Réduction de la pauvreté : les normes volontaires de durabilité peuvent aider les petits exploitants agricoles

The document examines the role of voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) in reducing poverty for smallholder farmers across three dimensions: access to resources, choices and opportunities, and voice 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 lack of direct market access. The brief argues that VSS must be integrated into broader poverty reduction strategies and supported by governments and the private sector to be truly effective.

• Voluntary sustainability standards (VSS) can support poverty reduction by influencing crop prices, conserving natural resources, strengthening producer organizations, and improving supply chain relationships.
• VSS criteria frequently align with national laws and international conventions regarding minimum wages, occupational health and safety, and freedom of association, and they strongly cover skill development and natural resource management.
• Evidence indicates that VSS can improve access to resources through higher prices for certified crops, increased crop-related income, and the creation of social capital via producer organizations, with some consumers paying a premium of 10% to 30% for sustainably grown products.
• Despite some benefits, VSS have significant gaps in addressing living incomes, climate change adaptation and mitigation (such as greenhouse gas reduction and carbon sequestration), and gender equality, particularly regarding women's access to land and markets.
• Smallholder farmers face numerous barriers to accessing VSS markets, including prohibitive certification costs, limited financial resources, poor infrastructure, and a lack of direct access to buyers due to too many intermediaries.
• The most critical enabling factor for smallholders to benefit from VSS is a collaborative ecosystem of support actors—including governments, buyers, and technical service providers—who provide information and training.

APA

Elder, S. (2023). Réduction de la pauvreté : les normes volontaires de durabilité peuvent aider les petits exploitants agricoles. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-05/ssi-brief-reducing-poverty-vss-support-smallholder-farmers-fr.pdf

Chicago

Elder, Sara. Réduction de la pauvreté : les normes volontaires de durabilité peuvent aider les petits exploitants agricoles. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2023. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-05/ssi-brief-reducing-poverty-vss-support-smallholder-farmers-fr.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Elder |first1=Sara |title=Réduction de la pauvreté : les normes volontaires de durabilité peuvent aider les petits exploitants agricoles |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=March 2023 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-05/ssi-brief-reducing-poverty-vss-support-smallholder-farmers-fr.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{elder2023rduction, author = {Elder, Sara}, title = {{Réduction de la pauvreté : les normes volontaires de durabilité peuvent aider les petits exploitants agricoles}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2023}, month = mar, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/2023-05/ssi-brief-reducing-poverty-vss-support-smallholder-farmers-fr.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }