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Project Record

Objectives:

The aim of this project is a comparative examination of the gender implications of codes of conduct in the export horticultural sector. It will identify the extent to which gender-specific concerns have been (a) incorporated into existing codes of conduct and (b) addressed in the process of code monitoring and verification by stakeholders in horticulture in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya.

This proposal forms the first phase of a two-phase project. Phase I will focus on comparative analysis of the process of implementing codes of conduct, and will facilitate the setting up of the next phase of the project. A further application will then be submitted for Phase II, and will focus on the comparative gender impact of codes of conduct in the same countries, examining their gendered employment effects, and implications for rural livelihoods in the relevant sectors.

Background:

Ethical trade has become an important issue in development, but its gender implications have been under-researched. The project will focus on three specific commodity groups, and countries exporting to UK supermarkets in order to draw a cross-country comparison. The research commodities and locations are: fruit in South Africa (W.Cape), vegetables in Zimbabwe (vicinity of Harare) and cut flowers in Kenya (Central Province). Female employment in export horticulture in these countries ranges between 52% and 65%, with pattterns and conditions of employment shaped by gendered social relations. Codes of conduct are currently being introduced in these sectors, to address labour standards of male and female workers. The purpose of this project is to document the extent to which the stakeholders involved in establishing codes have incorporated gender into the process of monitoring and verification, and examine the ways in which codes of conduct can be made more gender aware. Horticultural exports are now the fastest growing agricultural sectors in many African economies (Zimbabwe, Zambia and Kenya), and are a critical source of foreign exchange, particularly in the wake of recent declines in revenues from traditional export commodities. South Africa has a longer tradition of horticultural exports, and is currently experiencing high rates of growth in the volume of fruit exports (11% 1997-98 Eurofruit 1999). While the share of developing countries in total world agricultural trade deceased between the 1960s and 1980s, their share of the world horticultural trade has grown considerably. The UK is the primary destination for African horticultural exports, with UK supermarkets controlling between 70% and 90% of fresh imports from Africa. Recent DFID-funded research on the horticultural value chain has shown that UK retail requirements of quality, consistency and traceability are encouraging the centralisation of production, and expanding opportunities for wage employment in supplier countries. The sector is moving increasingly away from small-scale farming, to wage labour on large horticultural farms and processing units, with high levels of female employment. In response to consumer concerns, UK retailers are under increasing pressure to demonstrate adherence to ethically sound purchasing policies. Retailers are now assuming corporate responsibility for employment conditions throughout the supply chain, and the adoption of codes of conduct has become an important marketing tool to safeguard the image of companies in the global market place. As a result, suppliers of the UK multiples, such as African exporters, must provide assurance that they are implementing ethically and environmentally sound production systems. In Africa, horticultural exporters have responded to UK retailers by developing country codes, adopting their buyers' codes, and/or supporting the COLEACP initiative to harmonise horticultural codes. Recently, industry-specific codes initiated by HPC in Zimbabwe, FPEAK/KFC in Kenya, and Capespan in South Africa, are being developed to address employee and environmental concerns specific to the horticultural sector. To date, the process of developing standards has been predominantly top-down, with a tendancy towards generic standards that do not address specific concerns facing particular groups of workers. The extent to which these codes are integrating gender-specific needs remains unclear.

Intended Outputs:

To assess the gender relevance of codes in agricultural sectors (both company and industry), identifying the extent to which gender-sensitive critera has been incorporated.

To map key institutions and stakeholders involved in the process of code formulation, implementation and monitoring throughout the horticultural supply chain in both the UK and Zimbabwe, Kenya and South Africa, and to identify relevant stakeholders who have not been integrated into the process thus far.

To undertake a comparative assessment of the factors that have facilitated and/or hindered the incorporation of gender concerns by stakeholders involved in the process of code formulation.

To develop an appropriate analytical framework for evaluating the gender dimensions of codes and labour standards.

To prepare the Phase II project application, which will incorporate a questionnaire survey of employers and employees, in collaboration with local research institutions.