Small Food Producers Research Articles

Who are small-scale food producers in Italy? Comparisons among different approaches

The question “What is a small-scale producer?” keeps receiving different answers depending on the context in which is posed. Alternative ways of defining smallholders reflect heterogeneous historical and institutional eco-systemic contexts and depend upon what is the role of small-scale agriculture in the rural economy. This has become a pressing issue given the need to monitor the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which refers to “small” farmers. Two important related issues are: 1) the adoption of a specific and robust definition of small-scale food producer (SSFP) and 2) the empirical implementation of this definition to determine the SSFPs. The calculations require suitable databases with microdata at the level of individual farms. Based on the 2020 agricultural census results, we identified the small food producers in Italy. We also proposed and compared other approaches to identify SSFPs, that are simpler than that proposed by the FAO and could also be calculated for other census years. Since revenues are not available for every farm – even the census did not collect this information – the standard indicator of production was used instead of revenues to identify SSFPs.

Factors Influencing Engineering Assets Management Decisions in Food Manufacturing Companies in Nigeria

This paper assessed the factors influencing Engineering Assets Management decisions in small and medium-scale food manufacturing companies in Southwestern Nigeria. Data were collected from 30 selected food manufacturing companies registered with National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control in the study area. The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results reveal that food manufacturing companies practice some elements of Engineering Assets Management. There were no explicit guidelines and policy statements that guide their decisions and actions. However, a) how maintenance was to be carried out; and b) the amount and intensity of service that maintenance was expected to provide in order to satisfy the need of production, were the major factors that guided ways of making Engineering Asset Management decisions.

A Novel Sustainability Management Tool for Small and Medium-Sized Food Manufacturers – Advantages and Improvement Opportunities

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) struggle with sustainable development. Their characteristics require different sustainability management approaches to those employed by larger enterprises. However, supportive tools for sustainability management, including sustainability assessment, reporting, and certification, are scarce. Therefore, a novel sustainability management tool for SMEs – the so-called sustainability compass – has been developed in the specific context of food manufacturing. Its content and rationales are described, and its potential effects on sustainability management for SMEs are discussed in this paper. Qualitative interviews with experts from different backgrounds were conducted for a critical reflection on the novel tool. According to the findings, the tool meets some of the requirements of SMEs regarding sustainability management, but it neglects certain aspects. However, some of those aspects were revealed to be vicious circles between SMEs’ unique characteristics and the nature of sustainability management. Although the tool has been developed for food manufacturing SMEs, the findings are important for sustainability management in SMEs overall and for ongoing research in that field in general.

Food safety culture and climate prevailing in micro and small food manufacturing enterprises in Mauritius and Rodrigues

SummaryFood safety culture and climate are strong elements of food safety performance. This study describes a mixed‐methods approach to assess prevailing food safety knowledge, attitudes, practices, culture and climate in micro and small food manufacturing businesses in Mauritius. The approach included participant observation, questionnaire‐based surveys and checklists, and was adopted to collect data from six managers/owners and thirty‐six employees in six businesses. Results showed that food handlers had satisfactory knowledge in some aspects of food hygiene and safety. Mean scores of specific food safety climate indicators for employees diverged from the corresponding values for managers. Inconsistencies were observed in food safety culture maturity scores computed from survey data (quantitative), which were higher than related scores obtained from participatory observation (qualitative). This discrepancy underlines the importance of triangulation methods and the necessity to establish appropriate weightings for data obtained from different methods to gain an overall assessment of food safety culture. The results provide concrete input to develop tailor‐made interventions to improve knowledge, attitudes and practices of employees and managers, and promote positive food safety cultures. Further research is needed to design theory‐based interventions to improve food safety culture and interpretation grids to analyse and triangulate prevailing food safety culture data.

The spia who loved food [Book review

First paragraph: In 2012, for the first time, two of Slow Food’s major events shared a single space and ticket: The Salone del Gusto, a large commercial food fair, and Terra Madre, a political conference that brings together a worldwide network of small farmers, food producers, activists, and scholars dedicated to biodiversity and “participatory democracy.” In the penultimate chapter of Valeria Siniscalchi’s monograph Slow Food: The Economy and Politics of a Global Movement, she uses the relation­ship between these two simultaneous flagship events to explore a dichotomy that her entire book grapples with: is Slow Food more about “the market” or “the community”? “Competition” or “mutuality”? “Politics” or “economics” (p. 203)? Siniscalchi’s answer is that Slow Food, the inter­national organization that encompasses an events team, a publishing house, a university, a national and international political structure, and more, is about all of the above. In the case of Salone del Gusto and Terra Madre, she argues that if at first these two events seem contradictory, they are actually “complementary spaces presenting ways to create new economic forms, to imagine a new economic order and to determine new food poli­cies” (p. 204). Slow Food is thus hard to pin down, and Siniscalchi argues that anyone trying to do so misses the point: Slow Food contains “two visions with different approaches to the social reproduc­tion of the movement” (p. 222) and the coexist­ence of these visions is the point. From the start, she is interested in exploring the “opacity of this object” (p. 1), and from her unique position of access, she is able to respect its unknowable quality while still bringing the inner dynamics to light. . . .

Cost Leadership Strategy and Performance of Registered Small And Medium Food And Beverage Manufacturing Firms in Nairobi County Kenya.

