Paper short abstract:

Environmental upgrading is intrinsically linked to the ability of Kenyan fruit-vegetable farmers to participate in global production networks and hence their livelihoods. The paper studies the extent to which power and politics of stakeholders affect farmers’ decisions to environmentally upgrade

Paper long abstract:

Upgrading is critical for farmers to participate in global production network (GPNs) as it permits upskilling and building greater value addition thus creating positive developmental outcomes. While significant research has been conducted on economic and social upgrading, relatively little attention has been directed towards environmental upgrading. Environmental upgrading has generally been examined as an outcome of the power and politics of lead firms i.e. systemic pressures that emanate from different forms of buyer driven governance in GPNs; and has not integrated aspects of climate variability and shocks, which also directly impact the ability of farmer to participate in GPNs and thus their livelihoods. This research endeavours to advance the concept of environmental upgrading in GPNs and assess the extent to which power of lead firms and the politics of standards affect farmers' decisions to environmentally upgrade. The paper will draw on the case of Kenyan fresh fruit and vegetable farmers supplying into different global, regional and local end markets. It draws on a comparative case study of 579 farmers collected in Kenya in 2015. It assesses the comparative 'extents' and 'implications' of governance on different levels of environmental upgrading across farmers supplying different end markets. The study elicits different threshold levels of environmental upgrading for farmers and finds that environmental upgrading varies significantly depending different governance structures in different end markets. This research has the potential to identify leverage points for policy makers in global, regional and local production networks, which will enable building more sustainable GPNs and livelihoods.