Reducción de la pobreza: las normas voluntarias de sostenibilidad pueden ayudar a los pequeños productores

The document examines the role of voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) in reducing poverty among smallholder farmers, using a multidimensional framework of access to resources, opportunities, and power. While VSS can improve crop prices and natural resource conservation, their overall impact on poverty reduction is context-dependent and often limited by high certification costs and poor market access. The brief recommends that VSS integrate living income criteria, gender equality, and climate adaptation, while governments should support these efforts by facilitating direct market links and providing financial resources.

• Voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) can support poverty reduction by influencing crop prices, conserving natural resources, improving producer organization, and strengthening value chain relationships.
• VSS typically show high coverage of criteria aligned with national legislation or international conventions, such as minimum wage, worker health and safety, and freedom of association, as well as criteria for skills development and natural resource management.
• Evidence indicates that VSS can help producers secure better prices for certified crops, with premiums ranging between 10% and 30%, and improve the conservation of forests, soil, and watersheds.
• Despite some benefits, VSS have significant gaps in addressing living income, gender equality (specifically women's access to land and markets), and climate change mitigation and adaptation.
• Smallholder access to VSS-regulated markets is hindered by several limiting factors, including prohibitive certification costs, limited financial resources, poor soil quality, climate variability, and a lack of direct links to buyers.
• The most critical factor for enabling smallholder access to VSS markets is an ecosystem of support actors—including state agencies, buyers, and development organizations—that provide information and training.

APA

Elder, S. (2023). Reducción de la pobreza: las normas voluntarias de sostenibilidad pueden ayudar a los pequeños productores. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-07/ssi-brief-reducing-poverty-vss-support-smallholder-farmers-es.pdf

Chicago

Elder, Sara. Reducción de la pobreza: las normas voluntarias de sostenibilidad pueden ayudar a los pequeños productores. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2023. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-07/ssi-brief-reducing-poverty-vss-support-smallholder-farmers-es.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Elder |first1=Sara |title=Reducción de la pobreza: las normas voluntarias de sostenibilidad pueden ayudar a los pequeños productores |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=March 2023 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-07/ssi-brief-reducing-poverty-vss-support-smallholder-farmers-es.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{elder2023reduccin, author = {Elder, Sara}, title = {{Reducción de la pobreza: las normas voluntarias de sostenibilidad pueden ayudar a los pequeños productores}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2023}, month = mar, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-07/ssi-brief-reducing-poverty-vss-support-smallholder-farmers-es.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }