| dc.description.abstract | Global production networks (GPNs) are the norm in many export sectors of developing world
economies like India. High-value crops, including horticultural crops and produce, are seen as
candidates for exploiting global market opportunities. Indian agriculture and agribusiness are being
increasingly incorporated into these GPNs. However, understanding of the dynamics and
implications of this incorporation is limited in terms of research and documentation, especially from
a smallholder and worker perspective. Given the smallholder dominance of the farm sector in
countries like India, it is important to understand the organization and dynamics of GPNs for
livelihoods of farmers and other value chain workers in terms of upgrading opportunities. It is true
that global value chains (GVCs) or GPNs can be vehicles for achieving primary producer and
worker wellbeing, but, at the same time, traditional pressures of costs and efficiency in competitive
markets can also lead to pressures for a ‘race to the bottom’ in terms of labour standards in farms
and factories. This paper examines the GPNs of fresh grapes for export to supermarkets. It aims to
understand the significance of standards in farms and packhouses in buyer-driven GPNs. It relies
on primary case studies of exporting firms; packhouse operators and facilitators; and supplying
farmers, as well as workers on farms and in packhouses. It examines the nature of smallholder
inclusion and the labour linkage in these global food networks, especially labour conditions at work,
that is, in packhouses and farms, and the gender dimensions of labour use. It finds a prevalence of
standards, including Globalgap, at some levels in these GPNs, but these are not enforced at the
lower ends of the networks, that is, on farms. Small producers are able to participate in GPNs,
either through membership of a cooperative or a primary marketing organization (PMO) and are
often supported by public agencies in many ways. Given the increasing feminization of farm and
agro-processing work in these production networks, there are issues of gender differentiation and
discrimination and gendering of tasks, alongside issues of work conditions and labour rights. There
has been economic upgrading of facilitators and farmers in terms of higher volumes of business
and more exportable produce, and of some categories of workers, like those in packhouses, in
terms of better wages and facilities, but social upgrading is not that common. The paper tries to
understand the above issues in terms of global and local factors, to provide insights to help
generate more relevant standards, governance and upgrading possibilities. | en_US |
