Governance challenges of cocoa partnership projects in Indonesia: seeking synergy in multi-stakeholder arrangements for sustainable agriculture

Atika Wijaya, Pieter Glasbergen*, Pieter Leroy, Ari Darmastuti

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

    Abstract

    This paper investigates multi-stakeholder arrangements initiated by businesses and NGOs from the North that aim to enhance a more sustainable agricultural production at specific localities in Southern countries. We aim to better understand the search for concerted action in multi-actor arrangements. Therefore, this paper presents a diagnostic framework with three strategic challenges the partnership projects are facing: linking global economic objectives to local needs, values and interests; bridging public and private interests and responsibilities; and seeking trade-offs between social, environmental and economic values. Starting from the partnerships' Theory of Change, this diagnostic framework is applied to comparative case studies of partnership projects in the cocoa sector in Indonesia, which are part of a Northern-based public-private partnership to improve farmers' prospective. It is concluded that the economic reality faced by the farmers differs from that of the Northern actors; collaboration with governments is difficult because of different organizational cultures; and the partnership projects underestimate the strength of vested social relations the smallholders are part of. Overall, the initiators of the partnerships seem to work with a too restricted economic interpretation of the local reality.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)129-153
    Number of pages25
    JournalEnvironment, Development and Sustainability
    Volume20
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2018

    Keywords

    • Partnerships
    • Governance challenges: sustainable development
    • Cocoa projects
    • Indonesia
    • GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS
    • PALM OIL
    • PRIVATE GOVERNANCE
    • NGO PARTNERSHIPS
    • BOUNDARY WORK
    • TRADE-OFFS
    • CERTIFICATION
    • STANDARDS
    • STATE
    • AGROFORESTRY

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