Periodic Reporting for period 3 - MATS (Making Agricultural Trade Sustainable)
Reporting period: 2024-01-01 to 2024-12-31
The MATS project, a 3.5-year research project (July 2021 to December 2024) with 14 partners, aimed to develop fair, sustainable agri-food trade systems supporting local development globally. It identified key leverage points to enhance positive and mitigate negative trade impacts on sustainability, focusing on EU-Africa trade relations, while also covering intra-EU trade and EU-South America ties. Using a mixed-methods approach, MATS combined case study analysis and participatory engagement, consulting diverse stakeholders to address the complexity of international trade and investment issues. The findings informed policy changes to foster environmentally and socially sustainable trade practices.
We observed that poor governance creates uncertainty for value chain actors, affecting trade actors in asymmetric ways with market access, investments and competitiveness, often leading to market failures in sustainability standards implementation. This uncertainty impacts global agri-food value chains, evident in WTO’s governance challenges, delays in EU deforestation-free supply chain regulations, and unclear implementation of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Voluntary farm-level sustainability standards have conflicting sustainability impacts, due to incoherent reward systems or their export-incentives. To address this, EU policies could strive for policy coherence, combining external mechanisms like CBAM with internal measures that promote technology investment and farm-level capacity building. Trade policies could better align with EU directives on governance, human rights, and environmental challenges (e.g. EUDR, CSDDD). Functioning institutions are crucial at all levels, requiring improved land ownership rights in Africa, better integration of IP rights into trade rules, and ex-ante impact-based sustainability assessments of trade instruments and agreements. Trade institutions and policy design must be multi-actor-inclusive and transparent to be fair and effective, with investment facilitation measures that address inequities, particularly regarding small-scale farmers and female entrepreneurs.
We observed that poor governance creates uncertainty for value chain actors, affecting trade actors in asymmetric ways with market access, investments and competitiveness, often leading to market failures in sustainability standards implementation. This uncertainty impacts global agri-food value chains, evident in WTO’s governance challenges, delays in EU deforestation-free supply chain regulations, and unclear implementation of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Voluntary farm-level sustainability standards have conflicting sustainability impacts, due to incoherent reward systems or their export-incentives. To address this, EU policies could strive for policy coherence, combining external mechanisms like CBAM with internal measures that promote technology investment and farm-level capacity building. Trade policies could better align with EU directives on governance, human rights, and environmental challenges (e.g. EUDR, CSDDD). Functioning institutions are crucial at all levels, requiring improved land ownership rights in Africa, better integration of IP rights into trade rules, and ex-ante impact-based sustainability assessments of trade instruments and agreements. Trade institutions and policy design must be multi-actor-inclusive and transparent to be fair and effective, with investment facilitation measures that address inequities, particularly regarding small-scale farmers and female entrepreneurs.
The MATS project, spanning three periods, completed 36 deliverables across eight work packages. Research outputs were widely disseminated via the project website, social media, and partners’ channels, including 36 YouTube videos, 7 case study videos, 18 case study reports, 11 policy briefs, 27 blogs, 5 newsletters, 7 peer-reviewed publications, 8 discussion papers, and 2 e-books, and 978 social media posts. The project engaged stakeholders through a total of 309 engagement activities reaching 93,539 people: 24% policymakers, CSOs, and private sector representatives; 13% academics; and 63% potential beneficiaries like farmers and consumers.
The main research results in the different six WPs are specifically described below:
WP1 examined governance, actor roles, and power imbalances, integrating human rights perspectives to identify rightsholders and duty bearers. It analysed global agri-food trade trends for six products, EU Non-Tariff Measures, trade agreements with developing countries, and Voluntary Sustainability Standards in relation to the SDGs.
WP2 developed a transferable and integrated mixed-methods analytical framework, adaptable to regional contexts, providing transferable impact pathways and context-specific sustainability indicators as showcased by 15 case studies. The framework focused on five dimensions: social, economic, environmental, human, and governance, ensuring methodological consistency for future analyses.
WP3 assessed linkages between agricultural trade, investments, environmental sustainability and human well-being through the 15 case studies, identifying 31 leverage points for sustainable trade. Half related to policies and governance, nine to economic factors, six to social capital, and one to human capital. WP3 applied an integrated modelling framework, combining participatory systems mapping, quantitative systems models, and a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model to evaluate policy impacts on sustainability, biodiversity, and economic actors over time and space.
WP4 analysed institutional and legal frameworks, revealing policy misalignments across regions and commodities. CAP subsidies sometimes conflicted with biodiversity and climate goals, while stringent EU regulations disproportionately affected small-scale producers. It emphasized integrating Multilateral Environmental Agreement (MEA) principles into trade agreements, strengthening policy coherence, and introducing binding environmental and social provisions.
WP5 developed transition pathways for sustainable trade through stakeholder engagement, creating a 2035+ vision for equitable, resilient food systems. It outlined pathways across four dimensions: policy/governance, economy/markets, social/human aspects, and natural capital, identifying 34 actions organized into short-, medium-, and long-term roadmaps.
