Agro-food Chain Research Articles

Impact assessment of commodity standards: towards inclusive value chains

Voluntary commodity standards are widely used to enhance the performance of tropical agro-food chains and to support the welfare and sustainability of smallholder farmers. Different methods and approaches are used to assess the effectiveness and impact of these certification schemes at farm-household, village, cooperative, and regional level. We provide an overview of the results from robust impact studies on coffee, tea, banana, cocoa, and cotton certification programmes. Overall outcomes show rather modest net revenue effects for farmers, small direct income effect for wage workers, and contested sustainability effects. Most impact studies focus on primary sourcing, but devote less attention to changes in trust and governance throughout the value chain. Moreover, implications for gender issues and supply chain trust are not always fully addressed. In order to better understand these somewhat disappointing effects, we discuss different fallacies and drawbacks that affect impact studies concerning commodity certification programmes. Main attention is given to perverse incentives for intensification and specialization that arise from certification. Moreover, spillovers to other (non-certified) farmers and spatial externalities at landscape level may reduce net effects. Important secondary effects related to behavioural change (risk, trust) and local innovation dynamics are usually overlooked. Current practices in value chain development programmes should focus increasingly on dynamic effects of upgrading and improved market integration. New interactive impact assessment approaches (gaming, multi-agency simulation) that address integrated value chain relationships offer promising perspectives for real-time and systematic analysis of alternatives for smallholder value chain inclusion beyond certification.

Food supply chains: coordination governance and other shaping forces

The aim of this paper is twofold. First, it discusses how the functioning and performance of food chains are affected by the way stakeholders are embedded in the chains, by the coordination modes, and by the kind of governance. Second, by depicting six relevant agro-food chains, attention is raised on the kind of the stakeholders that participate in the chain and on the role of each with a special focus on possible drawbacks of an effective functioning of the supply chains. The chains outlined are (i) supply chains driven by a large retailer; (ii) supply chains driven by a global processing company; (iii) supply chains driven by a cooperative; (iv) supply chains for geographical indications; (v) short supply chains; and (vi) supply chains driven by a specialized high quality retailer.Special consideration is given to the positioning of farmers in each of the six chains and to the outcomes they get. It is shown how: (i) going spot on the marketplace may leave them with difficult market access and no bargaining power; (ii) being embedded in supply chains framed in the context of a captive governance may result in a squeeze of their profits as well as in unreliable market access; and (iii) supply chains are populated by reciprocal and pooled relationships and ruled by a more relational kind of governance, beside potentially bringing advantages in terms of decision power and economic benefits, also raises difficulties and drawbacks due to complexity of functioning, heterogeneity of stakeholders, and ambiguity of the nature of relations among them.

Introduction: Agribusiness Clusters in Europe, 19th and 20th Centuries

Clusters and the spatial concentration of economic development are themes which crop up more and more in recent debates in social and economic history. This special issue wants to foster an interdisciplinary crossover of theories and ideas between economic geographers and historians, and focuses on the development of several branches of agribusiness (dairy, horticulture, olive oil and agricultural machinery) in South-western and North-western Europe during the past two centuries. The five case studies unravel and analyse the connections and interdependencies between economic actors, knowledge institutions and the State in the agro-food chain. This analysis results in four main conclusions. Firstly, in the formation of regional economic clusters not only natural conditions played a major role, or other economic determinants such as an easy access to markets. Social and cultural connections between individuals and organizations that were shaped over time, and related to geographical proximity, were important too. Secondly, governments, entrepreneurs and interest organizations, who were firmly rooted in the region’s history, often cooperated and stimulated cluster development via regulatory frameworks, educational and scientific policies. Thirdly, not only consensus but also discord and competition can foster the clustering of economic activities. Finally, multi-scalar perspectives are needed in order to grasp the importance of connections between clusters and actors outside the region.

Determination of the Optimum Harvest Window for Apples Using the Non-Destructive Biospeckle Method.

Determination of the optimum harvest window plays a key role in the agro-food chain as the quality of fruit depends on the right harvesting time and appropriate storage conditions during the postharvest period. Usually, indices based on destructive measurements are used for this purpose, like the De Jager Index (PFW-1), FARS index and the most popular Streif Index. In this study, we proposed a biospeckle method for the evaluation of the optimum harvest window (OHW) of the “Ligol” and “Szampion” apple cultivars. The experiment involved eight different maturity stages, of which four were followed by long cold storage and shelf life to assist the determination of the optimum harvest window. The biospeckle activity was studied in relation to standard quality attributes (firmness, acidity, starch, soluble solids content, Streif Index) and physiological parameters (respiration and ethylene emission) of both apple cultivars. Changes of biospeckle activity (BA) over time showed moderate relationships with biochemical changes during apple maturation and ripening. The harvest date suggested by the Streif Index and postharvest quality indicators matched with characteristic decrease in BA. The ability of biospeckle method to characterize the biological state of apples was confirmed by significant correlations of BA with firmness, starch index, total soluble solids and Streif Index, as well as good match with changes in carbon dioxide and ethylene emission. However, it should be noted that correlations between variables changing over time are not as meaningful as independent observations. Also, it is a well-known property of the Pearson’s correlation that its value is highly susceptible to outlier data. Due to its non-selective nature the BA reflected only the current biological state of the fruit and could be affected by many other factors. The investigations showed that the optimum harvest window for apples was indicated by the characteristic drop of BA during pre-harvest development. Despite this, at the current state of development the BA method cannot be used as an indicator alone. Due to rather poor results for prediction in OHW the BA measurements should be supported by other destructive methods to compensate its low selectivity.

A social-ecological framework for analyzing and designing integrated crop–livestock systems from farm to territory levels

AbstractIntegrated crop–livestock systems are often considered a promising way to address agricultural sustainability issues. Many authors claim that complementarities and synergies between crops and livestock can improve nutrient cycling and delivery of ecosystem services (ES) in agricultural systems. They have analyzed effects of interactions at the farm level and affirmed the potential advantage of developing crop–livestock interactions at the territory level. However, potential benefits of developing synergies beyond the farm level have not been clearly identified. Thus, we developed a conceptual framework that can be used to analyze, design and perform integrated assessment of crop–livestock systems at the territory level. To address crop–livestock interaction issues, we define it as a social-ecological system called the territorial crop–livestock system (TCLS). The ecological system is represented as three interacting components, crops, grasslands and animals, allowing description of various land uses and their potential effects on nutrient cycling and ES. The social system, represented as farmers interacting with natural-resource managers and agro-food chain actors, determines land use and the nature and intensity of ES delivered. We highlight the importance of coordination and learning among actors to support implementation of complex adaptive systems such as TCLSs. We illustrate the expressive power of our conceptual framework through development of a generic typology of crop–livestock systems. Then we show how our conceptual framework can be used as an intermediary object with stakeholders in participatory design approaches. We illustrate this process by representing four archetypal TCLSs. We provide an example of the design approach implemented in Southwestern France to address severe recurrent water shortages, which includes analysis of land use in the current crop–livestock system and the associated key metabolic and ES issues, identification of options for change and multi-criteria analysis of these options. We conclude that this framework shows great potential to support development of sustainable farming systems at the territory level.

The existence of buyer power in the Italian fresh milk supply chain

Purpose – Buyer power can be defined as the ability to obtain trade terms more favourable than a supplier’s normal trade terms. The purpose of this paper is to estimate existence of buyer power in the Italian market of fresh milk. The sector is characterised by high industrial and retail firms concentration and a significant gap between the downstream and upstream prices exists. Design/methodology/approach – The authors applied the “first-pass” test proposed by Lloyd et al. (2009) on a set of monthly price indexes series from 2000 to 2013 in order to estimate if a buyer power exists in this sector. This in order to verify how prices are transmitted along the supply chain and to determine if buyer power contributes in conditioning the retail-producer price spread. Findings – Estimated results suggest that buyer power exists in the Italian fresh milk supply chain and oligopsonistic behaviour affects the spread between downstream and upstream prices. Originality/value – The paper gives a contribute on estimation of buyer power in the agro-food supply chains. However, more research needs to be carried out in order to precisely evaluate the nature and the causes of presence of buyer power.

Cadenas agroalimentarias territoriales. Tensiones y aprendizajes desde el sector lácteo de la Amazonía ecuatoriana

Farmers participating in the dairy food chain in the province of Pastaza, Ecuadorian Amazon, face major difficulties. Their weak bargaining power, cost structures above price, significant dependence on the market and low value added are important challenges for farmers themselves and for public management. In this sense, the Amazon Productive Transformation Agenda, a new paradigm for public policy in this territory, is a challenging initiative. This research analyzes the conditions that enable local producers, as actors of the agro-food chain, to strengthen their position before other subsectors. To this end, we use the methodological approach of Montpellier and territorial agro-food chains, both of which have allowed us to shape the low negotiating power of local actors as explained by poor collective action that limits the enhancement of endogenous resources in the territory.

