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Examining the interface of sustainability programmes and livelihoods in the Semendo highlands of Indonesia

Examining the interface of sustainability programmes and livelihoods in the Semendo highlands of... Voluntary sustainability standards are used as both a means of securing coffee supply by large coffee firms and a development intervention to address rural poverty and environmental management in the Global South. Using a case‐study approach, we have examined the interface between a value‐chain sustainability programme and the livelihood trajectories of smallholder producers in upland Sumatra. Our research found the programme has had minimal impacts for coffee producers to date. The level of commitment required of producers appears incompatible with the particular way that coffee is currently embedded within local landscapes, livelihoods and poverty alleviation pathways. Various sustainability standards articulate a narrative of rural development underpinned by an assumption that agricultural modernisation is the preferred pathway out of poverty for rural households. As a result, there is some risk that sustainability programmes may be inadvertently attempting to encourage household investment in a particular kind of agriculture, which is intended to assist sustainability of supply, but is poorly aligned with prevailing processes of poverty alleviation. These observations are based on a detailed study of agrarian change among the Semendo people of South Sumatra province, where processes of rural development are far more complex than assumptions presented by mainstream sustainability standards. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Asia Pacific Viewpoint Wiley

Examining the interface of sustainability programmes and livelihoods in the Semendo highlands of Indonesia

Asia Pacific Viewpoint , Volume 59 (3) – Dec 1, 2018

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References (40)

Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
© 2018 Victoria University of Wellington and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd
ISSN
1360-7456
eISSN
1467-8373
DOI
10.1111/apv.12205
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Voluntary sustainability standards are used as both a means of securing coffee supply by large coffee firms and a development intervention to address rural poverty and environmental management in the Global South. Using a case‐study approach, we have examined the interface between a value‐chain sustainability programme and the livelihood trajectories of smallholder producers in upland Sumatra. Our research found the programme has had minimal impacts for coffee producers to date. The level of commitment required of producers appears incompatible with the particular way that coffee is currently embedded within local landscapes, livelihoods and poverty alleviation pathways. Various sustainability standards articulate a narrative of rural development underpinned by an assumption that agricultural modernisation is the preferred pathway out of poverty for rural households. As a result, there is some risk that sustainability programmes may be inadvertently attempting to encourage household investment in a particular kind of agriculture, which is intended to assist sustainability of supply, but is poorly aligned with prevailing processes of poverty alleviation. These observations are based on a detailed study of agrarian change among the Semendo people of South Sumatra province, where processes of rural development are far more complex than assumptions presented by mainstream sustainability standards.

Journal

Asia Pacific ViewpointWiley

Published: Dec 1, 2018

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