Horticulture value chains, particularly mango, have risen to prominence in Pakistan’s agricultural production system. Mango farms in Pakistan have been forced to get certifications such as Global GAP due to an increased need for certified and regulated products.
Moreover, it is emphasized that working conditions and fundamental rights of workers can have an impact on the long-term viability of the mango value chain in Pakistan, particularly within the rules of the International Labor Organization’s decent work agenda.
It can be emphasized that social upgrading of employees has consequences and possibilities for economic upgrading of the value chain system in terms of higher-quality goods, better working conditions, and increased revenue. Workers’ social advancement, on the other hand, leads to more checks and the adoption of occupational health and safety measures. The efficiency of many socioeconomic indicators of on-farm workers’ livelihood, which eventually guide the value chain growth process, is determined by decent work. Because the global value chain system drives certified orchards to meet food quality and safety requirements, these orchards have a greater chance of increasing the livelihood of on-farm employees.
Why Should the value chains be developed?
- These improved and equitable mango value chains have the potential to technically and effectively empower on-farm labor. Growers should transition their operations to a worldwide certification system, which will have long-term ramifications for the dignified employment of labor
- Government support will assist in the development of a more competent base for planning and other actions to support both scenarios: Workers’ sovereign labor union representation and farm level activities
- Poor management and a lack of technical skills are the major reasons for mango farms’ poor productivity in Pakistan, which is why the development of labor’s technical skills, as well as their economic and social happiness, should be supported.
- A research and inspection board for occupational health and safety inspections, as well as decent work practices, should be established to diagnose and manage the social and political contexts of financial and work contracts for the betterment of laborers