UTZ Hazelnut Program in Turkey Evaluation

The UTZ hazelnut certification program was launched in 2014. This evaluation compares the situation of certified hazelnut producers in 2018 against a baseline taken at the start of the program in 2014. Between 2014 and 2018 the Hazelnuts certification program grew considerably. In 2018 it had over 4,300 farmers enrolled, members of 14 group-certificate holders, as well as 80 buyers.

Both studies were carried out by Development Workshop, an independent consultancy and research organization based in Turkey. The purpose of the evaluation was to assess to what extent the situation of certified hazelnut farmers and their workers had changed between 2014 and 2018 and to what extent the UTZ program had contributed to those changes. Drawing systematic comparisons however was challenging, as most producers included in the baseline study had left the certification program by 2018. Hence, the 2018 evaluation drew a new sample of producers who had been in the program since 2014. Cross validation of different data sources was used to analyze the differences, rule out alternative explanations and establish the likely contribution of the UTZ program to changes in the practices of hazelnut producers.

Read the Rainforest Alliance's response to this report.