Abstract
Participatory guarantee systems (PGS) have become increasingly important for organic quality assurance. PGS are promoted as more suitable than third-party certification (TPC) for smallholder farmers in the Global South. The advocated benefits of PGS include the promotion of organic agriculture, farmer empowerment, and the facilitation of food system sustainability. To deliver these benefits, local actor participation is key. To date, there is still an absence of in-depth studies on participation in PGS in the literature. The aim of this study was to contribute to closing this research gap by (i) conducting a meta-analysis on PGS participation and (ii) presenting a framework for studying actor participation in PGS. A systematic literature review on participation in PGS was carried out, using a framework based on Cohen and Uphoff (1980). The results showed that data on participation in PGS are still fragmented in scientific literature. Quantitative empirical evidence and data on the extent and purpose of participation and actors’ perception of participation, for example, are very scarce or not available at all. This paper argues that a systematic and theory-based approach to further research on participation in PGS is needed for improved understanding and facilitation, and suggests an adapted version of Cohen and Uphoff’s (1980) framework for conducting this research.
Highlights
Participatory guarantee systems (PGS) are quality assurance systems for assuring the integrity of organic products and are based on the active participation of local actors [1]
This paper presents a systematic literature review based on the analysis of 21 scientific articles, with the aim of taking stock of actor participation in PGS and determining the state of the art of participation in PGS
The framework for rural development participation of Cohen and Uphoff [22] was used. This framework was further adapted to meet the second aim of the paper, which was to provide a theory-based framework for future research on actor participation in PGS
Summary
Participatory guarantee systems (PGS) are quality assurance systems for assuring the integrity of organic products and are based on the active participation of local actors [1]. PGS supposedly involve limited bureaucracy and low direct costs for farmers and are considered more inclusive and accessible than TPC, especially for smallholder farmers in the Global South [8]. They are deemed capable of facilitating the inclusion of such farmers into organic production [9]. PGS have the potential to enable transformation towards sustainability [11] and promote the transition to more sustainable food systems—a transition that is needed if fundamental challenges related to our current food system, such as exploitation of natural resources, environmental degradation, food insecurity, and malnutrition, are to be tackled sustainably [11,12,13,14,15]
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