Benchmarking agri-food sustainability certifications: evidences from applying SAFA in the Ecuadorian banana agri-system

Abstract

Certified products are a possible way to obtain and improve sustainability. Nevertheless, their effectiveness in enhancing agri-system sustainability is strongly questioned in the academic arena. This study aims to examine in depth the effect of certification on sustainability achievement. For this purpose, organic and Fairtrade Ecuadorian banana is analysed against the conventional banana. This study employs an original approach that operationalises SAFA (Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture). This tool was chosen for the analysis because of the wide spectrum of sustainability issues considered in the evaluation, along with the fact that it is easy for producers and decision makers to implement and understand, and offers the consequential possibility to identify precise measures to enhance sustainability in the short term. Results show that organic and Fairtrade farms achieve more sustainable performance than those of conventional farms in terms of governance, environmental and economic dimensions. Nevertheless, conventional farms display better outcomes in matters of social sustainability. The reason most likely lies in the size and processes of farms rather than their certification standards. This study may be used by practitioners as a valid benchmark for the implementation of SAFA to other agri-systems and by decision-makers as a guide for the regulation of agri-sector processes.