On the island of Dominica, in the eastern Caribbean, the sale of fair‐trade bananas generates “social premiums” to fund projects that the government can no longer afford because of structural adjustment. Promoted as a means of democratic decision‐making, social premiums operate in an “awkward zone of engagement” between development policy and local practice. Their uses are constrained by fair‐trade certification, as well as by the gender, class, and political nexus of farmers’ groups and communities. As a development strategy and system of governance, fair trade invokes universal narratives of democracy and pluralism, but its effects are expressed through local dispositions of identity and material practice, as well as competitive “ethical” markets. For farmers, global competition and rigid certification standards signal an impending “market's end,” the closure of their last alternative as agriculturalists. [fair trade, social premium, Great Recession, neoliberal development, governmentality, Dominica, Caribbean] Nan zile Dominica nan Karayib la, peman sosyal ki soti nan ekspòtasyon bannann selon pratik komès ekitab finanse pwojè avèk ki gouvènman an pa ka koresponn poutèt ajisteman estriktirèl yo. Yo fè yo pase pou fason pou fè desizyon demokratik, men peman sosyal opere nan yon “zòn angajman dwòl” ki ant politik devlopman ak pratik lokal. Jan yo sèvi a jwenn limitasyon nan kesyon sètifikasyon komès ekitab, ak tout kesyon sèks, klas avèk kontèks politik gwoup fèmye yo ak kominote yo. Kòm estrateji devlopman ak sistèm gouvènans, komès ekitab sèvi ak diskou demokrasi ak “pliralis”, men efè li soti nan idantite lokal avèk pratik materyèl, ansanm ak konpetitisyon nan mache lokal. Pou fèmye yo, konpetisyon global avèk estanda sètifikasyon twò sevè anonse “fen yon mache” ki san lè rive, pwen final nan dènye posibilite yo kòm agrikiltè. [komès ekitab, peman sosyal, Gwo Resesyon, devlopman neoliberal, gouvernementalité, Dominica, Karayib]