Doctoral Dissertation Research: Social and Environmental Effects of Fair Trade Coffee and Cocoa Production

University Of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison WI

Investigators

Abstract

Rural producers of primary commodities face increasingly unfavorable and volatile terms of world trade, and the resulting poverty causes both social and ecological deterioration. A growing fair trade movement offers a model of more sustainable rural development by building alternative trade relations between Southern producers and Northern consumers. The trade bypasses traditional intermediaries, thus returning a larger proportion of the purchase price to small farmers, directing capital to local development, and protecting the environment with sustainable practices. However, the consequences of these fair trade practices have not been studied. This project assesses the social and environmental benefits of fair trade markets by comparing conventional and alternative production of coffee and cocoa by peasant farmer cooperatives in Chiapas, Mexico, and Beni, Bolivia. In making the assessment, the analysis combines qualitative and quantitative field research at eight producer cooperatives in these locations. The results provide information on the consequences of economic globalization for small agricultural producers. They also suggest how alternative trade arrangements can deal with those consequences.