This dissertation contains three essays at the interface of agricultural and development economics. The motivation for this lies in the fact that various studies have shown the agricultural sector to be the main income source for the majority of the global poor and it will hence have to play a...

Private standards are gaining in importance in global markets for high-value foods. We analyze and compare impacts of three sustainability oriented standards – Fairtrade, Organic, and UTZ – on the livelihoods of smallholder coffee farmers in Uganda. Using survey data and propensity score...

The expansion of supermarkets in developing countries may have far-reaching consequences for poverty and rural development. While previous studies have compared farm profits between participants and non-participants in supermarket channels, wider household welfare effects have hardly been...

The food retail sector in many developing countries is transforming with a rapid growth of modern supermarkets. Supermarkets are not only influencing how food is sold to consumers, but also how agricultural products are sourced from farmers. Especially for the procurement of fresh fruits and...

Global poverty rates have declined considerably, but the number of people living in extreme poverty remains high. Many of the poor are smallholder farmers. Agricultural commercialization - meaning a shift from subsistence to more market-oriented farming - can play a central role in improving...