Network analysis provides a tool to evaluate agroecology of sourcing practices for cocoa and rice: Investigating relationships among ecological certification organizations and multinational food corporations

Background/Question/Methods

Agricultural lands are increasingly important targets of conservation initiatives. Diversified farming systems can provide biodiversity habitat and sustain multiple ecosystem services in addition to crop yields. Ecological certifications that aim to increase these benefits in high-value specialty crops, such as cocoa and rice, have received much recent attention. Quantitative network analysis evaluates communication pathways and points of contact among agents; this approach can help describe agroecology networks for specialty crops. We used network analysis to evaluate relationships among third party ecological certification organizations and multinational food corporations that source raw agricultural goods. Ecological certifications of both cocoa and rice are expected to increase environmental benefits, such as enhanced wildlife habitat and water conservation. However, little is known about the outcomes of conservation practices in broad-scale land use datasets.  In addition, multinational food corporations purchase only a small fraction of certified products – in 2009 1-5% of the total product was certified (based on 2009 data on the ten multinational food corporations with greatest market share in their sector) highlighting the lack of comprehensive data in this area. To address this critical knowledge gap, we used network analysis to investigate the number and type of connections among ten of the top multinational food corporations and the third party certification organizations used by each for rice and cocoa. 

Results/Conclusions

Literature review revealed that the ten multinational food corporations used ten third party certification organizations. Of these, Rainforest Alliance and UTZ Certified worked with cocoa, while Fairtrade and GAP Certified worked with both cocoa and rice. Of the ten multinational food corporations, four sourced cocoa through Rainforest Alliance and Fairtrade, three sourced through UTZ Certified and one soured through GAP Certified. Network analysis indicated that some third party certification organizations, with high centrality in the network, play significant roles as information hubs regarding conservation practices in cocoa and rice production. Multinational food corporations with high centrality and numerous connections to other corporations can serve as thought leaders, potentially championing inclusion of innovative conservation practices in their sourcing strategies. Additionally, third party certification organizations that certify products for more than one corporation increase the bridging ties (e.g., connections among different types of agents) throughout the agroecological network. This type of network analysis can be used to inform sourcing practices, and strategically target new partnerships for ecological certification of specialty crops.