Promoting Agricultural Value Chains
In the OIC Member Countries
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For these products, the growth of standard-compliant production has even outpaced growth in
production more generally, mainly due to the adoption by major multinational corporations
which has driven up production (Potts et al., 2014).
Another critical observation is that sustainability standards are increasingly developed and
implemented as part of broader multi-stakeholder initiatives and focus on entire agricultural
sectors. Examples are the standards for palm oil (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil), soy
(Roundtable on Responsible Soy), coffee (Common Code for the Coffee Community), biofuels
(Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials), sugar cane (Better Sugar Cane Initiative/Bonsucro),
cotton (Better Cotton Initiative), and aquaculture (Aquaculture Stewardship Council). This
contrasts earlier models of NGO-driven standards which can be applied across various
products, including standards for organic and Fairtrade production. They also show deeper
and broader social, environmental and economic criteria than the new mainstream standards
(Potts et al., 2014). The growing prevalence of multi-stakeholder initiatives can be seen as part
of a larger trend in global agricultural value chains for companies to embed their CSR activities
in collaborations with non-traditional stakeholders, particularly NGOs (Bitzer & Glasbergen,
2015).
2.1.6 Agricultural innovation and biotechnology
Research and technology to promote agricultural value chains have traditionally aimed at
increasing agricultural productivity. The development of higher yielding crops in the context of
the Green Revolution, together with improved management practices, such as mechanisation,
irrigation and fertiliser application, has been tremendously successful in many parts of the
world. Many countries were able to increase their agricultural output for food security or
export purposes.
In the face of a growing global population, climate change and further resource constraints
continued investment in research and development into enhancing agricultural productivity
are necessary to feed the world. Next to conventional research to support innovations in
cultivation, farming, breeding and seed systems, the most dominant innovative technology –
and simultaneously the most controversial – involves biotechnology into genetic modification
(GM) of plant organisms. Genetic modification typically takes place in the form of improving
plant resistance to a particular herbicide (glyphosate) or stimulating the production of a
natural insecticide known as “Bt”.
GM crops were first commercialised in 1996 in the USA and are now grown in 28 countries
worldwide. Starting with 1.7 hectares in the first year of commercialisation, the area under GM
crops has increased more than 100 times to 181.5 million hectares in 2014, accounting for
some 12 percent of global crop area (James, 2014). While biotechnology exists for a variety of
crops, the most common ones are maize, soy beans, cotton and rapeseed (canola). GM crops
now account for 82 percent of global soy bean area, 68 percent of cotton, 30 percent of maize,
and 25 percent of rapeseed/canola (James, 2014). In 2014, the entire biotech market for crops
was worth US$ 15.7 billion which represents more than one fifth of the global crop protection
market and 35 percent of the global commercial seed market (James, 2014). A total of 18
million farmers worldwide have planted biotech crops, the vast majority (over 94 percent)
being small-scale farmers from developing countries (James, 2014). The growth of GM crops
can be seen in Figure 2-3.