WP6 facilitated multi-stakeholder dialogue via the Sustainable Trade Hub, sharing findings from modelling, case studies, and legal assessments. Results were disseminated through the MATS website in French and English, featuring case studies, academic and non-academic outputs, and event repositories. Targeted outreach ensured relevance to value chain and policy actors, fostering inclusive engagement and actionable insights for sustainable trade transformation.
The main research results in the different six WPs are specifically described below:
WP1 examined governance, actor roles, and power imbalances, integrating human rights perspectives to identify rightsholders and duty bearers. It analysed global agri-food trade trends for six products, EU Non-Tariff Measures, trade agreements with developing countries, and Voluntary Sustainability Standards in relation to the SDGs.
WP2 developed a transferable and integrated mixed-methods analytical framework, adaptable to regional contexts, providing transferable impact pathways and context-specific sustainability indicators as showcased by 15 case studies. The framework focused on five dimensions: social, economic, environmental, human, and governance, ensuring methodological consistency for future analyses.
WP3 assessed linkages between agricultural trade, investments, environmental sustainability and human well-being through the 15 case studies, identifying 31 leverage points for sustainable trade. Half related to policies and governance, nine to economic factors, six to social capital, and one to human capital. WP3 applied an integrated modelling framework, combining participatory systems mapping, quantitative systems models, and a Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) model to evaluate policy impacts on sustainability, biodiversity, and economic actors over time and space.
WP4 analysed institutional and legal frameworks, revealing policy misalignments across regions and commodities. CAP subsidies sometimes conflicted with biodiversity and climate goals, while stringent EU regulations disproportionately affected small-scale producers. It emphasized integrating Multilateral Environmental Agreement (MEA) principles into trade agreements, strengthening policy coherence, and introducing binding environmental and social provisions.
WP5 developed transition pathways for sustainable trade through stakeholder engagement, creating a 2035+ vision for equitable, resilient food systems. It outlined pathways across four dimensions: policy/governance, economy/markets, social/human aspects, and natural capital, identifying 34 actions organized into short-, medium-, and long-term roadmaps.
WP6 facilitated multi-stakeholder dialogue via the Sustainable Trade Hub, sharing findings from modelling, case studies, and legal assessments. Results were disseminated through the MATS website in French and English, featuring case studies, academic and non-academic outputs, and event repositories. Targeted outreach ensured relevance to value chain and policy actors, fostering inclusive engagement and actionable insights for sustainable trade transformation.
The MATS project delivered key outputs, including quantitative and qualitative insights on agricultural trade, investments, and sustainability through 15 case studies, supported by Discussion Papers, Policy Briefs, Case study report, peer-reviewed articles and an e-book. It enhanced stakeholder dialogue via the Sustainable Trade Hub and developed innovative transferable research tools for analysing trade impacts. The project achieved its expected impacts by fostering evidence-based policies, contributing to potentially greater EU policy coherence, and providing evidence of costs and benefits for adopting best practices regarding sustainable trade aligned with SDGs.
High-level policy dialogues, visioning workshops, and collaboration with sister projects like Trade4SD and VCA4D strengthened multi-stakeholder engagement and transferability beyond MATS. The Sustainable Trade Toolbox integrated diverse frameworks and methods, enabling systemic analysis of trade impacts. Comprehensive modelling highlighted the effects of policy (in)action, while a systemic approach deepened our understanding of trade challenges. Institutional and legal analyses provided robust evidence for policy formulation, emphasizing the need for cross-sectoral alignment and policy integration. Case studies revealed the need to enhance small-scale farmers' competitiveness and address food self-sufficiency, while highlighting power imbalances in trade systems. MATS examined EU policy coherence, proposing reforms to align trade agreements with the Green Deal and Biodiversity Strategy. Roadmaps for sustainable trade integrated learnings across multiple sustainability dimensions. Modelling assessed intervention options against SDGs, identifying best practices for multilateral trade. By linking leverage points to actionable strategies and SDGs, MATS demonstrated how agricultural trade transformation can advance poverty reduction, gender equality, responsible consumption, and more equitable global partnerships.
High-level policy dialogues, visioning workshops, and collaboration with sister projects like Trade4SD and VCA4D strengthened multi-stakeholder engagement and transferability beyond MATS. The Sustainable Trade Toolbox integrated diverse frameworks and methods, enabling systemic analysis of trade impacts. Comprehensive modelling highlighted the effects of policy (in)action, while a systemic approach deepened our understanding of trade challenges. Institutional and legal analyses provided robust evidence for policy formulation, emphasizing the need for cross-sectoral alignment and policy integration. Case studies revealed the need to enhance small-scale farmers' competitiveness and address food self-sufficiency, while highlighting power imbalances in trade systems. MATS examined EU policy coherence, proposing reforms to align trade agreements with the Green Deal and Biodiversity Strategy. Roadmaps for sustainable trade integrated learnings across multiple sustainability dimensions. Modelling assessed intervention options against SDGs, identifying best practices for multilateral trade. By linking leverage points to actionable strategies and SDGs, MATS demonstrated how agricultural trade transformation can advance poverty reduction, gender equality, responsible consumption, and more equitable global partnerships.