Case Study: Organic Agriculture & Fair Trade: Black Pepper Farmers in India & Conventional vs Organic Farming

Case Study: Organic Agriculture & Fair Trade: Black Pepper Farmers in India & Conventional vs Organic Farming

In my last blog, I touched upon what methods are being introduced to help sustainable farmers increase their produce and ultimately benefit their livelihood. But one of the key questions surrounding this is whether organic farmers are actually benefiting from the recent global expansion of organic farming, and how are they comparing to conventional farmers? What are the welfare impacts dependent on?

In this blog, I comment on the findings of Parvathi (2015) who researched groups of smallholder farmers in comparison to the certified farmers. As mentioned in my previous blog and by Parvathi (2015), India has the highest number of organic farmers (650,000) and fair trade producers globally, so it is therefore reasonable to study such an area, as lessons could be replicated/improved for other developing nations.

What is an Organic & Fair Trade Certification?

It is important to distinguish between the two, as organic systems are predominantly related to health and environmental concerns, compared to the motivation of fair trade systems to reduce poverty among the smallholder producers in developing countries. Certification costs also vary, with organic costs depending on the size of farm, with larger ones paying more. With fair trade, the size of the cooperative determines the certification cost, as with more members, the cost per head of certification is lower.

What is Black Pepper Farming In India?

According to the FAO (2010), India was once a leading global pepper producer, by having 76,000 metric tons in 1999, but this fell to 51,000 by 2010. Despite having 50% of the world’s black pepper area, India only contributes a quarter to the global production and has since become an importer. With price risks present alongside this unstable farming, smallholder farmers have become economically restricted when black pepper production is considered.

Is organic production of black pepper the solution some may wonder? How does this influence the welfare of smallholder farmers in comparison to conventional farmers? For conventional black pepper farmers, the minimum fair trade price does not exist - which is designed to offer benefits and protect farmers against risk - yet it only applies to organic farmers against price shocks.

Parvathi (2015) collected data from 300 smallholder pepper farmers in India to evaluate the welfare impacts and how they differ between certified and conventional farmers. Parvathi’s findings showed that certified farmers earn more per capita than conventional farmers and have a higher disposable income. Privathi also found that adding fair trade certification will increase the asset level of organic pepper farmers. Also, by having a fair trade certificate, organic pepper farmers seem to have better business opportunities as a result of improved infrastructure via the Fair Trade Organisation. Privathi’s study, I find, augments the issues surrounding integration of different organisations when it comes to certifications of farmers and how the assets instead of income is a better indicator of fair trade actions, as the benefits of fair trade are not instant, but materialise in the long term.

Duram (2005) suggests that organic methods of farming can now produce yields similar to conventional methods, and with greater research and funding, the yields could be even greater. I also find that Duram raises another important point regarding this issue, that regardless of how much of a crop is produced, organic farmers are more likely to be profitable due to their lack of agrichemical expenditure. Even if organic farmers do not produce the same amount of yield as a conventional farmer, they can still be profitable without entering agricultural industrial production. This is important, as no matter how much yield is produced, a farm can only exist if it is economically viable.

In a more recent study, however, John P. Reganold (2012) argues that on a global scale, a study from 316 yield comparisons in 66 studies show that organic farming in developed countries produce yields that are 20% lower than in conventional farms, rising to 25% when developing nation studies are introduced. Achieving a high crop yield requires a well-adapted plant variety, sufficient sunshine, water and nutrients. Reganold therefore believes that the agricultural world has to accept that various types of agriculture can have a part in feeding the world, the type just depends on the prerequisites mentioned.

Ultimately, gaps remain in both conventional and organic farming when it comes down to yield and input-efficiency, and these gaps need to be closed in order to meet high profitability, environmental, sustainability and social standards. As Reganold (2012) puts it in a way in which I agree with and augment, comparing the two farming systems will not enhance our understanding of the requirement for a higher yield, but well-informed experimental research at scales relative to the production level may be the key answer.