Fair Trade Governance, Public Procurement and Sustainable Development: A case study of Malawian rice in Scotland This thesis is submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Alastair M. Smith Department of City and Regional Planning, Cardiff University May 2011 DECLARATION This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not concurrently submitted in candidature for any degree. Signed ………………………………………… (candidate) Date ………………………… STATEMENT 1 This thesis is being submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of …………………………(insert MCh, MD, MPhil, PhD etc, as appropriate) Signed ………………………………………… (candidate) Date ………………………… STATEMENT 2 This thesis is the result of my own independent work/investigation, except where otherwise stated. Other sources are acknowledged by explicit references. Signed ………………………………………… (candidate) Date ………………………… STATEMENT 3 I hereby give consent for my thesis, if accepted, to be available for photocopying and for inter-library loan, and for the title and summary to be made available to outside organisations. Signed ………………………………………… (candidate) Date ………………………… i ii Abstract/Summary This thesis provides an account of the way in which meaning associated with the term ‘fair trade’ is negotiated within a number of discrete, yet interrelated communities, in a way which influences stakeholder understanding of the concept – and as a result, structures the way in which public procurement strategies integrate fair trade governance into their operation. Building from the identification of ‘fair trade’ governance as a means to embed the intra- generational social justice concerns of sustainable development within the public procurement system, the thesis investigates how the ambiguous meaning of fair trade is reconciled in discourse and practice. Specifically focusing on the case study of Scotland – where Local Authorities are involved in a complex network of state and private governance initiatives – investigation reveals that despite various influences to the contrary, fair trade is strongly conflated with certification administered by the dominant global fair trade certifying body, Fairtrade International (FLO). However, exceptions are argued to demonstrate an active negotiation of this domination over meaning. In particular, one Authority has purchased ‘fairly traded’ Kilombero rice – produced by members of the National Smallholder Farmers Association of Malawi (NASFAM) – as part of its fair trade strategy, by accepting claims of fairness not on the basis of external certification, but on trust from a socially orientated import organisation. Extending the study along the supply chain, investigation reveals that while the producer organisation sees fair trade as beneficial to their overall objectives, they identify significant limitations with the FLO approach. For this reason they have pursued World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO) accreditation in order to back their claims to fair trade operation. As such, the dominance of FLO certification is seen to be actively contested as part of a wider dynamic in which different approaches vie to influence the understanding, and therefore the praxis of stakeholders. iii iv Acknowledgements There is no question that the completion of this thesis would never have been possible without the extensive and good mannered assistance of a great number of individuals. First and foremost I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to my supervisors: Dr. Roberta Sonnino Dr. Adrian Morley and Prof. Terry Marsden. It was Roberta’s innovative mind which conceived the importance of research into the relationship between fair trade governance and public sector procurement, and the on-going intellectual, professional and personal guidance of Roberta and Adrian has been a huge influence on my work and life in general. I’d also like to acknowledge the role of Kevin Morgan for his contributions over the years – particularly in difficult times. As with all research initiatives, the collection and generation of data for analysis is key to the endeavours. For this reason, I am hugely grateful to all those who gave their time during fieldwork. In particular, I would like to acknowledge Andrew Parker of Imani Development who proved the living embodiment of a dream key informant and gatekeeper: not only introducing me to many other individuals, but actually, on occasions, driving me for nine hours so that I might meet them face to face. John Riches also played a central role in the development of the research project – not least due to his lifelong commitment in developing ‘fair trade’ relations between Scotland and Africa. I’m grateful to Kim Eddie for his companionship while living in the field in Malawi, and Francis Chiwaya and John Masangali who made my time in Karonga so smooth and enjoyable. For the latter I will do my utmost to honour my promise. Beyond these individuals, I am extremely grateful to all those who I have interviewed – a full list of whom can be found in Appendix 7 – and especially to those who gave additional time to read my