Abstract
Contract farmers in central Honduras have been producers of Asian vegetables for American markets since 1989. Contract farming holds the potential to provide benefits to small farmers who would otherwise be unable to access export markets but production relations between firms and farmers are often asymmetric and can be exploitative. Poor communication and legacies of mistrust between commodity agriculture and small farmers lead to ambiguities in the contracting system that are misinterpreted by both firms and farmers, creating social tensions between contracting parties. This article will consider how farmers’ navigation of the contracting system and competition between export firms has led to changes in the system. Through competition for a limited pool of outgrowers, firms adjust their policies in favor of farmers without explicit attempts of labor organization on the part of the farmers.
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Notes
During field research in late summer of 2004, 573 ha of Asian vegetables were in cultivation. Other export crops contracted to outgrowers in Comayagua are slicing cucumber, tabasco and jalepeño peppers, accounting for another 570 ha. Company owned and operated farms dominated export vegetable production, accounting for 1,630 ha.
The term small farmers, which can be used interchangeably with smallholders, can be problematic since its definition varies. I am using it to refer to farmers who own or cultivate less than 5 ha.
In September 2004, the Center for Agricultural Development in Comayagua hosted a symposium on the production and export of Asian vegetables for government, non-government, and industry agronomists from all around Central America. Case studies from Comayagua were used to present successful techniques to participants interested in developing the export of Asian vegetables from their countries.
Personal communication with Dr. Alfredo Rueda, Associate Professor of Crop Protection at Zamarano, the Pan-American School for Agriculture in Honduras, August 25, 2004.
Personal communication from Andy Medlicott, Director of the Centro de Desarrollo de Agronegocios (Agribusiness Development Center) in Honduras, September 15, 2004.
Asian vegetables have a high and low season in Honduras in response to competition from production locations in North America during the summer months. The high season in Honduras is in the winter, November through April, but crops can be grown all year round.
Roy 1972, (referenced by Glover 1984) defines contract farming as those arrangements that specify conditions of production and/or marketing either in written or oral form. I am following this definition and characterizing Exporter 3 as following the contract model through use of oral contracts because in practice both farmers and the firm view their arrangement as contractually bound, although more on a “gentlemen’s agreement”. Exporter 3, as the new firm, has worked harder to build personal relations with farmers.
All pricing estimates are based on costs in 2004 and the conversion rate of 18 Honduran Lempiras to one US Dollar.
Primera and postrera plantings correspond to the rainy season which has a bimodal period of heavy rains, although many people say that the postrera has been dry in the last few years and the seasons are changing.
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Acknowledgements
This research was supported by a National Science Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Improvement Grant in Geography and Regional Sciences #425734. Many people helped me undertake this research and deserve thanks. My dissertation advisor, Dr. Christine Padoch, guided the formation of my research plan. Dr. Hugh Popenoe, Professor Emeritus of the University of Florida, and Mario Contreras and Dr. Alfredo Rueda of Zamorano, the Pan-American School for Agriculture in Honduras, provided the necessary logistical support. My research assistant Karen Jiron, Dr. Dennis Ramirez, and Ingeñero Jaime Jimenez of FHIA, la Fundacíon Hondureño de Investigaciones Agricola, greatly facilitated my field work in Comayagua. Finally, I am indebted to all of the people in Comayagua who graciously accepted my interview requests and shared information freely.
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Imbruce, V. The production relations of contract farming in Honduras. GeoJournal 73, 67–82 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-008-9179-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-008-9179-z