ABSTRACT

Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) provide an alternative certification system for smallholder organic farmers producing for the domestic market. Officially recognized in Chile since 2007, PGS certification has grown in momentum in recent years. We used semi-structured interviews, surveys and participant observations to shed light on the PGS movement in Chile and the respective governance framework. Our results indicate that after PGS formalization, Chilean PGS initiatives struggle to comply with wide-ranging administrative procedures similar to those requested for third-party certification (TPC). Furthermore, lacking resources among PGS initiatives inhibit the PGS movement from impacting the national discourse. We present two PGS initiatives and their organizational structures, exploring ‘who’ participate, ‘how’ participation occurs, and ‘what kind’ of participation takes place. Our results indicate that the interaction as well as the exchange of knowledge among PGS members is a central benefit perceived by PGS participants. However, regular PGS member participation is hindered by the required time investment, the distance that PGS members need to travel and the perceived lacking expertise they have.

摘要

参与式保证系统 (PGS) 为为国内市场生产的小农有机农提供了另一种认证系统。PGS 认证自 2007 年在智利获得官方认可，近年来发展势头迅猛。我们使用半结构化访谈、调查和参与者观察来阐明智利的 PGS 运动和各自的治理框架。我们的结果表明，在 PGS 正式化后，智利 PGS 计划难以遵守类似于第三方认证 (TPC) 要求的广泛行政程序。此外，PGS 倡议中缺乏资源阻碍了 PGS 运动影响国家话语。我们介绍了两个 PGS 计划及其组织结构，探讨“谁”参与、“如何”参与、以及“什么样的”参与发生。我们的结果表明，PGS 成员之间的互动和知识交流是 PGS 参与者感知到的核心利益。但是，PGS 会员的定期参与受到所需时间投入、PGS 会员需要旅行的距离以及他们缺乏专业知识的阻碍。