Smallholders and Certification

Concerns regarding the possible negative impacts of modern bioenergy development and the sustainability requirements introduced in key importing markets have led to the development of a range of voluntary standards aimed at ensuring the sustainability of bioenergy production.

While one of the goals of voluntary standards is to enhance the sustainability of bioenergy production – including from a socio-economic perspective – they might also present a disincentive for incorporating smallholders in value chains, due to greater cost and complexity. BEFS  has conducted three case studies to examine the opportunities and challenges for smallholders presented by: 1) bioenergy as a new type of value chain, and by 2) bioenergy certification schemes.

The case studies were carried out in Mali, Peru and Thailand.

• Go to the BEFS report, Smallholders in Global Bioenergy Value Chains and Certification - Evidence from Three Case Studies.
• Go to the Two-page overview of the report.