There is no question that trouble is brewing for millions of coffee and tea producers worldwide. Over the past decade, the playing field has shifted as international prices have crashed and buyers have laid down extensive new requirements for market access. Value Chain Struggles gets to the roots of these important issues by investigating the impact of new trading arrangements in the coffee and tea sectors on the lives of struggling growers in South India. Adopting a 'global value chain' approach - one that links production, trade and consumption - we see the net effect this restructuring is having on the people, communities and environment in this fertile region of the world.

Like a caffeinated jolt, Value Chain Struggles: Institutions and Governance in the Plantation Districts of South India opens our eyes to the devastating impact of recent changes to global trading relations on rural producers in the world's developing countries.

Jeff Neilson maintains primary research interests in rural development and environmental issues across various Asian countries. He completed his PhD with a study of the Indonesian coffee industry, has authored twelve refereed publications, and has worked as a consultant to various international development agencies. Dr Neilson is currently employed as a post-doctoral research fellow in geography at the University of Sydney, Australia.

Bill Pritchard is an Economic Geographer whose research has focused on global change in agriculture, food and rural places. He has authored two books, edited four others, and written more than forty refereed publications. He is an active member and former convener of the Australia & New Zealand Agri-Food Research Network, a member of the Australian Research Council Research Network on Spatially Integrated Social Sciences, and Steering Committee Member of the International Geographical Union Commission on the Dynamics of Economic Spaces.