Entanglements between the state and agricultural production played a central role in determining the implementation of Fair Trade in the coffee and banana industries in Costa Rica. This paper contrasts a national imaginary of smallholder coffee production with a banana enclave dominated by US corporations. While the former complements Fair Trade practices, the latter precludes its entry into the sector except under exceptional circumstances. However, in neither case are structural inequalities eliminated; they are rather reproduced. The article shows that divergent historical circumstances frame how these industries operate and thereby directly impact Fair Trade as a private sector development initiative.

This article examines the relationship between caste, land ownership and agricultural productivity in India, utilising data from a large-scale survey of farm households. Access to resources like information, technology, inputs, markets, and support institutions are important for sustainable and inclusive growth of agriculture. The results indicate that socially disadvantaged households (Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes) have lower access to land and also other resources, but they produce more output per unit of land because they are more diversified towards high-value crops that generate more returns and are labour intensive. This calls for policy emphasis on crop diversification in the agricultural sector.

This practice note examines an INGO–Private Sector partnership involving the promotion of commercial agriculture in post-war Northern Sri Lanka. Current thinking suggests that the processes involved in such partnerships can strengthen global supply chains and ensure the socio-economic empowerment of producers within marginalised communities. The empirical evidence presented here illustrates, however, the impact of asymmetrical power relations upon intended outcomes. It shows the need for development actors to play a critical advocacy role and strengthen their bargaining power in such partnerships.

We assessed barriers and opportunities for youth engagement in agribusiness. Results show that the majority of youth were engaged in agricultural production, especially in Zambia, while in Vietnam, they engaged in more diversified agricultural activities including input supply, transportation and advisory services delivery. Perceptions regarding the agricultural sector showed significant (P < 0.01) negative impact on youth participation in agribusiness in Vietnam, but not in Zambia. Barriers to effective youth engagement were; lack of start-up capital, low profitability of enterprises, and personal aspirations. Employing innovative value chain financing and market linkages can enhance enterprise profitability and youth participation in agribusiness.

The mining industry is often associated with decisions that have huge social significance. Using the example of the AGL mining company and the Damang community in Ghana, this study sought to assess the extent of adherence to government policies as well as the implications of resettlement on the livelihood dynamics of the affected communities. The paper argues that the existing policies create a new type of poverty by widening the poverty gap. Furthermore, the actual practice adopted for the computation and payment of both land and cash compensation clearly seems to be in violation of the principle of fair compensation.

In the search for solutions to global challenges, the way scientific research is carried out is rapidly changing. Interdisciplinary approaches through collaborative research projects are replacing traditional approaches. As complex operational details, including stakeholder perspectives, are oft overlooked in these projects, conflict and failure are more likely. Analysing the conflict experience of stakeholders and project members in a transdisciplinary research project, this paper examines the science-society nexus. Using an international, transdisciplinary project, conflict drivers and levels of conflict are identified. Continuous communication and monitoring throughout a project’s lifetime with internal conflict prevention and management measures are proposed to facilitate collaborations.

Undoubtedly, among the priorities of development goals in each country, achieving sustainable food security and also adapting to climate change have special importance. Therefore, the present study was conducted to analyse the role of adaptation capability of small-scale farmers against climate change on the households’ food security level in the west of Iran. The statistical population of the research included all small-scale farmers in the west of Iran, in Ilam, Kurdistan, and Kermanshah provinces (N = 319618). By using Krejcie and Morgan Table, and stratified sampling, 404 people were selected with optimum allocation. The main data-gathering tool in the research was a questionnaire which its validity and reliability were confirmed by a group of experts and Cronbach's alpha coefficient, respectively. The results of this research show the poor situation of food security in rural households, and it also indicates their low adaptability against climate change. Also, the results of the discriminant analysis showed that five components of adaptation capability (financial, natural, human, social, and physical) could differentiate food secure groups with insecure ones with 95% accuracy.

This article uses the case study of a network of NGOs involved in peace work in the Philippines to uncover the taken-for-granted reality of funding eligibility requirements – that they evade the question of who can strategically do peace work by defaulting to NGOs with the organisational structure to respond to donors’ accountability requirements, and that these requirements shape the relationships of NGOs on the ground. Theoretically seen as the global imposition of technocracy on the local, this study expands on existing knowledge by capturing the dynamics in a blurred global-local demarcation and by showing agency, thereby refuting the narrative of a technocratic straitjacket.

Development projects play a crucial role in kickstarting and promoting women’s empowerment in agriculture. This paper is a conversation starter on how women can be included in the agenda to mechanise agriculture in Africa. It investigates the potential of empowering women as vital actors in the mechanisation value chain, by analysing the perceptions and experiences of the trained women tractor operators. The findings showed that the involvement of women in mechanisation pushed them beyond their comfort zones and offered them a new self-identity with new opportunities previously reserved for men. It also broadened their social capital through the formation of an association for women operators which ensured their representation at a local and national level. For young women, being an operator is the only alternative they have to one day owning a tractor-for-hiring service business because they do not own land or have capital, which is often a precondition.

This paper challenges the assumptions and practices of many externally-driven women’s advocacy initiatives in sub-Saharan Africa. It examines much misunderstood concepts (advocacy, agency and empowerment) and highlights how their constructions are fundamentally flawed. It draws conclusions from advocacy training for women conducted by an international NGO in Nigeria and DRC. Illiteracy, poverty and unequal access to and control over resources all constitute barriers to advocacy. The study highlights the ineffectiveness of externally driven advocacy initiatives delivered through training events. It suggests that more nuanced and context-appropriate processes of change will more effectively identify and challenge structures of oppression.