Challenges in Risk Assessment: Quantitative Risk Assessment

The process of risk analysis consists out of three components, risk assessment, risk management and risk communication. These components are internationally well spread by Codex Alimentarius Commission as being the basis for setting science based standards, criteria on food safety hazards, e.g. setting maximum limits of mycotoxins in foodstuffs. However, the technical component risk assessment is hard to elaborate and to understand. Key in a risk assessment is the translation of biological or chemical pathways into a mathematical framework. Within the International Training Program ‘ITP food safety, quality assurance and risk analysis’ of Ghent University, department of Food Safety and Food Quality, we developed for low and middle income countries and emerging countries a training module on risk assessment. In where (semi-) quantitative probabilistic risk assessment calculations or qualitative risk rankings are trained for both microbial and chemical food safety hazards along the agro-food chain. This presentation will explain these methodologies demonstrated with examples from former ITP trainees.

Which strategic orientation for systemic integration? A study on the organic olive oil industry

In the agro-food industry, a hard constraint to farms development is the business dimension: the strategy of horizontal aggregation among producers could represent a way to overcome this problem. A condition for the effectiveness of the systemic firms integration is the inter-firms consonance. The paper aims at verifying the consonance among farms for their systemic integration feasibility assessment. Few studies on the topic can be found in the academic literature. For this purpose, an exploratory survey in the organic olive oil industry, based on multiple case studies, is presented: data are collected through a web-based survey submitted to a population of 200 firms and analysed by comparing their market positioning with their strategic orientation. The understanding of the systemic integration enhancing factors in the agro-food supply chain, such as the strategic orientation, can help farms in formulating and implementing the strategy of horizontal aggregation among producers, called producers organisation (PO).

Formal network analysis of a food supply chain system: a case study for the Italian agro-food chains

This paper approaches the analysis of supply chains of products of animal origin from various productive species by using network analytic methods. In the studied analysis the supply chains are embedded in a single model which highlights all the interconnections that have little evidence in traditional models. The complex network is studied analyzing the matrix that constitutes the network with algorithms and methods extensively tested and validated. This analytical approach has already been applied with positive results in many research areas such as social networks, transport networks, the stylistic of writers and musicians, proteomics, pharmacology, medicine, biology and many others. We apply this methodology to supply chains of products of animal origin and show a series of preliminary results. This method of study of food supply chains could be useful for an observatory, bringing to light slightly evident relations and becoming a strong support for policy-makers. It can also provide useful advices to individual actors on how to optimize their own supply chains. Finally, through an effective enumeration and evaluation of the relationships, a network model could be helpful in design of tracking and traceability systems.

Geographical indications and upgrading of small-scale producers in global agro-food chains: A case study of the Makó Onion Protected Designation of Origin

In the context of the marginalising effects of agro-food chain dynamics on upstream suppliers, this paper examines the extent to which geographical indications may improve the positioning of small-scale producers. Making an original distinction between established and nascent geographical indication systems, the paper undertakes a case study of the latter type (the Makó Onion Protected Designation of Origin, Hungary), hitherto overlooked in the literature. The study adopts a global value chain perspective to analyse three means by which geographical indications may facilitate upgrading (capturing higher margins, stimulating collective action and enabling diversification), finding that none have been delivered via the Makó Onion Protected Designation of Origin. The paper examines the reasons for this, identifying the role played by the political and institutional context. Recommendations are made for improving the upgrading potential of geographical indications when applied to nascent systems.

Analysis of the Alternative Agriculture’s Seeds Market Sector: History and Development

Alternative agricultural systems, like organic and local agriculture, are becoming increasingly important in Europe to the detriment of conventional methods. As a matter of fact, sustainable agriculture, which started as a niche sector, has been able to conquer a significant share of the European agro-food market. Institutional promotion along with increasing consumer demand has allowed for the development of different agricultural models, from the farm to the fork, with an increasing focus on the ethical issues associated with the agro-food production system. For instance, the organic agriculture agro-food chain is based on four principles, namely health, ecology, fairness and care (IFOAM 2004) with the goal of competing in the global agro-food market while respecting the environment, livestock, producers, and consumers. Within these themes, the seed market represents an extremely complex part of the whole picture. The present paper analyses the historical evolution of the seed sector by identifying the main issues related to sustainable agricultural systems and protection of biodiversity. It follows the identification of different seed markets based on different farm types. The two aspects are then discussed and matched in order to identify the main issues characterizing the sector. A review of possible solutions to those problems, taking into account their ethics, is also provided.

