Organic cotton supply chains and small producers: governance, participation, and strategies

Abstract

Whether local producers will benefit from trade liberalisation is predicated upon their ability to enter global value chains or production networks of the lead firms. Understanding how these chains are organised, controlled and governed is the key to unravelling how the gains from these networks/chains are shared across the participants. This paper examines the issues of governance and small producer participation in the organic cotton supply chain in India with the help of a case study of a private firm. The paper assesses the prospects and ways and means of including marginal and small producers in these chains if the organic sector has to play its developmental role.