Ethically Sourced Vanilla: Certifications in the Production of Vanilla in the SAVA Region of Madagascar Maisie Campbell SIT Study Abroad

SIT Graduate Institute/SIT Study Abroad SIT Digital Collections Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection SIT Study Abroad Spring 2018 Ethically Sourced Vanilla: Certifications in the production of vanilla in the SAVA Region of Madagascar Maisie Campbell SIT Study Abroad Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection Part of the African Studies Commons, Agricultural and Resource Economics Commons, Agricultural Economics Commons, Agricultural Science Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Food Science Commons, Food Studies Commons, and the Natural Resource Economics Commons Recommended Citation Campbell, Maisie, "Ethically Sourced Vanilla: Certifications in the production of vanilla in the SAVA Region of Madagascar" (2018). Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection. 2821. https://digitalcollections.sit.edu/isp_collection/2821 This Unpublished Paper is brought to you for free and open access by the SIT Study Abroad at SIT Digital Collections. It has been accepted for inclusion in Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection by an authorized administrator of SIT Digital Collections. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Ethically Sourced Vanilla: Certifications in the production of vanilla in the SAVA Region of Madagascar By: Maisie Campbell Advisor: Hadrien Charvet, Agri Resources Academic Director: Barry Fergusan Spring 2018 1 Table of Contents: Acknowledgements………………………………………………………………. 3 Abstract…………………………………………………………………………... 4 Introduction…………………………………………………………………….... 4 Methods…………………………………………………………………………... 7 Results……………………………………………………………………………. 8 The Production of Vanilla …………………………………………………….…8 The Economy of Vanilla ……………………………………………………...…10 Certifications…………………………………………………………...…13 Company Initiatives…………………………………………………...…. 21 Other Key Stakeholders………………………………………………...…23 Analysis…………………………………………………………………………...25 Conclusion………………………………………………………………………..29 Appendix………………………………………………………………………….31 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………...33 2 Acknowledgements: Thank you so much to all who made this project possible! Primarily, thank you to my parents who encouraged me to come to Madagascar to pursue my studies. Also, a large thank- you to Chrystophe and Nestorine, my translators. An even larger thank-you to all those who work with vanilla and made time to talk with me! And, of course, my heartfelt gratitude to the whole SIT team for all their help and support and to Giselle and Alain, owners of Villa Malaza! 3 Abstract: Vanilla is an orchid whose beans are harvested after ten months on the vine. About eighty percent of the world’s vanilla is produced in Madagascar and the SAVA region is the capital of vanilla production within the country. The changing demand of vanilla, damage from cyclones, and the three-year development of the vanilla plants before they begin producing beans causes a boom and bust cycle of prices of vanilla. Some organizations have tried to ameliorate the problems these cycles and low prices pose to vanilla farmers by creating certifications for companies that promise that they will not pay less than a certain price for vanilla. This is particularly relevant when vanilla prices are low. Other certifications are aimed towards ensuring environmental safety and fair treatment towards farmers. Examples include Fairtrade, Rainforest Alliance, and Organic. The effectiveness of these organizations and programs can be measured against efforts by individual companies to treat their providers ‘fairly.’ This study examines the effect of these certifications, company initiatives, and third-party interests in the production of vanilla and the efficacy of these parties in fostering the fair and sustainable production of vanilla. Introduction: Of all the crops in Madagascar, particularly of the spices and cash crops, vanilla retains a certain uniqueness that separates it from these other crops. Of the world’s vanilla production, Madagascar grows eighty percent, with that production focused in the SAVA region of North- East Madagascar (Symrise, 2018). The tropical climate and constant rain of this region are optimal for growing vanilla. However, perhaps somewhat surprisingly, the majority of the vanilla grown in Madagascar is not native to the island. Of the main varieties grown in Madagascar, the most common is Vanilla planifolia, known more commonly as ‘Bourbon’ vanilla, which originates from Mexico (Havkin-Frenkel and Belanger, 2011). Although there are 4 some varieties native to Madagascar, these beans contain less vanillin, the chemical compound that gives vanilla its unique and pleasing flavor (Borbolla-Perez, 2015). These varieties from Mexico, however, have much higher vanillin contents. But, in introducing Mexican vanilla to other environments, the insect that naturally pollinizes the vanilla flowers was unable to adapt. As a result, in all countries other than Mexico, vanilla blossoms must be pollinated by hand (Cadot et al., 2008). This is only one example of Figure 1: Vanilla ‘Gasy’ or one of the varieties of vanilla native to Madagascar. This vine is part of semi-intensive the elements that combine to result in vanilla as a farming techniques practiced on the Agri Resources plantation in Ambohitsara as part of the project to time-intensive cash crop. maintain genetic diversity. Photo courtesy of author. 