Visualization and purchase

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to present an attempt to evaluate Italian olive oil brand competition thought the analysis of consumers’ visual perspective. Design/methodology/approach – Through the implementation of a new information technology system called “Visual Marketing REL”, which furnishes eye-tracking measures, the authors were able to produce important information relative to the layout organization of to the Italian olive oil shelf, a strategic product of the agro-food chain. The research uses the “in situ” testing of the software developed. Findings – The research, following up the thesis of sensorial marketing affecting choices, intends to identify an IT tool to facilitate the design of the shelf by increasing the efficiency of the retail mix. Results highlight that specific positioning could impact the differentiation effect and orientate consumers’ choices, thus increasing the efficiency of the retail mix. Research limitations/implications – To generalize the results would require many repetitions of different product categories. In this case, it would be possible to quantify the levels of correlation between visual information and sales. Practical implications – This work opens important considerations in terms of strategic management of modern distribution, leaders and minor brands competitive relationship, as well as opportunities for producers of high-quality products, which could address their strategies to differentiation and niche market in cooperation with retailers. Social implications – The research aims to encourage the process of consumer choice and reduce information asymmetries. Originality/value – The most important result is the connection among choices, visualization, differentiation strategy and positioning/ordering on the shelf. The layout management, in fact, could be used as a joint strategy of retailers as well as producers to emphasize quality and price differentiation, thereby increasing sales. Moreover, the study provides for the first time the outcomes of a brand new software “Visual Marketing REL”, highlighting its limits and positive elements.

Realizing the Potential of African Agriculture: Innovations and Market Access for Smallholder Farmers

Agriculture increasingly occurs in a context where private entrepreneurs coordinate extensive value chains linking producers to consumers, sometimes across multiple countries. These dynamics drive agricultural development and innovation far more than before across sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). More providers of knowledge are on the scene, particularly from the private sector and civil society, and they interact in new ways to generate ideas or develop responses to dynamics in agro-food value chains. A growing number of entrepreneurial smallholders are organizing to enter these value chains, but others struggle with the economic marginalization as innovative solutions do not reach them due to missing links in the value chains.

The Economic Role of the Portuguese Agricultural Cooperatives

Since 2008 Portugal began to be influenced by a financial crisis, public budget troubles and an economic crisis. In line with the new economic paradigm within the EU, is publicly acknowledged that the overcoming of this crisis should be based on the production of transactional goods, where the agricultural sector deserves a special attention. The objective of this paper is to analyze the economic role of the Portuguese agricultural marketing cooperatives, including an overview of the Portuguese agricultural sector, the typology of Portuguese cooperatives and position in the agro food chain, the institutional environment, internal governance and performance of the agricultural cooperatives.

Profitability Analysis of Small-Scale Beekeeping Firms by Using Life Cycle Costing (LCC) Methodology

Increasingly, beekeeping sector attracts attention due to its potentialities linked to several aspects: Environmental benefits, commercial value and of promotion of rural development. Indeed, among the small-scale agro-food chains, beekeeping plays a significant role, especially in rural context, where the diversification of farms activities can be provide a relevant integration of income. However, frequently, apicultural activities are characterized by several weaknesses ascribable to the fragmented production, difficulty of marketing actions and lack of training of operators. These problems are particularly present in Calabria region in South Italy where, anyway, thanks to several suitable climatic conditions, high quality standards of honey are obtained. So, in order to achieve the efficiency of firms and to improve the business beekeeping production it is necessary to arrange a production system that takes into account the real availability of material resources. The economic behavior of beekeepers and their investment choices are fundamental to accomplish a successful business that, more and more today, needs to high productivity of labor and adequate equipment, guaranteed by optimization of production factors. This paper has a two-fold purpose: Firstly, it aims to conduct an economic analysis of beekeeping activities, as significant small-scale agri-food chain in southern Italy, by analyzing the production, processing and packaging of honey in farm realities of Calabrian region. The second objective of this paper is to evaluate the profitability of investments realized in beekeeping firms. For this purpose, a joint use of Life Cycle Costing (LCC) methodology and economic indicators was applied in order to analyze in detail cash outflows linked to each phase of honey production system (planning, management and disposal) and to identify key elements that can improve the farm management. Results showed the economic viability of the investment and a suitable level of profitability. Furthermore, the analysis carried out confirms these methodologies as useful tools to support investment choices and to improve economic performances of management strategies of agro-food producers.

