ABSTRACT
The expansion of organic agriculture in the Global South is frequently associated with positive social, environmental and economic outcomes (see for example Parrott and Marsden, 2002; Thamaga-Chitja and Hendriks, 2008; Willer and Kilcher, 2011). Non-government organizations, international development agencies and researchers, amongst others, cite smallholders as foremost amongst its beneficiaries. In the 2000s a range of participatory organic regulatory models have emerged that aim to incorporate diverse stakeholder interests, including smallholders, into decision-making processes, thereby delivering positive outcomes for such stakeholders. The rhetoric of collaborative and inclusive decision making suggests such deliberative processes will be integral in delivering socially and environmentally sustainable agricultural development. But to what extent do emerging forms of organic governance enable actors from the Global South to actually participate in shaping the expanding organic sector? What are the impacts and outcomes of this participation – including livelihood outcomes – as well as the broader socio-ecological impacts of the expanding organic sector for the Global South?
