OTHER SOCIO-ECONOMIC ISSUES

There are two key issues, not covered by codes of practice, which frequently undermine the sustainability of a partnership between contracted smallholders and the exporting company. They are:

Socio-economic issues not covered by codes of practice normally involve the production and resource needs of growing crops for export, which can have a significant bearing on the sustainability of the relationship between smallholders and the exporting company. They include:

• The availability of labour (gender/age/status); distribution of agricultural tasks in the household; seasonal patterns of labour) for particular activities and whether these constrains the production of crops for export during the season.
• The effect of new export cropping regimes/methods onthe production, amount and nutritional value of food crops grown and consumed by local, low-income households.
• The incentives / opportunity costs for men, women, and children to contribute additional time or resources required to grow crops for export.
• The steps taken to enable all groups to access information on new codes of practice.
• Who (gender, age, status) contributes labour and resources to growing crops for export and what impact this has on a households' ability to commit resources
• Changes in the household's exposure to risk caused by the adoption of new, export cropping regimes.

More information: Market Linkages