Do sustainability standards benefit smallholder farmers also when accounting for cooperative effects? Evidence from Côte d'Ivoire

Summary

This report focuses on the effects of Fairtrade on smallholder farmers. This study accounts for systemic differences between between certified and non-certified farmers by randomly sampling from a large number of cooperatives to better capture existing institutional hetrogeniaty. In particular, the study collects data from cocoa farmers who are organised in Fairtrade-certified and non-certified cooperatives. This study finds that, in Côte d'Ivoire, Fairtrade certification benefits farmers economically. Second, and more generally, cooperative characteristics are jointly correlated with certification and relevant outcomes, which needs to be accounted for to avoid bias when evaluating the benefits of sustainability standards in the small farm sector.