Intergovernmental agencies and development organizations, including Cordaid, consider interventio... more Intergovernmental agencies and development organizations, including Cordaid, consider interventions directed at seed security of utmost importance to support smallholders recovering from conflict situations and disasters, and to contribute to revitalisation of local agricultural production and food security. There is, however, considerable debate about the most appropriate type and strategic level of intervention to enhance smallholders’ seed security in conflict and post-conflict areas. Given the co-existence of different types of interventions and agencies directed at providing seed security, the governance of seed security has become very relevant, questioning what collaborative arrangements between government, business and civil society can help to effectively address seed insecurity. Donors and development practitioners often prefer certified or improved seed to seed from the informal sector. However, farmers’ evaluation criteria can differ from criteria developed by breeders o...
This volume offers a unique perspective on microfinance, an issue traditionally dominated by econ... more This volume offers a unique perspective on microfinance, an issue traditionally dominated by economists and policymakers. Drawing on the rich traditions of anthropology and sociology, Livelihood and Microfinance explores how livelihood approaches could lead to a better understanding of saving and credit behavior, and how such an understanding could help the design of finance for development. Contributors also propose new methods for better incorporating citizens into the larger economic system. Anticipating the United Nations’s Year of Microfinance in 2005, Livelihood and Microfinance is a long-awaited contribution to the international debate on the best approaches to development.
During the last two decades, multinational business and international NGOs from the North have in... more During the last two decades, multinational business and international NGOs from the North have initiated global roundtables, standards and certification programs to promote sustainable cropping in the South. In recent years, new programs and projects have emerged to promote sustainable landscapes, such under different names: sustainable landscape initiatives, area-based approaches, public-private, community-company initiatives, and jurisdictional approaches. The main aim of this paper is provide a critical reflection of the emergence of these new programs and projects in the context of a plurality of regulatory authorities and standards directed at sustainable cropping. Our two main questions are: To what extent do these programs and projects reflect a paradigm shift in sustainability governance? Are sustainable landscape initiatives meant to replace, compete with, or complement “vertical” governance of supply chains? To address these questions, we take the following steps. First, w...
This paper wants to contribute to the debate on the complex relationships between law and agroeco... more This paper wants to contribute to the debate on the complex relationships between law and agroecosystems from a legal pluralistic perspective. For this purpose, it first explains what is legal pluralism, and then this notion is used to conceptualize law, the relationship between law and social fields, and sovereignty. Second, the paper critically reviews the concept of agroecosystems and explains how a legal pluralistic perspective can enrich agroecology as a transdisciplinary field of studies. Finally, to operationalize how the complex relationships between law and agroecosystems can be studied from a legal pluralistic perspective, it describes the rise of nonstate sovereigns over sustainability.
Debates on the challenges and opportunities for sustainable agricultural production and natural r... more Debates on the challenges and opportunities for sustainable agricultural production and natural resources management - mainly of land, water, and forests - have intensified in recent years. This is due not only to a more prominent climate change agenda, aimed at mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to limit global warming to less than 1.5oC [1]; it is also due to the recent Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda [2]. The role that forests play in climate change mitigation is at the heart of climate change and sustainability debates; as such, reducing the pressure that ‘forest-risk’ commodity crops (e.g. palm oil, cocoa, soy, beef, timber) place on forests is key [3]. Forest conversion contributes to soil erosion, reduces water quality and supply, leads to biodiversity loss and increases carbon emissions [3]. An issue of increasing concern is how to support the meaningful integration of smallholders in these commodity supply chains, as well as improve their capacity to captu...
In 2009 the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) established a conflict resolution mechanism... more In 2009 the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) established a conflict resolution mechanism to help rural communities address their grievances against palm oil companies that are RSPO members. This article presents the broadest ever comprehensive assessment of the use and effectiveness of the RSPO conflict resolution mechanism, providing both overviews and in-depth analysis. Our central question is: to what extent does the RSPO conflict resolution mechanism offer an accessible, fair and effective tool for communities in Indonesia to resolve conflicts with companies? Our aim is not only to provide a ‘reality check’ of this mechanism but also to contribute to the wider debate on how communities can seek access to justice when engaged in intractable conflicts with palm oil companies. For data collection, we took three steps. First, we used our own database of 150 conflicts between communities and companies in Indonesia. We identified 64 conflicts that involved RSPO member compani...
