Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS): facts and fiction on the concept of participation
Background
Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) are alternative certification systems that were developed in response to an increasing critique of third-party certification systems. PGS is a concept for establishing claims on certain criteria of food quality from organic production systems for local markets based on active participation of a broad base of local stakeholders. Research on PGS has just started and many phenomena (e.g. social, economic) linked to and paramount for PGS are not yet studied.
Aims
The aim is to study PGS-members’ perception of participation, including purposes for participation or non-participation and perceived benefits and costs drawn thereof.
Research Objectives
- To provide a qualitative description and scientific analysis of participation in PGS (scope, kind, duration and frequency of participation).
- To explore the perception of “participation in the PGS” of local actors.
- To identify the impact of PGS-membership.
- To identify actors’ knowledge and skills regarding organic food production and the integrity of PGS-certified products.
- To frame participation in the PGS within the broader political and institutional context.
Keywords
Participatory guarantee systems, participation, alternative organic certification, South America
Project Team and Duration
Project leader: Christian Reinhard Vogl
Project staff: Nikolaus Hruschka, Sonja Kaufmann
Project timeline: 2019/07-2023/02
Funding
Austrian Science Fund (FWF)
P-31513
ESRS2022 Congress, BOKU Satellite Event, June 23rd, 2022
The team of the project “Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS): facts and fiction on the concept of participation” will be hosting one of eleven European Society of Rural Sociology (ESRS) 2022 “satellite events” on the 23rd of June 2022.
The satellite event at BOKU will pursue the theme: A transition towards a participatory society? Exploring participation: strategies, challenges and solutions of participation in rural and urban Alternative Food Networks (AFN).
Event Program of the ESRS 2022 Satellite Event, 23rd of June 2022, ONLINE (Zoom)
A transition towards a participatory society? Exploring participation: strategies, challenges and solutions
of participation in rural and urban Alternative Food Networks (AFN)
Contact: PGS@boku.ac.at
Available presentations
ESRS2022-Koch-Projekt_Anerkennung
ESRS2022-Ninnin_Lemeilleur-PGS_common_property_regimes
ESRS2022-Winkler_Hruschka-PGS_Participation
Relevant Publications
Kaufmann, S., Hruschka, N., Vildozo, L., Vogl, C.R. (2022): Alternative Food Networks in Latin America—exploring PGS (Participatory Guarantee Systems) markets and their consumers: a cross-country comparison. Agriculture and Human Values. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10347-w
Hruschka, Nikolaus; Kaufmann, Sonja; Vogl, Christian R. (2022): The benefits and challenges of participating in Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) initiatives following institutional formalization in Chile. In: International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 20:4, 393-407. DOI: 10.1080/14735903.2021.1934364.
Kaufmann, Sonja; Hruschka, Nikolaus; Vogl, Christian R. (2020): Bridging the Literature Gap: A Framework for Assessing Actor Participation in Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS). Sustainability 12(19), p. 8100. DOI: doi.org/10.3390/su12198100
Binder, Nathalie; Vogl, Christian R. (2018): Participatory Guarantee Systems in Peru. Two Case Studies in Lima and Apurímac and the Role of Capacity Building in the Food Chain. In Sustainability 10 (12), p. 4644. DOI: 10.3390/su10124644.
Kaufmann, Sonja; Vogl, Christian R. (2018): Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) in Mexico. A theoretic ideal or everyday practice? In Agric Hum Values 35 (2), pp. 457–472. DOI: 10.1007/s10460-017-9844-2.
López Cifuentes, Marta; Vogl, Christian R.; Cuéllar Padilla, Mamen (2018): Participatory Guarantee Systems in Spain. Motivations, Achievements, Challenges and Opportunities for Improvement Based on Three Case Studies. In Sustainability 10 (11), p. 4081. DOI: 10.3390/su10114081.
Links
https://www.ifoam.bio/en/pgs-basics