Food Production Standards, Farm Size and Farm Worker Welfare in Kenya

1. Food Production Standards, Farm Size and Farm Worker Welfare in Kenya Christoph Ehlert1, Dagmar Mithöfer2 and Hermann Waibel31Rheinisch-Westfälisches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung e.V. 2 World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) formerly icipe 3 Leibniz University of Hanover The presentation is part of a collaborative research project (2004-2008) of the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe, Nairobi, Kenya) and the University of Hanover funded by GTZ-BMZ

2. Introduction - open questions in 2005 in Kenya • Do standards exclude small scale farmers? • Who owns the certificate? • How many small-scale farmers are involved in export production? • What is at stake if SH are being excluded? • Should SH be supported in achieving (and maintaining?) individual and independent certification? • Which farms (large, medium, small?) should be supported in attaining the standard? • What are implications of certification and farm size for farm worker welfare? • What is the overall development impact of standards?

3. GlobalGAP requirements Source: Mithöfer (2011) based on EurepGAP Version 2.1-Oct04

4. Study objectives • Assess differences in welfare that farm workers enjoy at large-scale compared to small-scale horticultural farms in Kenya • Analyse the difference in farm worker welfare on small-scale internationally certified versus small-scale non certified farms

5. Conceptual approach – dimensions of welfare • training (general / specific human capital) • income (hourly wage) • physical health (frequency of symptoms) • mental health (GHQ-12)

6. Hypotheses Certified farms... • ... need better educated workers, more likely to invest in the training of farm workers. • ... are expected to pay higher wages to attract and keep more highly-skilled workers. • ... are expected to foster physical and mental health due to improved working conditions. Large farms... • .... workers are more likely to have specific knowledge and skills due to a higher degree of specialization. • .... are expected to pay higher wages in order to retain specialized labour and to reduce monitoring costs. • No difference is expected in physical health between large and small farms. • Mental health is expected to be better on small-scale farms because of better direct communication between hierarchy levels.

7. Horticulture supply chains in Kenya & survey design EurepGAP certified farms in Kenya (44 certificates for Kenya) [june 2006] Smallholder farms (47) Contracted large-scale farms (18) Exporter-owned farms (8) Middleman Exporter companies Domestic market European market

8. Survey sites (2006 survey) Large scale farms Small scale farms

9. Descriptive results

10. Descriptive results

11. Determinants of farm worker welfare

12. Key Findings • Worker welfare is a multidimensional concept. • Farm size and GlobalGAP certification show positive impact on different welfare measures. • Impact varies among farm types and welfare indicators. • Overall effect of farm size and GlobalGAP certification on farm worker welfare depends on labor intensity at different farm types as well as size of workforce. • Beyond these two factor, the type of contract – casual versus longer tenure – has an effect on welfare measures. Food Production Standards, Farm Size and Farm Worker Welfare in Kenya Christoph Ehlert, Dagmar Mithöfer and Hermann Waibel d.mithoefer@cgiar.org; d_mithoefer@hotmail.com

13. Recommendations • Government/ donor/ research: Possibilities of leveraging entry points that private market governance mechanisms provide in enhancing social standards need to be assessed. • Government/ donor/ research/ business: key indicators for monitoring farm worker welfare need to be defined. • Government: Contracts and conditions for casual workers need to be evaluated. Food Production Standards, Farm Size and Farm Worker Welfare in Kenya Christoph Ehlert, Dagmar Mithöfer and Hermann Waibel d.mithoefer@cgiar.org; d_mithoefer@hotmail.com

14. Thank you!