Nowadays, Indonesian palm oil faces agrarian, environmental, and social issues and has been subje... more Nowadays, Indonesian palm oil faces agrarian, environmental, and social issues and has been subject to sharp criticism from the international community for many years. To answer this problem, the Indonesian government implemented a strategy through certification which ensured the achievement of sustainability standards, especially on the upstream side of the palm oil supply chain. The implementation of Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) was an ultimate instrument that applied in particular to smallholders oriented towards managing land legal issues, plantation business licenses, plant seeds, and environmental management and to farmer organizations at the local level. However, this process faced quite complex challenges in the form of structural barriers that are very constraining. This study revealed the occurrence of the phenomenon of hollow governance when regulations are absent or collide with each other. The study also revealed institutional power and multi-level governance ...
List of contributors List of abbreviations Acknowledgements 1 Introduction 1.1 Background and obj... more List of contributors List of abbreviations Acknowledgements 1 Introduction 1.1 Background and objectives 1.2 Legitimization and overall objective of Dutch CFAs to support micro-finance programmes 1.3 Partners of Dutch CFAs operating in the micro-finance market of Kenya 1.4 Central questions 1.5 Organization and methodology 1.6 Process implementation and limitations of the study 1.7 Structure of the report 2 A brief description of micro-finance in Kenya and agencies as supported by Dutch CFAs 2.1 Micro-finance in Kenya 2.1.1 The emergence of micro-finance as an industry 2.1.2 Types of micro-finance agencies in Kenya 2.1.3 Service delivery approaches 2.1.3.1 Savings services 2.1.3.2 Loan products 2.1.4 Outreach 2.1.4.1 Banks 2.1.4.2 NGO-MFAs 2.1.4.3 Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) 2.1.4.4 ROSCAs and ASCRAs 2.2 A profile of micro-finance agencies and schemes as supported by Dutch CFAs 2.
Intergovernmental agencies and development organizations, including Cordaid, consider interventio... more Intergovernmental agencies and development organizations, including Cordaid, consider interventions directed at seed security of utmost importance to support smallholders recovering from conflict situations and disasters, and to contribute to revitalisation of local agricultural production and food security. There is, however, considerable debate about the most appropriate type and strategic level of intervention to enhance smallholders’ seed security in conflict and post-conflict areas. Given the co-existence of different types of interventions and agencies directed at providing seed security, the governance of seed security has become very relevant, questioning what collaborative arrangements between government, business and civil society can help to effectively address seed insecurity. Donors and development practitioners often prefer certified or improved seed to seed from the informal sector. However, farmers’ evaluation criteria can differ from criteria developed by breeders o...
This volume offers a unique perspective on microfinance, an issue traditionally dominated by econ... more This volume offers a unique perspective on microfinance, an issue traditionally dominated by economists and policymakers. Drawing on the rich traditions of anthropology and sociology, Livelihood and Microfinance explores how livelihood approaches could lead to a better understanding of saving and credit behavior, and how such an understanding could help the design of finance for development. Contributors also propose new methods for better incorporating citizens into the larger economic system. Anticipating the United Nations’s Year of Microfinance in 2005, Livelihood and Microfinance is a long-awaited contribution to the international debate on the best approaches to development.
During the last two decades, multinational business and international NGOs from the North have in... more During the last two decades, multinational business and international NGOs from the North have initiated global roundtables, standards and certification programs to promote sustainable cropping in the South. In recent years, new programs and projects have emerged to promote sustainable landscapes, such under different names: sustainable landscape initiatives, area-based approaches, public-private, community-company initiatives, and jurisdictional approaches. The main aim of this paper is provide a critical reflection of the emergence of these new programs and projects in the context of a plurality of regulatory authorities and standards directed at sustainable cropping. Our two main questions are: To what extent do these programs and projects reflect a paradigm shift in sustainability governance? Are sustainable landscape initiatives meant to replace, compete with, or complement “vertical” governance of supply chains? To address these questions, we take the following steps. First, w...
