The benefits and challenges of participating in Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) initiatives following institutional formalization in Chile

Summary

Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS) provide an alternative certification system for smallholder organic farmers producing for the domestic market. Officially recognized in Chile since 2007, PGS certification has grown in momentum in recent years. We used semi-structured interviews, surveys and participant observations to shed light on the PGS movement in Chile and the respective governance framework. Our results indicate that after PGS formalization, Chilean PGS initiatives struggle to comply with wide-ranging administrative procedures similar to those requested for third-party certification (TPC). Furthermore, lacking resources among PGS initiatives inhibit the PGS movement from impacting the national discourse. We present two PGS initiatives and their organizational structures, exploring ‘who’ participate, ‘how’ participation occurs, and ‘what kind’ of participation takes place. Our results indicate that the interaction as well as the exchange of knowledge among PGS members is a central benefit perceived by PGS participants. However, regular PGS member participation is hindered by the required time investment, the distance that PGS members need to travel and the perceived lacking expertise they have.