evidensia

Analysis and insights

Articles and thought leadership from the Evidensia knowledge base

Download Evidensia blog writing guide

July 2026

Certified and stable? Price and yield volatility under voluntary sustainability standards in Peru (blog)

Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) such as Organic, Fairtrade,…

This blog examines whether voluntary sustainability standards can help stabilise farmers’ livelihoods by reducing price, yield, and revenue volatility in Peru. Drawing on nationally representative farm data and stakeholder interviews, the study finds that certification is associated with lower price and yield volatility overall, with the strongest effects among family farms and specific crops such as bananas and coffee. The findings highlight that VSS can contribute to economic resilience, but their impacts depend heavily on certification design, producer characteristics, and value chain context.

Eva Boonaert

July 2026

Sustainability trading-up? How voluntary sustainability standards shape tropical commodity trade

Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) have emerged as a key private instrument to govern…

This blog examines how voluntary sustainability standards shape trade in seven tropical commodities, drawing on an analysis of ten certification schemes across export volumes and prices between 2012 and 2020. The evidence shows that certification generally increases trade volumes but often lowers export prices, with genuine price premiums only emerging where standards set stringent requirements and enforce them rigorously. Realising the full potential of certification for producers requires strengthening standard design, improving compliance, and building consumer demand for certified products.

Janne Bemelmans

June 2026

Green Threads: Textile clusters and sustainability in India

From donation bins to Indian recycling hubs What actually happens to the clothes we place in textile collection bins in Europe? When I first began tracing these flows, I…

This blog examines how emerging EU traceability and sustainability regulations could unintentionally exclude small textile-recycling enterprises in India from global markets, arguing that regulation must be paired with financial, technical, and organisational support to protect jobs, strengthen circular supply chains, and enable a more inclusive sustainability transition.

Prof. Peter Lund-Thomsen

May 2026

Direct payments can better reach smallholder farmers

This blog draws on findings from: Why direct payments are more effective for combatting poverty than fair prices (2026) For a long time, voluntary certification of…

This blog argues that while voluntary certification initiatives have delivered mixed results for smallholder farmers, direct and regular cash transfers to producers during the growing cycle offer a more effective pathway to reducing poverty, strengthening food security, and improving women's economic agency than market-based price premiums alone.

Prof. dr. Ruerd Ruben

May 2026

Do sustainability standards improve smallholder livelihoods? Evidence from Ghana and Vietnam

Voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) have become a central tool in efforts to make global agricultural supply…

This blog examines the effects of voluntary sustainability standards on smallholder farmer livelihoods in Ghana and Vietnam, drawing on a review of 26 empirical studies. The evidence suggests that certification can generate positive outcomes, but benefits are uneven and strongly shaped by local market structures, institutional support, and supply chain dynamics. Certification alone is not enough: meaningful and inclusive impact requires stronger support systems, better access for marginalised farmers, and well-functioning markets.

Raffaele D’Annolfo and Federica Demaria

March 2026

Bridging palm oil sustainability standards: Where both private and public certifications work jointly

Sustainability standards have played key roles in promoting sustainable production practices…

This blog examines how private (RSPO) and public (ISPO and MSPO) palm oil certification schemes serve different producers and market segments. It explores how their designs differ and where harmonisation could help broaden sustainability outcomes across the sector.

Etsuyo Michida

March 2026

Breaking the circuit: Why Malaysia’s electronics sector shows the limits of forced labour compliance

Despite growing regulation and corporate commitments, forced labour continues…

This blog examines forced labour risk in Malaysia's electronics sector, applying a prevention-oriented framework that shifts focus from detecting violations to identifying structural risk drivers early. The research reveals that forced labour risk does not typically arise from a single point of failure, but it emerges from the cumulative effect of commercial pressures, labour vulnerability and weak accountability systems.

Laura Draper

March 2026

Do sustainability labels really help farmers and communities?

Walking around a supermarket, most of us have probably noticed small colourful labels on coffee, chocolate, bananas, cardboard…

This blog explores outcomes for sustainability certification schemes in biobased supply chains, drawing on a systematic literature review of 75 scientific studies. The research finds that while certification is generally economically worthwhile, the benefits are unevenly distributed. It calls for more inclusive, context-sensitive certification systems backed by targeted support for vulnerable producers.

Costanza Rossi

January 2026

Can farmers increase profits while enhancing biodiversity and maintaining crop yields?

South India’s large-scale agroecology programme Our current food system is the largest driver of b…

This blog examines South India's Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) programme and discusses new research showing it can more than double farmer profits while increasing biodiversity without sacrificing yields. The authors argue that while ZBNF demonstrates the potential of large-scale agroecology, it must be paired with habitat protection to truly address biodiversity loss, and outline key policy, market, and research priorities needed to scale such approaches effectively.

Dr Iris Berger and Dr Oscar Morton

October 2025

Trade and environment: a balancing act

Trade and the environment are deeply interconnected. On one hand, open markets improve efficiency in resource use and expand access to cleaner technologies…

This blog explains how environmental provisions in regional trade agreements are increasingly being used to advance sustainability in agriculture, fisheries, and forestry sectors, showing that these provisions can drive tangible domestic policy changes, though their effectiveness depends on strong coordination, adequate resources, and harmonised implementation across countries.

Cosimo Avesani and Edona Dervisholli

October 2025

Mapping the drivers of forest loss: how new data can inform strategies to protect the world’s forests

Why understanding the drivers of forest loss matters Ongoing forest loss and degradation due…

This blog presents research findings using satellite imagery and machine learning to identify the dominant drivers of global tree cover loss from 2001-2024, revealing that permanent agriculture caused 33% of losses, followed by wildfire and logging, with implications for targeting conservation efforts and monitoring supply chains.

Michelle Sims

September 2025

What cocoa certification in Indonesia means for forests and biodiversity

Imagine yourself in the supermarket, standing in front of the chocolate shelf. You are trying to decide between different chocolate bars.…

This blog explains that certification in Indonesian cocoa often falls short of protecting biodiversity and preventing deforestation, highlighting the need for stronger standards, better monitoring, and complementary policies to make sustainable chocolate truly impactful.

Saskia Dröge
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Next »

Want to write a blog? Submit your idea today!

Submit your idea