
Understanding Agricultural Certification/Labeling
What is Sustainable Agriculture?
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO, 1988) defines Sustainable Agriculture as: « Developing and conserving natural resources and directing technological change to meet the needs of present and future generations. In agriculture, this means conserving land, water, animal and plant genetic resources and using environmentally sound, technically appropriate, economically viable and socially acceptable means. According to the FAO, sustainable agriculture should correspond to the respect of the following five principles:
Principle 1: Improving the efficiency of resource use is a crucial condition for the sustainability of agriculture;
Principle 2: Sustainability requires direct action to conserve, protect and enhance natural resources;
Principle 3: Agriculture that fails to protect rural livelihoods and improve social equity and well-being is not sustainable agriculture;
Principle 4: Sustainable agriculture must build the resilience of people, communities and ecosystems, especially in the face of climate change and market volatility;
Principle 5: Good governance is essential to ensure the sustainability of both natural and human systems.
How do we define Agricultural Certification?
According to the online dictionary Wikipedia, certification can be defined as a procedure intended to validate a company’s compliance with the specifications (certification standards) of a third-party organization by an independent body, which we will call a certification body. It is a conformity assessment process (or conformity check) that results in written assurance that a product, organization or person meets certain requirements.
In the agriculture sector, there are different types of certification standards focusing on environmental, economic or social requirements. The three main certification standards most commonly used in the Ivorian agricultural sector are
Rain Forest Alliance (RA) / UTZ Certification: merging the two certification standards since January 2018, focuses mainly on the environmental impact of cultivation methods, soil protection, community welfare and improved working conditions.
Fairtrade (Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International – FLO) focuses mainly on better market access and marketing conditions for small producers, improved working conditions, social welfare and the environment of communities.
Organic Certification (BIO): focuses primarily on organic farming practices, minimizing or excluding the use of any agrochemicals or non-renewable resources.
Labeling is a step in the certification process. It is the final or definitive step in verifying a company’s compliance with a certification standard. A certification label is awarded to the certified entity by the auditor. The label is a mark or symbol that indicates that a company has been verified to meet a certification standard. It is a communication tool within the value chain between seller and buyer (final consumer).
Sustainable Agriculture Issues vs. Agricultural Certification Issues in Côte d’Ivoire
The stakes of sustainable agriculture in Côte d’Ivoire are much higher than those of agricultural certification, which for the moment only concerns the main cash crops: cocoa, coffee, cashew nuts, cotton and palm oil. Where sustainable agriculture concerns all agricultural crops and involves the active participation of public authorities, private companies and producers. It requires a change or modification of state principles and rules in the sector, behaviors and usual practices in order to guarantee the transmission of a legacy (of land) to the future generation that is socially, economically viable and environmentally friendly.
The issues at stake in the certification standards and so-called « sustainability » programs developed by NGOs and multinationals are multiple, and their main objective is to satisfy the demands of several categories of Western consumers.
We could not better conclude this article without recounting an anecdote told to us by the Director of a modest cooperative in Zagné (Taï, West of Côte d’Ivoire) during one of our sensitization sessions on sustainable agriculture standards. Il nous a raconté ceci: « A UN organization (WFP) was supposed to distribute food to the people of Taï who had been badly affected by the crisis in that part of the country. Mais le convoi de vivres a été bloqué au niveau de la localité de Zagné à cause du piteux état de la route. Les responsables du convoi ont sollicité les habitants des deux villages environnants pour réparer ce tronçon de la route contre la promesse d’un sac de riz par ouvrier. Les villageois, nombreux, ont réparé la route et ont obtenu chacun le sac de riz promis. Le convoi a pu donc se rendre à Taï pour distribuer les vivres aux populations sinistrées et est ensuite retourné sur Abidjan. Les habitants des deux villages ont consommé les sacs de riz avec beaucoup de plaisir jusqu’au dernier grain. Mais en réalité, ils ont bénéficié de bien plus que de sacs de riz. Ils ont bénéficié d’une route réhabilité qui est un véritable outil de développement pour leur région. The certification premium represents the bag of rice given to the villagers (producers) for rehabilitating the road (agricultural orchards); and the rehabilitated road represents compliance with the requirements of the certification standards that lead to harmonious and sustainable agricultural development.
What will remain of agricultural certification the lure of the certification premium will no longer exist (for various reasons: economic crisis, decline in purchasing power of Western consumers, environmental disasters, etc.)? The popularization of the requirements of the certification standards which correspond for the most part to the principles of sustainable agriculture as defined by the FAO, should continue to all producers and their organizations.
Source : AMD AGRO SERVICES