Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
introduction of formal standards, measurements, and audits the original principles
and practices of the project began to erode. Most notably, the personal relationships,
shared governance, and trust that characterized the early stages of the project were
replaced by objectivity, calculability, and expert knowledge.
One consequence of this shift was a significant decline in contact between
Indonesian farmers and Japanese co-op members. Describing how the role of
Japanese co-op members have changed, one PA official who has been involved with
the project from the beginning commented:
[Japanese] co-op members have definitely changed over time with the shift to certification.
Their awareness has become low
:::
no more visits, little understanding of what is going
on at the production site
There is no dialogue between consumers and producers now.
What we have now is a very impersonal network.
:::
In short, as Japanese co-op members came to rely on the formal standards and
audits, they became disengaged from the project. At the same time, having been
marginalized in the standards-development process, and seeing declined engage-
ment by co-op members many farmers' commitment to the project also lessened.
Speaking of the changes among farmers, an SN official remarked,
Under certification, member farmers have become puppets. They just follow the rules that
were set up by the certifier. They neither think, nor try to improve their farming practices.
They just passively follow all the rules and procedures that were prescribed. They stopped
thinking, stopped participating in the project. Thus, their morale is low.
In short, as the project became more formalized with certification, the project
became increasingly depersonalized and both farmers and co-op members became
less committed to both the project principles and each other. Furthermore, not only
did the co-op members' relationship with farmers change, but how farmers were
understood also changed. Prior to certification, co-op members and SN viewed
farmers as a partner in a joint project to achieve mutual goals. However, with
certification, how farmers were understood largely changed to that of a subject who
had to be disciplined and controlled.
With the depersonalization of co-op member and farmer relations and the con-
sequent re-conceptualization of farmers as subjects, the project began to encounter
more disagreements, conflicts, and antagonisms. Most notable is that some farmers
began not to fully comply with standards and falsify documents in order to
remain in the project. 11 Thus, with certification, as the project became increasingly
rationalized there was an erosion of both commitment and trust. For these reasons,
SN and PA decided not to renew organic certification in 2008. Feeling that the
original principles and practices of the project had largely become lost, they decided
to return to the original project design and focus on trying to rebuild relationships
and trust between farmers and co-op members.
While the findings in this chapter are based on a single case, they raise important
questions regarding the effects of certification on alternative agrifood initiatives.
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