How Participatory Guarantee Systems Are Contributing to Sustainability in Thailand and Paraguay

As a result, the harmful effects of agricultural techniques were lessened. However, considerations including high costs for small-scale producers have restricted the growth of certification and access to it. Furthermore, the urgency among the farmers themselves decreased as a result of the homogenisation of organic standards and verification processes.

A variety of stakeholders have sought alternative certification schemes that are better adapted to the needs and circumstances of specific local contexts, such as Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS). PGS efforts place a high emphasis on involving all stakeholders in the formulation of standards for organic agriculture, the implementation of control systems, and participatory decision-making, shifting authority from technical specialists to a multi-stakeholder group.

Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) are locally focused quality assurance systems. They certify producers based on active participation of stakeholders and are built on a foundation of trust, social networks and knowledge exchange.

Recognising the difficulties smallholder farmers face, World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) supports alternative certification approaches by working with regional non-governmental organisations (NGOs). For instance, WWF Germany provides assistance to farmers who participate in PGS in Northern Thailand and Paraguay as part of projects on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP). The project teams in both countries concentrate on expanding organic agriculture as a means of lessening the environmental impact of the present input-heavy production techniques.

This intervention does not take place in isolation. The project addresses three key leverage points simultaneously and adopts a systems-based methodology linking consumption to production by:

Promoting PGS in Thailand

The impact of climate change on food producers in Thailand is evident[1], especially with extreme weather conditions on the rise. Linked to large-scale deforestation of watersheds, northern Thailand faces longer and more severe droughts, and unreliable rainfall patterns which ends up affecting agricultural yields. Large areas of forests have been encroached upon for monoculture plantations, primarily for maize production.

Replacing harmful monocultures with a more diversified crop production system, combined with sustainable farming practices, offers a solution and helps make the areas and communities more resilient. Thailand has been registering a stable expansion of organic agriculture in the last years and the rise of Thai PGS initiatives is linked to a growing domestic demand for organic products which, in turn, is connected to a growing middle class. The Thai government has deployed a range of small supporting measures for organic agriculture within the country and actively supports the development of PGS.

The promotion of PGS was one tool of the SCP project’s work with businesses. At the beginning of the project, two pilot areas were selected for conversion from maize monocultures to a diversified system of perennial trees, fruits, and vegetables using agroecological principles.

In 2018, a financing mechanism was created jointly with the Thai Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives  to support farmers for six years, i.e. during the transition period and to provide monitoring in the first years. In fact, the large Thai retailer Central Group partnered with the project to help PGS farmers from the project landscape to access the market. In workshops and meetings in the field, WWF Thailand started to discuss with farmers whether using PGS as an alternative to third party certification would be useful. With most of the project sites being in sloping, remote areas, without clear land records, PGS can be used to certify areas without clear land tenure arrangements which is another advantage for farmers. The rights to use these areas are granted[2] by the Agricultural Land Reform Office or the Ministry of Land Tenure.

Key project partners such as the Thai Organic Agriculture Foundation provided training on agroecological approaches, and on the PGS peer reviews. A total of 1560 farmers associated with the initiative are currently adopting PGS, which was promoted to smallholder farmers, particularly in the provinces of Nan and Chiang Mai. The organic food industry as well as several shops that have been stocking a variety of PGS-certified agricultural products from the project landscape on their shelves since 2019 have praised it.

South to South Exchange and PGS in Paraguay

The project has pursued an exchange of knowledge and approaches between implementation offices located in countries of the Global South (a South-to-South exchange). Through virtual and electronic exchanges, the Thai project team shared their experiences of working with smallholder farmers and PGS with the colleagues in Paraguay. Inspired by the Thai experience, the team in Paraguay sought means to promote PGS as one tool towards sustainable food systems as well.

On the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Paraguayan government realised that the country relies heavily on exports. As a result, the government has shifted its focus on enabling shorter supply chains. Alongside, the demand for organic products has taken a big leap and organic fairs are taking place across the country. The project team is now part of the “National Organic Program”, a joint endeavour between producer groups, certifiers and private sector companies to foster organic agriculture, specifically using agroecological approaches.

At the beginning of the project, a study was developed to look into the barriers to access markets faced by farmers in project areas. The primary hindrances were found to be informal documentation, inadequate stakeholder communication, and a lack of suitable market channels and infrastructure. The report also discussed various ways to get through these obstacles, such as promoting associations and organic farming through PGS to adapt to climate change and boost sales at organic fairs and grocery stores. Following the report’s recommendations, a connection was made between a PGS effort called EcoAgro that already existed and the project areas’ farmers, resulting in a successful cooperation.

Support was given to 27 producers, providing them with training on local medicinal plants and market opportunities, as well as promotion of the PGS approach in three districts through the organisation Paraguay Organico. Soon after, 27 producers carried out verification visits and internal inspections of farms distributed across several Paraguayan districts (Itaúgua, Pirayu, Yaguaron, Ita, Piribebuy and Itacurubi de la Cordillera).

The Way Forward

The systems-based approach of the projects through three different levers, linking consumption to production, is enabling the transformation towards sustainable consumption and production in agri-food systems in Thailand and Paraguay. Value chain development and market access for agricultural products from the project landscapes are offering the participating farmers a long-term perspective and are motivating them to move away from unsustainable practices for good. The farmers continue to have market access for their PGS products as the system is self-sustaining and collaboration with partner retailers is ongoing. WWF seeks to continue integrating PGS as a locally adapted tool to strengthen organic agriculture in new initiatives, to ensure short supply chains and local supplies of sustainable food.

Footnotes

[1] Mekong Adaptation and Resilience to Climate Change and USAID. 2014. 

[2] Smallholder farmers interested in PGS certification must provide detailed information about their land, including the location with coordinates and detailed information about how the land is used, such as the type of crops and the production period. In this way, Officials must verify the areas and coordinates of the land to be certified and the surrounding areas.