Varieties in Organic Agriculture
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VARIETIES IN ORGANIC AGRICULTURE An Assemblage Thinking Approach to Agri-Environmental Governance in India Shantonu Abe (Chatterjee) Varieties in Organic Agriculture: An Assemblage Thinking Approach to Agri-Environmental Governance in India I n a u g u r a l - D i s s e r t a t i o n Zur Erlangung des Doktorgrades der Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Fakultät der Universität zu Köln vorgelegt von Shantonu Abe Chatterjee, M.Sc. aus Alankuppam, Pondicherry (Indien) Köln, 2020 Berichterstatter: Prof. Dr. Boris Braun Prof. Dr. Peter Dannenberg Prof. Dr. Jérémie Forney Tag der mündlichen Prüfung: 07.09.2020 Acknowledgements I would like to thank the German Research Foundation (DFG) for its financial support. The empirical data collection in India for this dissertation would not have been possible without the DFG-funded project Standards 2.0. The Principal Investigator of this project was Prof. Dr. Amelie Bernzen, and my supervisor at the University of Cologne was Prof. Dr. Boris Braun. I am grateful to them for their continued guidance and time spent on supervising my rambling journey through the dissertation. Dr. Bernzen visited India despite her busy schedule, and for that I am grateful. I would also like to thank my other two reviewers, Prof. Dr. Peter Dannenberg (Cologne) and Assistant Prof. Dr. Jérémie Forney (Neuchâtel, Switzerland) for taking the time to examine my dissertation. Special thanks are due to the Graduate School of Geosciences and its excellent manager, Dr. Karin Boessenkool, for making sure that PhD candidates had access to workshops on the different skills that would be useful during the course of the dissertation, and for the colloquiums and research conferences. Academic learning takes place within a network, and I would also like to thank the organizers of the various conferences that provided the space for interaction through which I learnt about the fascinating discipline of Geography. During my field phase, Development Research Communication and Services Centre was an invaluable support partner, making it possible to organize logistics from Germany and providing valuable access in the field. I would like to thank all the companies, organizations and individuals who were willing to spend some time to answer my questions about organic agriculture in India. Special gratitude is due to Mr. Amit Bera, farmer extraordinaire, for graciously allowing me to stay with his family while I was conducting interviews in the village. Indian agriculture and society relies on the tireless efforts of these individuals in imagining and creating a better society, and what little I have learnt in the course of my fieldwork leaves me in awe at their dedication to this cause. I would also like to acknowledge the many useful podcasts out there that provide intellectual stimulation. Stephen West’s Philosophize This podcast, and Russ Roberts’ EconTalk podcasts deserve special mention; the latter is an amazing resource to understand many of the debates in economics today. I would like to thank my colleagues at the Institute of Geography, where I was a guest for four years. Thank you Kathi, for sharing the office, worldviews, irreverent questions, and an insatiable curiosity! You convinced me that Geography was worth studying. Thank you Marie, for your enthusiasm and idealism: I was really inspired to try to be a better version of myself. Thank you Mara for your amazing input and help with the writing process; it wouldn’t have been possible without you. Thank you Frauke for all your help and encouragement. I’m sure your proofreading skills will come in handy when you write your amazing Master thesis. Your friendships mean a lot to me. A special thank you to Susanne, for the lunches, long walks and for the discussions on every topic under the sun, especially during the coronavirus times. I would also like to thank the Braun Working Group past and present: Sebastian, Lisa, Maruf, Jayadi, Widhi, Sule, Anabel, Konstantin, Kimmy and Kathrin. Prof. Revilla-Diez and his Working Group were also very kind. Thomas, Caro, Moritz, Linus, Roxy; thank you so much! Also Alex and Gideon for our frequent discussions, which I hope will continue. Regine Spohner was very generous with her skills and time in making the maps used here. Visits from Prof. Bill Pritchard, Prof. Raquib Ahmed and Prof. Yanai Masaya were always highly anticipated, and I am happy that Mark Vicol and Katy-Anne Legun are in Wageningen: I would like to thank them for hosting me for my defense at their home. A deep thank you to Prof. Tinde van Andel, for her unwavering belief in me and her excellent advice and guidance. My home away from home, Droevendaal 107, and other friends in Wageningen were a source of support and happy memories. I always looked forward to the weekend when we could engage in our shenanigans. Xabi, Jordi, Ramon, Stefano, Lavi, Marco, Maura, Yannis, Matika, Maria, Maaike, Anais, David, Joao and family, Heike, Agata, Calcotada, Lindy, Francesco, Arwin El Presidente, Felix…. the list is incomplete. You were all absolute legends, and I can only hope I brought as much joy to you as you have to me! A thank you also to the floorball team at the university; sports is important. I always had a place to stay in Delhi when I was conducting interviews, thanks to my relatives. Anindita-di, Santosh-da, thank you! A big thanks to the Chatterjee extended family as well! My extended family in Japan was a constant source of support during hard times. Thank you to the Yamamoto family, Yuka-chan, Joshua and Ilsun. My sister Manosi was a constant source of laughter and commiseration. Finally, I would like to thank my parents, who have always led by example in making the world a better place. Table of Contents List of Tables ..................................................................................................................... IV List of Figures .................................................................................................................... IV List of Abbreviations ...........................................................................................................V Zusammenfassung ........................................................................................................... VII Summary ........................................................................................................................... IX 1. Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Research Questions .................................................................................................. 2 2. Conceptual Framework: Assemblage Thinking and Agri-Environmental Governance in the Anthropocene ........................................................................................................... 5 2.1 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 5 2.2 Approaches to Agri-Environmental Governance .................................................... 5 2.2.1 Global Value Chains as an Approach ................................................................ 6 2.2.2 Assemblage Thinking in the Study of Governance ........................................ 13 2.3 Assemblage Theory and Assemblage Thinking ..................................................... 14 2.3.1 Transcendence and Immanence ..................................................................... 16 2.3.2 Ontology of Assemblage Theory ..................................................................... 18 2.3.3 Talking About Becoming ................................................................................. 23 2.4 What is the context? ............................................................................................... 26 2.4.1 The Anthropocene ........................................................................................... 27 2.4.2 The Agrarian Crisis in India ............................................................................ 30 2.5 Looking Forward ..................................................................................................... 31 3. Context and Methodology ............................................................................................ 33 3.1 Positionality and Reflexivity ................................................................................... 35 4. Recoding Sustainability in Organic Agriculture: Locating Approaches On the Continuum between Two Paradigms of Sustainability in Agriculture .......................... 39 I 4.1 Responding to Needs for Framing Sustainability in Agriculture ......................... 39 4.1.1 The Sustainable Intensification Paradigm ...................................................... 39 4.1.2 Agroecological Intensification Paradigm ........................................................ 41 4.2 Contrasting Paradigms ........................................................................................... 44 4.3 Organic Agriculture ................................................................................................ 48 4.3.1 What Is Organic? ............................................................................................. 48 4.3.2 Standards and Certification Schemes ............................................................. 51 4.3.3 What Could Organic Be? ................................................................................. 56 5. What Can Organic Do? A Rhizomatic