Impact of participatory guarantee systems on sustainability outcomes: the case of vegetable farming in Vietnam

ABSTRACT

Sustainable food systems require mechanisms that assure consumers about the sustainability of agricultural production. Building on the existing literature on the impact of sustainability standards, this study is the first to assess the effectiveness of participatory guarantee systems (PGS) for the certification of organic produce. The study uses representative farm-level data on local vegetable value chains in northern Vietnam and uses a broad set of sustainability outcomes as well as counterfactual analysis, including systematic robustness checks. The results show that PGS significantly improves farm profitability (+117%), agroecology performance (+40%), and gives farmers more choice of sales channels (+23%). However, PGS had no significant effect on returns to labour and reduced the average crop yield. Capacity development on nursery practices, transplanting of healthy seedlings rather than direct seeding, reduced tillage, and collective crop planning and management are some of the innovations that can counter adverse effects on crop yields, increase soil health as well as improve returns to labour, and thus attract more youth to farming. Overall, the study shows that organic PGS can make vegetable production more economically viable and more agroecologically sustainable.

KEYWORDS:

• Organic agriculture
• cabbage
• gross margin
• TAPE
• treatment effects
• Vietnam

Notes

1 Valid instruments need to be correlated with the intervention (such as standard participation), but must not be correlated with the outcomes, except through their indirect effect on the intervention (White & Raitzer, 2017).

2 The TAPE methodology and examples of the tool’s application are available on the TAPE website of FAO: https://www.fao.org/agroecology/tools-tape/en/

3 At the time of the survey, the prevailing exchange rate was 23,500 VND = 1 USD.

4 Such as: no synthetic pesticides, no chemical fertilisers, natural nutrient cycles, natural inputs, beneficial organisms, local seeds, crop diversity, balanced agroecosystems, premium prices, specialty markets, other.

5 E.g. the description for the highest score of ‘Crop diversity’ under the ‘Diversity’ element: ‘more than 3 crops and varieties adapted to local conditions. Spatially diversified farm by multi-, poly- or intercropping’.

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by the Vietnam National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED) and by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNFS) under grant number IZVSZ1.202695.