The Official Control beyond the Official Control. How To Plan And Schedule Controls Starting From Risk Assessment Along The Agro-Food Supply Chain.

Every year the Italian Ministry of Health, on the basis of regional data, draws up the "Report on Official Controls" to be submitted to the Parliament. The report contains abundant data, diagrams and charts and illustrates the number and type of official controls (OC) performed by the pertinent Bodies (Ministry of Health, Regional and Local Health Authorities) over the previous year on Food Business Operators (FBO), in accordance with the EC Regulation 882/2004. The trend - which has consolidated over the years - relates to the multiplicity of OC and shows a decrease of such controls compared to an increase in "non-conformities". OC frequency is established by the Regional Authorities on the basis of the categorisation of both a "generic risk" for companies calculated taking into account the probability of occurrence of a "non-conformity", and a "specific" risk, assessed on the basis of the results of the OC actually performed on a given "Operatore del Settore Alimentare" (Food Sector Operator, in Italian: OSA). Thus, categorisation (i.e. the probability of occurrence of non-conformities) is the main driver of the OC scheduling and planning process. We have been asking ourselves whether the current OC planning/scheduling method is still suitable for ensuring food safety in the face of internalisation of the food supply chain. As a matter of fact, food safety is now becoming increasingly variable due to the globalization of consumption where "farm to fork", rather than "border to fork", food safety must be ensured. On the basis of these considerations, a different OC planning /scheduling method is being proposed based on the assessment of risks and the estimation of the occurrence of the same along the agro-food chain.

GAIA Bus

There is a great need for research and innovation in order to make the food chain to fit and cover the needs and requirements of all stakeholders of the agro-food chain. ICT and especially cloud computing could play an important role at the sustainable agro-food chain. The paper discusses an innovative cloud-based technological bus where the inter-connected entities develop and share cloud services such as farm managing, e-commerce of agrifood products, automation tools for farmers' administrative procedures, e-learning for agriculture topics, information portal, social networking for farmers, traceability services and information tools for precision farming. The Greek version of GAIA bus went online almost one year ago and at the time of writing holds approximately 570.000 subscribers. It is anticipated that in the near future the GAIA bus business penetration is going to concern European and Brazilian agricultural market.

SSR fingerprint reveals mislabeling in commercial processed tomato products

The presence of inaccurate food identification is an increasing global concern. The occurrence of species substitution in the fish and meat sectors has been documented in numerous cases. In comparison, there is much less information on the incidence of food mislabeling in the plant sector, where variety substitution is the most frequent problem. Our aim was to reveal possible mislabeling of commercial tomato products by a means of molecular genetic analysis. We focused our study on the “San Marzano” because it is considered among the most important industrial tomato in the world and fetches a higher market price. Since 1996, an EU Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) scheme guarantees the authenticity and origin of the true “San Marzano” production. In this work, SSRs were tested on 20 tomato varieties, validated on foodstuff and then employed to establish the genetic identity of 25 commercial tins labeled as “San Marzano”. SSR fingerprint was able to reveal that cans contained fruits that do not have the genetic profile of the ‘San Marzano sel. 2’ or ‘Kiros’ varieties, the only ones allowed for the production of PDO labeled products. Our work proved the usefulness of DNA-based tools to guarantee the authenticity of premium plant varieties. Furthermore, it strongly prompted the introduction of DNA tests for the control and law enforcement in agro-food chain. Our work demonstrated that SSR fingerprint could be used to optimize business objectives and match consumers' demand of authentic plant-derived foodstuff.

Factors of collective reputation of the Italian PDO wines: An analysis on central Italy

As many research studies confirm, the importance of collective reputation is increasing, especially in the agro-food chain. Currently, the reputation of firms and brands is the main key driver for companies׳ competitiveness and success in modern markets.This paper empirically investigates the determinants of reputation of PDO wines in Central Italy. In particular, it uses the qualitative assessment expressed by the National Association of Sommeliers and proposes a synthetic indicator of reputation. By using different statistical sources, we also evaluate the impact of some variables on the reputation levels of individual PDO areas. We looked at the structural characteristics of the designation (number of producers, age of the designation, etc.), the minimum quality standards, and the characteristics of the economic vitality of the territories. The study aims to contribute to the debate on the role of the quality proposed by firms and reputation built over time.