interpretation of their reality in order to maximise the internal rigour of this project. Finally, the pursuit of this research would never have been possible without the unwavering support of my parents. I hope this manuscript will go someway to assist them in explaining to others, a little more easily, quite what I have been doing for the past three and a half years. v vi Table of Content DECLARATION I ABSTRACT/SUMMARY III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS V TABLE OF CONTENT VII NOTE ON CITATIONS FOR INTERVIEWS AND WEB PAGES XI GLOSSARY OF ABBREVIATIONS XIII INTRODUCTION 1 STRUCTURE OF THE THESIS 3 CHAPTER ONE: PUBLIC PROCUREMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 11 THE INTELLECTUAL ARCHAEOLOGY OF ‘SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT’ 12 SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT: INTEGRATING THE ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL DIMENSIONS OF DEVELO PMENT 14 CONTESTED INTERPRETATIONS OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 16 ‘GOVERNANCE’ FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 19 THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK OF UK PUBLIC PROCUREMENT 23 THE UK'S ‘CREATIVE’ PUBLIC PROCUREMENT AGENDA 27 THE PUBLIC PLATE: A MORE HOLISTIC ACCOUNT OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT? 28 THE UK GOVERNMENT AND “FAIR TRADE” PUBLIC PROCUREMENT 35 SOME CONCLUSIONS 38 CHAPTER TWO: A CRITICAL EXPLORATION OF FAIR TRADE GOVERNANCE 41 THE HISTORY OF FAIR TRADE: A MULTIFACETED BEGINNING 42 FROM ALTERNATIVE TO FAIR TRADE: THE INSTITUTIONALISATION OF FAIR TRADE IN FLO CERTIFICATION 44 PARALLEL APPROACHES TO FAIR TRADE 50 THE RISE OF WFTO CERTIFICATION 53 UNITARY DISCOURSE AND HETEROGENEOUS PRACTICE OF FAIR TRADE 55 EMPIRICAL UNDERSTANDING OF FAIR TRADE TYPOLOGIES AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT OUTCOMES 59 “ETHICAL TRADE”: BACKGROUND AND COMPET ITION WITH FAIR TRAD E 64 CERTIFICATION FOR CONSUMPTION: THE RISE OF A FAIRTRADE MONOPOLY? 67 SOME CONCLUSIONS 71 vii CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH APPROACH AND METHODOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS 75 PROBLEMS OF DEFINING FAIR TRADE AS A RESEARCH CONCEPT: THE IMPORTANCE OF EXPLORING THE MEANING OF FAIR TRADE IN CONTEXT 75 ONTOLOGICAL AND EPISTEMOLOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS 77 IDENTIFYING AN ‘EMBEDDED’ CASE STUDY 80 RESEARCH METHODS 85 ANALYTICAL APPROACH 88 RESEARCH ETHICS 90 INFORMED CONSENT 90 ISSUES OF HARM AND EMPOWERMENT 92 RELIABILITY AND REPRESENTATIVENESS 94 CHAPTER 4: SCOTLAND AND THE FAIR TRADE NATION PROGRAMME 99 FAIR TRADE IN THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT’S DEVELOPMENT POLICY 101 THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE FAIR TRADE NATION PROGRAMME 102 NEGOTIATING THE CRITERIA FOR A FAIR TRADE NATION 103 SCOTLAND AND THE FAIR TRADE NATION PROGRAMME 108 FAIR TRADE PROCUREMENT IN GOVERNMENT POLICY 110 FAIR TRADE IN LOCAL GOVERNMENT POLICY AND PRACTICE 120 FAIRLY TRADED KILOMBERO RICE IN EAST DUNBARTONSHIRE 124 CHAPTER FIVE: WHO SHOUTS THE LOUDEST? NEGOTIATING THE MEANING OF FAIR TRADE IN PRODUCER COUNTRIES 131 MALAWI: THE DEVELOPMENT CONTEXT 131 THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF AGRICULTURE IN MALAWI 132 SMALLHOLDER AGRICULTURE IN MALAWI: A CONTEXT FOR FAIR TRAD E? 133 HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL SMALLHOLDER FARMERS ASSOCIATION OF MALAWI: AN EMERGING COMMERCIAL INTEREST IN FAIR TRADE 138 THE VARYING INTERPRETATIONS OF FAIR TRADE: THE WIDER MALAWIAN CONTEXT 147 NASFAM AND COFTA: A WAY AROUND THE PROBLEMS OF FLO? 157 SOME CONCLUSIONS 163 CHAPTER SIX: PUBLIC PROCUREMENT, FAIR TRADE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 165 NEGOTIATING THE MEANING OF FAIR TRADE: DISCRETE, INTERRELATED COMMUN ITIES OF INTER-SUBJECTIVELY CONSTRUCTED MEANING 167 1) THE MEANING OF A ‘FAIR TRADE’ NATION 168 2) FAIR TRADE GOVERNANCE IN SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT POLICY 171 3) “FAIRTRADE ABSOLUTISM ” OR FLEXIBILITY FROM THE FAIRTRADE FOUNDATION? 172 4) THE MEANING OF FAIR TRADE FOR SCOTTISH LOCAL AUTHORITIES 173 5) THE MEANING OF FAIR TRADE IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN 177 6) MALAWI AND BEYOND 180 NEGOTIATING THE MEANING OF FAIR TRADE: INTERNATIONAL ISSUES AND THE RELATIONSHIP WITH SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT 181 SOME CONCLUSIONS 191 viii OVERALL CONCLUSIONS: MALAWIAN RICE IN SCOTTISH PUBLIC PROCUREMENT 193 ADDRESSING THE RESEARCH QUESTIONS : A SUMMARY 197 BEYOND EMPIRICAL FINDINGS : SOME THEORETICAL PROPOSITIONS 203 LIMITATIONS OF THE CURRENT STUDY, FUTURE RESEARCH POSSIBILITIES AND POLICY RECOMMENDATIONS 204 FINAL THOUGHTS 208 BIBLIOGRAPHY 209 APPENDICES 243 APPENDIX 1: APPLICABILITY OF PRODUCT STANDARDS 243 APPENDIX 2: TEN IFAT/WFTO FAIR TRADE PRINCIPLES 244 APPENDIX 3: FIVE CORE PRINCIPLES OF FAIR TRADE ESTABLISHED BY THE CHARTER OF FAIR TRADE PRINCIPLE 246 APPENDIX 4: THE TRANSITION OF PRACTICES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF FLO CERTIFICATION 247 APPENDIX 5: FLO REQUIREMENTS