The Discussion Paper no. 7 (https://unfss.org/documentation/discussion-paper-series/) assesses a real-life impact of private sustainability standards (PSS) for cocoa producers in Nicaragua and vegetable farmers in Kenya. Based on interviews standard-complying producers as well as those who had left the standard schemes, the case studies explore the complexities of the tensions between stakeholders’ socio-economic, commercial and environmental priorities. It concludes that priorities projected through stakeholders’ power and embedded relations within global value chains affect what local outcomes – positive and negative – farmers would receive.
