Rethinking the near collapse of certification programmes in commodity value chains: A temporal myopia perspective

Abstract

Drawing on temporal myopia as a lens, we explore the near collapse of certification programmes in commodity value chains. Developing our contribution in the context of the Ghana cocoa industry, data for our inquiry comes from semi structured interviews and focus group interviews with loosely connected industry actors, including, farmers, certification officers, regulators, and licenced buying companies. Providing insight into the performative drivers and sustenance of certification programmes, we argue that the pursuit of short-term advantages derived from a repertoire of micro-practices constitutively impede certification programmes. These uncoordinated practices, in reinforcing short-term preferences, we found, precipitates the decoupling of certification standards from present and future value capture, inevitably, producing the delayed and catastrophic problem of the near collapse of the certification programme. The implications for the theory and practice of commodity value chains are presented.