Benchmarking agri-food sustainability certifications: evidences from applying SAFA in the Ecuadorian banana agri-system

Certified products are a possible way to obtain and improve sustainability. Nevertheless, their effectiveness in enhancing agri-system sustainability is strongly questioned in the academic arena. This study aims to examine in depth the effect of certification on sustainability achievement. For this...

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Main Authors: Piedra Muñoz, Laura, Galdeano Gómez, Emilio, Bonisoli, Lorenzo, Pérez Mesa, Juan Carlos
Format: info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Language:English
Published: 2024
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10835/15167
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author Piedra Muñoz, Laura
Galdeano Gómez, Emilio
Bonisoli, Lorenzo
Pérez Mesa, Juan Carlos
author_facet Piedra Muñoz, Laura
Galdeano Gómez, Emilio
Bonisoli, Lorenzo
Pérez Mesa, Juan Carlos
author_sort Piedra Muñoz, Laura
collection DSpace
description Certified products are a possible way to obtain and improve sustainability. Nevertheless, their effectiveness in enhancing agri-system sustainability is strongly questioned in the academic arena. This study aims to examine in depth the effect of certification on sustainability achievement. For this purpose, organic and Fairtrade Ecuadorian banana is analysed against the conventional banana. This study employs an original approach that operationalises SAFA (Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture). This tool was chosen for the analysis because of the wide spectrum of sustainability issues considered in the evaluation, along with the fact that it is easy for producers and decision makers to implement and understand, and offers the consequential possibility to identify precise measures to enhance sustainability in the short term. Results show that organic and Fairtrade farms achieve more sustainable performance than those of conventional farms in terms of governance, environmental and economic dimensions. Nevertheless, conventional farms display better outcomes in matters of social sustainability. The reason most likely lies in the size and processes of farms rather than their certification standards. This study may be used by practitioners as a valid benchmark for the implementation of SAFA to other agri-systems and by decision-makers as a guide for the regulation of agri-sector processes.
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spelling oai:repositorio.ual.es:10835-151672024-01-16T12:16:58Z Benchmarking agri-food sustainability certifications: evidences from applying SAFA in the Ecuadorian banana agri-system Piedra Muñoz, Laura Galdeano Gómez, Emilio Bonisoli, Lorenzo Pérez Mesa, Juan Carlos Certifications SAFA Fairtrade Certified products are a possible way to obtain and improve sustainability. Nevertheless, their effectiveness in enhancing agri-system sustainability is strongly questioned in the academic arena. This study aims to examine in depth the effect of certification on sustainability achievement. For this purpose, organic and Fairtrade Ecuadorian banana is analysed against the conventional banana. This study employs an original approach that operationalises SAFA (Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture). This tool was chosen for the analysis because of the wide spectrum of sustainability issues considered in the evaluation, along with the fact that it is easy for producers and decision makers to implement and understand, and offers the consequential possibility to identify precise measures to enhance sustainability in the short term. Results show that organic and Fairtrade farms achieve more sustainable performance than those of conventional farms in terms of governance, environmental and economic dimensions. Nevertheless, conventional farms display better outcomes in matters of social sustainability. The reason most likely lies in the size and processes of farms rather than their certification standards. This study may be used by practitioners as a valid benchmark for the implementation of SAFA to other agri-systems and by decision-makers as a guide for the regulation of agri-sector processes. 2024-01-16T12:16:58Z 2024-01-16T12:16:58Z 2019-11 info:eu-repo/semantics/article http://hdl.handle.net/10835/15167 en info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
spellingShingle Certifications
SAFA Fairtrade
Piedra Muñoz, Laura
Galdeano Gómez, Emilio
Bonisoli, Lorenzo
Pérez Mesa, Juan Carlos
Benchmarking agri-food sustainability certifications: evidences from applying SAFA in the Ecuadorian banana agri-system
title Benchmarking agri-food sustainability certifications: evidences from applying SAFA in the Ecuadorian banana agri-system
title_full Benchmarking agri-food sustainability certifications: evidences from applying SAFA in the Ecuadorian banana agri-system
title_fullStr Benchmarking agri-food sustainability certifications: evidences from applying SAFA in the Ecuadorian banana agri-system
title_full_unstemmed Benchmarking agri-food sustainability certifications: evidences from applying SAFA in the Ecuadorian banana agri-system
title_short Benchmarking agri-food sustainability certifications: evidences from applying SAFA in the Ecuadorian banana agri-system
title_sort benchmarking agri-food sustainability certifications: evidences from applying safa in the ecuadorian banana agri-system
topic Certifications
SAFA Fairtrade
url http://hdl.handle.net/10835/15167
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