| Résumé |
Abstract : "Coffee quality tends to be defined from various dimensions to meet the demand of buyers. It goes beyond the physical and cupping qualities, with moral value and environmental concern becoming crucial features of the definition. The successful development of Fairtrade coffee demonstrates the changes in consumers’ preferences, while farmers have to establish relevant coopera¬tives to enter the Fairtrade movement. To facilitate the establish¬ment and to improve the management efficiency, Fairtrade farmers’ cooperatives need to mobilise different resources at the local level. Social capital is an important asset to facilitate the cooperation and related collective profit. A comprehensive utilisation of social capital can enhance the management and performance capacities of Fairtrade farmers’ cooperatives. In this research, social capital is assumed to be rich in ‘homogenous groups’, which are usually small, cohesive and isolated groups. It represents a deeply felt identity with concerted action, while participatory negotiation and democratic decision-making can be performed in the federated system. The classification, identification and description of the ‘homogeneous groups’, the federated system and relevant representatives can provide constructive implications for the establishment and management of farmers’ cooperatives. Moreover, the possible external support is analysed to benefit the certification process at the local level. The results of the study show that the organisational integration between farmers’ cooperatives and basic institutional authorities can facilitate access to local social capital and contribute to the promotion of Fairtrade certification in South-western China. With the external support, Fairtrade certification can improve the technical capacity and self-governance consciousness of farmers’ cooperatives to some extent. The meaning of Fairtrade is not just present in the business itself, but is also embodied in the competence improvement and network extension of farmers’ cooperatives during the application and performance process of the certification..."
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CDTM de Paris
Centre de ressources sur le commerce équitable
