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Abstract
Many African countries have moved into the production of non-traditional agricultural products, in an
effort to diversify their exports and increase foreign currency earnings. However, in order to access
developed country markets and urban domestic markets, these products must meet food safety
requirements, including protocols relating to pesticide residues, field and pack house operations, and
traceability. Faced with stringent food safety requirements, companies that establish production centers in
low-income countries might exclude poor farmers, thus negatively impacting the poor. We herein study
this issue in the case of the green bean export sectors in three African countries: Ethiopia, Kenya and
Zambia. In the short-term, stringent food safety standards have screened out smallholders in all these
countries, excluding them from the green bean export chain. However, some institutional arrangements
have helped support the smallholders who continue to function in the export-oriented green bean supply
chains. In particular, public-private partnerships have played a key role in creating farm-to-fork linkages
that can satisfy market demands for food safety while retaining smallholders in the supply chain.
Furthermore, organized producer groups capable of monitoring their own food safety requirements
through collective action have become attractive to buyers who are looking for ways to ensure traceability
and reduce transaction costs.