Participative organic certification, trust and local rural communities development: the case of Rede Ecovida

The participatory guarantee systems (PGS) for organic certification does not involve a third party certification body; the lower certification costs involved make it particularly suitable for rural communities in developing countries. Its success is related to the chance of being recognised at a national as well as international level and to its role in promoting local rural development. The goal of the present study is to explore how social cohesion, trust and market relationships along the supply chain, explain the interaction between participatory organic certification and the development of rural communities. The analytical approach, based on the work of Henry Farrell, considers how the level of formalism among the agents involved in the certification process interacts with the flexibility and scope of the relationship, including the extension of the market area in which social control can provide guarantees comparable to those a third party certification body.The Rede Ecovida, a network of organic and conventional farmers and other agents operating along the food chain, including local NGOs, was analysed.The data and information collection was carried out involving an empirical survey analysing the motifs leading to organic farming and participatory organic certification, and an evaluation of the participatory organic farming impact on the trade relationship. The data collected have been integrated with the results of another survey on the Rede Ecovida. The survey had an exploratory nature since the estimators are biased, coming form an non random and non representative sample.The results showed the positive effect of the participatory approach on local economic, social and environmental development, and its still very low chances to access the export market. An interesting finding regards the role of the farmers network (Rede Ecovida) in promoting trust on the organic products beyond the boundaries of the local communities.