ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on social upgrading in agriculture-based clusters, aiming at contributing to the understanding of how agglomerations of small-and medium-sized farmers and agroprocessing industries become competitive, while at the same time improve social, environmental and labor standards. It uses specific cases of agriculture-based clusters to analyze the relationship between the particular characteristics of the product markets, production upgrading, and poverty reduction. The cases addressed in the study include the tobacco cluster in the southern portion of the Yunnan Province in the People's Republic of China and organic coffee production in the State of Chiapas in Mexico. The chapter describes the main characteristics of the two clusters and analyzes the relevance of the clusters in poverty reduction. It analyzes the main factors leading to social upgrading. The chapter presents conclusions and policy implications that emerge from the cases.
