TY - JOUR

T1 - Worker welfare on Kenyan export vegetable farms

AU - Ehlert, Christoph R.

AU - Mithöfer, Dagmar

AU - Waibel, Hermann

N1 - Funding Information: The article is based on a study conducted under a collaborative research project between the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) and the Leibniz University of Hannover. The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the German Development Cooperation (BMZ/GTZ) and technical support from the Kenyan Ministry of Agriculture and export companies. We thank the farmers involved in the survey and the enumerators who collected the data. The article is an expanded and completely revised analysis of an earlier paper ( Ehlert et al., 2011 ). It benefited from the discussion with participants of the Better Work Conference organized by the International Finance Corporation in 2011 in Washington. We would like to sincerely thank the editor and the anonymous referees for their helpful comments on this article. Any remaining shortcomings are our own.

PY - 2014/6

Y1 - 2014/6

N2 - The paper analyses farm worker welfare on three different types of farms in Kenya producing vegetables for export. The three types of farms differ by certification to international production standards as well as by size. A multidimensional approach measures welfare using human capital, income, physical and mental health, and life satisfaction. The findings suggest that GlobalGAP certification has a positive impact on worker welfare as farm workers are given more training. Workers on large certified farms earn more than those on small farms but also show more health problems. Certification on small farms is associated with higher satisfaction of workers with their life compared to workers on non-certified small farms. From a development policy perspective this paper does not support a clear cut policy on which types of farm to support as overall benefits of a support strategy will depend of the number of beneficiaries reached through the different farm types.

AB - The paper analyses farm worker welfare on three different types of farms in Kenya producing vegetables for export. The three types of farms differ by certification to international production standards as well as by size. A multidimensional approach measures welfare using human capital, income, physical and mental health, and life satisfaction. The findings suggest that GlobalGAP certification has a positive impact on worker welfare as farm workers are given more training. Workers on large certified farms earn more than those on small farms but also show more health problems. Certification on small farms is associated with higher satisfaction of workers with their life compared to workers on non-certified small farms. From a development policy perspective this paper does not support a clear cut policy on which types of farm to support as overall benefits of a support strategy will depend of the number of beneficiaries reached through the different farm types.

KW - Farm worker

KW - Food production standards

KW - Welfare assessment

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84896304524&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.foodpol.2014.01.004

DO - 10.1016/j.foodpol.2014.01.004

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:84896304524

VL - 46

SP - 66

EP - 73

JO - FOOD POLICY

JF - FOOD POLICY

SN - 0306-9192

ER -