On the other hand, both certifiers and marketers/buyers of fruits and vegetables may contribute to make certification more attractive to farmers: the former by reducing the cost of certification and reinforcing its credibility in order to be more in demand in the market, and the latter by either rewarding farmers with better prices or becoming part of the farmers' clientele.
This study examines whether the implementation of a quality management system (QMS) and the choice of a certain quality assurance scheme (QAS) were decided as responses by fruit and vegetable producers to market conditions, separating certification decisions into two components.
In conclusion, it should be argued that certification in fruit and vegetable production is characterised by a market-driven approach that can lead to faster adoption of certification in correspondence with demand, but it is also simultaneously directed by public policy, even without being consistent with demand in some cases.
The findings of the present study can be considered as generalised for certification decisions in fruit and vegetable production in Greece, but it could not be argued that they reflect the situation in all crop production.
If the hypothesis is not accepted, the role of private standards as drivers of change in fruit and vegetable supply system is not ascertained and farm businesses' certification decisions are not in alignment with the demand.
This very interesting vegetable is grown in eight areas of Italy, and carries DOP certification.
Fruit and vegetable producers are asked to process the organic wastes because of the GlobalGAP certification requirements.
The fact that Mediterranean fruit and vegetable production constitutes a significant trading sector of the European food market, which imposes certain quality certification requirements (Kalaitzis et al. 2007), makes certification also a significant strategic choice for farm businesses.
And increasingly, small-scale farmers like Greg Brown, who for six years has been growing okra, green beans and other vegetables on a few acres in Barnesville, Ga., are opting not to apply for federal organic certification.
Fruit, cotton, vegetables and wine are a few main ones, with coffee and tea leading the pack in fair-trade certification.
