摘要
Recent developments have shaped the nature of sustainability standard initiatives that seek to address critical issues along global commodity supply chains. Smallholder communities that are integral to these supply chains have often witnessed increased livelihood insecurity. We explore how certification interventions of the Rainforest Alliance programme in Sri Lanka impact different capitals of farming livelihood assets of tea smallholders and identify how these assets are combined and transformed to achieve their desired livelihood outcomes. A framework was developed that integrates the ‘sustainable livelihoods’ approach and the ‘theory of change’ to evaluate 36 indicators for the five capitals and vulnerability using mixed method techniques. We conducted household surveys with 45 certified and 45 non-certified smallholders. Additionally, we performed in-depth interviews with several extension specialists and held two focus group discussions with non-certified farmer leaders and members. The findings of the Wilcoxon signed rank test showed that a total of 16 of 36 indicators were statistically significant, indicating higher levels of these assets for certified smallholders. Of the 15 livelihood outcomes evaluated, certified smallholders had seven ‘fully achieved’ outcomes after certification compared to four before certification. In contrast, non-certified smallholders had three ‘fully achieved’ outcomes, while nine were ‘not achieved’. Our findings support evidence that the certification programme has contributed to improving only some of the livelihood outcomes of the certified smallholder community. Standard-setting bodies should prioritise developing commodity-specific and farm size-specific standards that account for the heterogeneity and local context of smallholder farming systems to increase the transformative potential of certification initiatives.