The São Francisco Valley Agricultural Transformation Quiz

The article uses the Global Commodity Chain (GCC) framework.

A combination of strict northern retailer requirements and producers’ ability to target export windows.

The need to upgrade production continually in response to retailers’ demands gives workers strategic leverage.

<p>The article suggests that, contrary to much GCC literature, workers in export grape production have strategic leverage and have been able to extract significant concessions from exporting farms due to their strong tradition of rural trade union organization.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The article focuses on examining the evolving labor process in the São Francisco grape branch in North East Brazil using the global commodity chain framework.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The author conducted fieldwork on 26 farms in the São Francisco valley through participant observation and semi-structured interviews with farm managers, owners, workers, and other relevant entities.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Non-Traditional Agricultural Exports (NTAXs) refer to fresh fruits and vegetables and have become one of the fastest-growing branches of world trade.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The term 'non-traditional' refers to products that have not been produced in a specific country before or were previously produced for domestic consumption but are now exported.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The rise of global retail corporations and technological innovations in the cool chain have facilitated the production of highly perishable NTAXs in regions previously distant from northern markets.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The integration of the São Francisco grape branch into the circuits of global NTAX production exemplifies the broader phenomenon of contemporary globalization.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The GCC approach allows the conceptual connection of actors involved in the production, distribution, and marketing of the same commodity, irrespective of geographical dispersion.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The GCC approach facilitates an analysis of power relations along the chain and enables tracing how transformations in one part of the world impact developments in other parts.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Until recently, the study of labor was largely excluded from GCC analysis, with few studies incorporating labor into the framework.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>GCC-inspired research has mostly arrived at pessimistic conclusions regarding labor's conditions in NTAX sectors.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The article aims to illuminate the conditions and practices of labor in one branch of export horticulture, following the lead of previous studies that have incorporated labor into the GCC framework.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The labor process and workers' bargaining power in the context of export grape production in Brazil and South Africa.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Pressures from domestic liberalization, competition, and quality-related buyer requirements, leading to the displacement of permanent workers by temporary ones, particularly women.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Due to increasing buyer quality requirements, preferring permanently employed workers over temporary labor.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Workers' structural and associational power.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>São Francisco river valley in North East Brazil.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Heavy investment in irrigation by the Brazilian government.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Over 40,000 hectares.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>From approximately 1,050 tons to 13,300 tons.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>From US$4.7 million to US$20.4 million.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>In the South and South East.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Between December and March.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Its regular and crushing droughts.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>São Francisco Valley</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>1,407</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Large, medium, and small</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>UK, mainland Europe, top-end Brazilian, and bottom-end Brazilian markets</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Export</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>International and national industrial and commercial capital</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Private investors, including those from agricultural backgrounds and members of the Juazeiro Agricultural Cooperative</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Colonos, family farmers who settled on public irrigation schemes</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Coordinate marketing in the UK and mainland Europe</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Purchase for export, ensuring the production of export quality grapes</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Varies, with uncertain estimates</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Carrefour</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Approximately 40,000 wage workers.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Grape and mango.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>4.7 workers per hectare per cultivation cycle.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>2.5 workers per hectare.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Approximately 80%.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The top three retail chains in several countries had over 50-60% market share.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>UK retailers shifted from procuring fruit and vegetables from wholesale markets to collaborating with importers to procure directly from producers.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Increased market share and direct sourcing from producers allowed UK retailers to impose strict quality standards and additional service requirements on producers.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The shift from a price-driven to a quality-driven commodity chain led to retailers increasingly sourcing produce from approved suppliers that conform to their company standards.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Producers in the São Francisco Valley responded by transforming the production process to meet quality standards, making it increasingly scientific, and implementing a product and process upgrading strategy.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>The main exporting association, VALEXPORT, in collaboration with the state development agency CODEVASF and large farms, implemented a project to introduce seedless grapes into the valley to meet northern retail market demands.</p> Signup and view all the answers

<p>Research, learning, and adoption efforts led to the successful production of export quality seedless grapes by all large farms and increasing numbers of medium farms in the valley by the early 2000s.</p> Signup and view all the answers