This paper wants to contribute to the debate on the complex relationships between law and agroeco... more This paper wants to contribute to the debate on the complex relationships between law and agroecosystems from a legal pluralistic perspective. For this purpose, it first explains what is legal pluralism, and then this notion is used to conceptualize law, the relationship between law and social fields, and sovereignty. Second, the paper critically reviews the concept of agroecosystems and explains how a legal pluralistic perspective can enrich agroecology as a transdisciplinary field of studies. Finally, to operationalize how the complex relationships between law and agroecosystems can be studied from a legal pluralistic perspective, it describes the rise of nonstate sovereigns over sustainability.
Debates on the challenges and opportunities for sustainable agricultural production and natural r... more Debates on the challenges and opportunities for sustainable agricultural production and natural resources management - mainly of land, water, and forests - have intensified in recent years. This is due not only to a more prominent climate change agenda, aimed at mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to limit global warming to less than 1.5oC [1]; it is also due to the recent Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda [2]. The role that forests play in climate change mitigation is at the heart of climate change and sustainability debates; as such, reducing the pressure that ‘forest-risk’ commodity crops (e.g. palm oil, cocoa, soy, beef, timber) place on forests is key [3]. Forest conversion contributes to soil erosion, reduces water quality and supply, leads to biodiversity loss and increases carbon emissions [3]. An issue of increasing concern is how to support the meaningful integration of smallholders in these commodity supply chains, as well as improve their capacity to captu...
In 2009 the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) established a conflict resolution mechanism... more In 2009 the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) established a conflict resolution mechanism to help rural communities address their grievances against palm oil companies that are RSPO members. This article presents the broadest ever comprehensive assessment of the use and effectiveness of the RSPO conflict resolution mechanism, providing both overviews and in-depth analysis. Our central question is: to what extent does the RSPO conflict resolution mechanism offer an accessible, fair and effective tool for communities in Indonesia to resolve conflicts with companies? Our aim is not only to provide a ‘reality check’ of this mechanism but also to contribute to the wider debate on how communities can seek access to justice when engaged in intractable conflicts with palm oil companies. For data collection, we took three steps. First, we used our own database of 150 conflicts between communities and companies in Indonesia. We identified 64 conflicts that involved RSPO member compani...
Nowadays, Indonesian palm oil faces agrarian, environmental, and social issues and has been subje... more Nowadays, Indonesian palm oil faces agrarian, environmental, and social issues and has been subject to sharp criticism from the international community for many years. To answer this problem, the Indonesian government implemented a strategy through certification which ensured the achievement of sustainability standards, especially on the upstream side of the palm oil supply chain. The implementation of Indonesian Sustainable Palm Oil (ISPO) was an ultimate instrument that applied in particular to smallholders oriented towards managing land legal issues, plantation business licenses, plant seeds, and environmental management and to farmer organizations at the local level. However, this process faced quite complex challenges in the form of structural barriers that are very constraining. This study revealed the occurrence of the phenomenon of hollow governance when regulations are absent or collide with each other. The study also revealed institutional power and multi-level governance ...
List of contributors List of abbreviations Acknowledgements 1 Introduction 1.1 Background and obj... more List of contributors List of abbreviations Acknowledgements 1 Introduction 1.1 Background and objectives 1.2 Legitimization and overall objective of Dutch CFAs to support micro-finance programmes 1.3 Partners of Dutch CFAs operating in the micro-finance market of Kenya 1.4 Central questions 1.5 Organization and methodology 1.6 Process implementation and limitations of the study 1.7 Structure of the report 2 A brief description of micro-finance in Kenya and agencies as supported by Dutch CFAs 2.1 Micro-finance in Kenya 2.1.1 The emergence of micro-finance as an industry 2.1.2 Types of micro-finance agencies in Kenya 2.1.3 Service delivery approaches 2.1.3.1 Savings services 2.1.3.2 Loan products 2.1.4 Outreach 2.1.4.1 Banks 2.1.4.2 NGO-MFAs 2.1.4.3 Savings and Credit Cooperatives (SACCOs) 2.1.4.4 ROSCAs and ASCRAs 2.2 A profile of micro-finance agencies and schemes as supported by Dutch CFAs 2.
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