4/12/2018. Because of the time-intensive nature of vanilla, it is not surprising that several types of synthetic vanilla flavors have been introduced into the market. In fact, the common figure bandied about in the vanilla industry is that ninety-nine percent of vanilla flavoring (for candles, candies, soaps, chocolate, baked goods) is synthetic with only one percent remaining pure, natural vanilla. Synthetic vanilla is often made from wood products, although it is possible to distill it from a wide variety of sources (Berenstein, 2016). Synthetic vanilla’s main appeal is also the price difference: in years when vanilla prices are highest, such as now, a kilo of natural vanilla costs between $600 and $750 (Wiley, 2017). These high prices also reflect the high demand for natural vanilla, and so it remains highly unlikely that natural vanilla will lose value in the market economy. As Berenstein argues, natural vanilla as a commodity represents much 5 more than the pleasurable flavor for which it is known. Rather, vanilla largely underlies the vast majority of flavor profiles in the Unites States and is the most commonly used spice in the United States (Berenstein, 2017). Due to vanilla’s popularity not only popular in the United States, but also throughout Europe and Japan, these markets have transformed vanilla over the last one hundred years into a truly global market commodity. As Woodman discusses in his book, Unfair Trade, since the globalization of many food and luxury commodities, consumers have become increasingly disconnected from the source of their food. As a result, many commodities result in increasingly unfair practices towards farmers, factory workers, and any other producers in order to produce the cheapest product (Woodman, 2011). With vanilla, in particular, many inequalities exist between the producers and the other members of the vanilla industry. Vanilla prices fluctuate drastically which creates economic instability for the farmers. Compared to the recent high prices of above, as recent as 2005, the prices were as low as $30 per kilo (Wiley, 2017). Ethical concerns regarding treatments of farmers of all industries arose in the United States following World War II, although the first certifications did not arise until 1998, with Transfair, now Fairtrade (Cater et al., 2015). Fair trade standards in particular have been implemented in Mexico, formerly the largest vanilla- supplying country of the world (Borbolla-Perez et al., 2016). Vanilla companies sourcing from Madagascar began the certification process around 2005 and the movement has been growing steadily since as clients create more demand for certified products (Cater et al., 2015). However, the efficacy of these certifications has not been thoroughly studied in the Malagasy context, nor have alternatives to these certifications been explored. 6 This study aims to answers the following questions: How is fairness perceived and implemented in the vanilla sector? Do certifications play a role? How so, and how are they viewed? Can conditions for vanilla farmers be more ‘fair’ and, if so, how? Methods: For this study, the main method employed was interviews of people all along the value chain of vanilla from farmer to collectors to exporters. These interviews are semi-structured, with a set of basic questions that were adapted and added to depending on the interviewee. Over the three weeks, representatives of eight companies were interviewed over nine interviews, as well as seven collectors, eighteen farmers and six interviews with other non-government organizations, certification agencies, researchers and other key stakeholders. These questions followed three general divisions of being aimed towards producers, collectors or exporters (see Appendix 1). However, for the exporters, the questions were more individualized based on prior research on the companies represented. Additionally, in order to facilitate a comfortable atmosphere, these questions were not always asked in order and often other questions were added. For some of these interviews, mainly with farmers and collectors who do not speak French, the aid of a translator was used to translate from French

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