setting and certification processes differ between south and north, in terms of the evolution and nature of certification, as well as stakeholders and agency involved in shaping the regulation. A comparative analysis is presented on south-south differences in this regard along with some possible explanations of these. The paper finally discusses the perspectives in the global success of organic certification and whether it has potential to transform global agriculture towards higher overall levels of sustainability

Udviklingens metermål. Fra omsætningsvækst til ægte fremskridt?

De seneste årtier har budt på en række alternative udviklingsmålestokke, men når alt kommer til alt, står vækst i bruttonationalproduktet fortsat som den vigtigste overordnede ledestjerne. Samtidig med at bestræbelserne på at opfinde og udbrede stadig flere alternative målestokke og måleenheder fortsætter, øges risikoen for at ende med et babelstårn af forskellige mål, måleenheder og målsætninger i (udviklings)politikken. Det synes på den baggrund interessant, at mindst ét land - Kina - har ophøjet det grønne BNP til officielt politik og reelt forsøgt sig med at anvende samme grønne BNP operationelt

Kina spiser grønt

Årtier er gået, siden stifteren af Worldwatch Institute, Lester Brown, spurgte: Hvem skal ernære Kina? Skrækscenariet var et dagligt æg til hver kineser, hvilket ville kræve alverdens korn. Stigende fødevarepriser synes nu at bekræfte Browns logik. Men Kina producerer og eksporterer masser af mad, samtidig med at miljøproblemer plager land og by. Stigende miljøbevidsthed og urbanisering har også fremmet udviklingen af en ‘grøn’ produkt-standard og bidraget til, at Kina nu er en betydende spiller på verdensmarkedet for certificerede økologiske fødevarer

Afrika – Fremtidens Økologiske Kontinent?

Afrikanske bønders forbrug af fossil energi er lavt – og deres forurening med nitrat, sprøjtegifte og klimagasser er begrænset

Market Integration Shape Organic Farmers’ Organisation

Increasing consumption of organic products in globalised food chains will require the involvement of thousands more smallholder farmers in many regions of the world. A study of Egypt, China and Uganda identified the three key factors of property rights regimes, cultural differences and social organisation as determents of the supply chain organization and farmers’ degree of direct integration in the export markets. Patterns are emerging where smallholder farmers are being socially and economically linked to larger farmers who may do some processing before the raw materials are handed over to the contracting company. Where transactions costs are high, local communities may develop and contract out the land directly to exporting companies who farm using employees. Four organisational patterns are identified which each leads to different types of livelihood benefits for the producers; preliminary results indicate that income and a reliable market access is the dominant benefits

At måle udvikling. Hvordan økonomer måler nytte, bæredygtighed og lykke

Indkomst, udvikling, nytte, lykke og velfærd er alle begreber, som kan have mange og upræcise betydninger. Så længe de er luftige og svært målbare, er de ikke særligt brugbare. Man må forsøge at gøre dem præcise, veldefinerede og målelige, og det er hvad økonomer har kæmpet for i mere end hundrede år. Nogle af begreberne er dog så veletablerede og veldefinerede, at de ofte får lov at stå alene. En troværdig samfundsforsker må prøve at få et overblik over hele spektret af mulige målbare begreber og indikatorer og med åbent sind analysere fordele og ulemper ved de forskellige begreber, definitioner og beregninger