Multi-stakeholder initiatives in the cotton value chains of South Asia (and Africa) (Multi-stakeholder initiatives)

Abstract:

The overall objective of this research project is to analyze (i) how multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSI) for sustainable cotton production are formulated, implemented, and monitored in the cotton value chains of South Asia; and (ii) whether the processes through which MSIs are institutionalized in South Asia make any difference to the income, work, and environmental conditions of cotton farmers and on-farm workers in this region. These objectives will be achieved through the development of a theoretical framework that analyzes the processes through which sustainable cotton MSIs emerge, how they are institutionalized in different institutional contexts in the developing world, and how a variety of global forces (MSIs in global value chains (GVCs)) and local forces (national institutional contexts, local industrialization strategies, and the agency of workers/farmers) co-determine cotton producers‟/on-farm workers‟ income, work, and environmental conditions in developing countries. The framework is then applied to a comparative study of the evolution of the world‟s largest sustainable cotton MSI – the Better Cotton Initiative -and its effects in South Asia (India and Pakistan).