Small and medium manufacturing firms play an integral part in revenue generation in Kenya’s economy and as avenue for employment opportunities for unemployed Kenya youths. With globalization and current economic trends in the market, many of the manufacturing firms face fierce competition that hinders their growth potential. This presents a need for these firms to adopt Cost Leadership Strategy to help them cut a niche the industry. Therefore, this research aimed at determining the influence of Cost Leadership Strategy on performance of small and medium food and beverage manufacturing firms in Nairobi County. This study was grounded on Competitive Advantage theory. The research used descriptive design and targeted 18 registered small and medium food and beverage manufacturing firms in Nairobi County. Simple random sampling was used to select the sample in conjunction with purposive sampling technique to ensure only respondents with desired information were selected in the study. Structured questionnaire was used to collect primary data. Data collected was analyzed using statistical packages for social sciences (SPSS) version 28 and presented in tables, charts and graphs. Multiple linear regressions model was used to establish the relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable of the study. Findings showed that cost leadership, positively and significantly influence performance of small and medium size food and beverage manufacturing firms in Nairobi County with beta coefficient values ranging from 0.524 respectively. As a result, the researcher determined that Cost Leadership Strategy examined in the study had a substantial impact on the performance of SMEs in Nairobi County. Furthermore, the researcher recommended that SMEs' management should adopt Cost Leadership Strategy in order to meet their performance targets. The study also suggests that further research be conducted to examine policy implications on the adoption of Cost Leadership Strategy in Kenyan manufacturing SMEs, as the current study was mainly oriented towards the adoption of Cost Leadership Strategy and the subsequent influence on their performance.

Recalibrating Data on Farm Productivity: Why We Need Small Farms for Food Security

In 2009, the ETC Group estimated that some 70% of the food that people globally consume originates in the ‘peasant food web’. This figure has been both embraced and critiqued, and more recent critiques have focussed on analysing farm productivity to offer some more precise estimates. Several analyses suggest that the proportion of small farms’ contributions to total food production is closer to one-third, arguing that the role of small food producers in food security are grossly exaggerated. We challenge this argument by re-tabulating the available farm productivity data to demonstrate that smaller farms continue to provide a significant proportion of food and are consistently more productive than their larger counterparts. We further posit that even our own interpretation falls short of estimating the full extent of small farms’ contributions, including non-monetary ones, like ecosystem services and community life, many of which run counter to the productivist model that drives large-scale industrial agriculture. We conclude that policies that support small farms are a global necessity for food security, as well as for transitions to more sustainable and more equitable food systems.

The impact of market information use on entrepreneurial performance: insights from the UK food industry

PurposeThis paper explores the nuanced relationship between individual and firm performance through the lens of market information use, in the specific context of small businesses, shedding light on the specificity of information use and impact of information use on both types of performance.Design/methodology/approachA mixture of subjective and objective data from a sample of small food producers engaged in an action research project with a major UK supermarket was used to test hypotheses developed from the information management, marketing and small business literature.FindingsThe results suggest that the effective use of market information has a significant impact on the performance of both the individual and the organization but independently of each other. The result provides evidence of the potential “disconnection” between individual and organizational levels of performance and the tension that exists in small businesses between operational and strategic decision-making and the use of market information therein.Research limitations/implicationsWhile the author's study benefits from access to individual decision-makers and objective organizational performance data, the study is not without its limitations. Chief among these is the small sample size. Moreover, while there are clear benefits to working with a homogeneous sample of small food producers supplying the same key customer in the same market, generalizing to small food businesses operating in other distributions channels and small businesses in other sectors is also difficult.Practical implicationsWhen analyzing the performance of marketing managers, owner-managers should pay attention to the incentives for them to invest time and effort in the effective use of market information as the disconnection between individual and firm performance can have negative implications for their personal development and the overall firm performance.Originality/valueThis study explores a missing link in the extant body of small business literature, i.e., the role played by key individuals with responsibility for the marketing function within small businesses and the relationship between small businesses' approach to the use of market information and performance at a functional level and the overall firm performance.

Customer Targeting and Product Positioning: A Study of Small-Scale Enterprises in Nigeria

This study examined the connection between product positioning and customer targeting strategies amongst small scale food, beverage, and fabric manufacturing companies in Nigeria. The research design used in the study was descriptive survey. Data were collected via questionnaires from 211 marketing professionals and clients of the aforementioned manufacturing entrepreneurs. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation Analysis was used as an inferential tool for data analysis. The study's findings demonstrated the importance of product positioning strategy in determining sales results and enhancing competitive advantage. It was discovered to have excellent sales prediction capabilities. In addition, the sales of manufacturing SMEs in under review were significantly impacted by product positioning tactics. As a result, this study recommends using a product price positioning strategy to increase the marketability of their items.

Exploring regulatory obstacles to the development of short food supply chains: empirical evidence from selected european countries

This paper explores the challenges in meeting the regulatory requirements of short food supply chains in 9 European countries based upon findings from the European H2020 3-year project "SMARTCHAIN". The assessments of the barriers that small food producers face in meeting different regulatory requirements are presented. Drawing on the results of 10 multi-actor workshops that involved 124 participants, the most problematic policy frameworks for short food supply chains and key obstacles in different regulatory requirements are summarized. This research shows that current EU and national regulation is an obstacle to the development of short food supply chains, meaning that additional efforts are needed to tailor the regulations to small food producers involved in short supply chains. Furthermore, it is necessary to consider the introduction of more effective support measures for short food supply chains.

The White Meat Industry in Dubai through a One Health Lens

White meat is one of the most commonly consumed animal-source foods in the Emirate of Dubai and is one of 21 main foods listed in the National Food Security Strategy of UAE and the Emirate of Dubai. Although fresh white meat is produced locally, the quantities are very limited, so, to meet market needs, chilled and frozen white meat is imported. The aim of this chapter is to examine the existing white meat supply networks and market in Dubai and understand the flow of fresh chickens from the local market and the shipment dynamics for imported frozen chickens under the One Health concept. Data from documents, publications and surveys of the Dubai Government, representatives of the Food Safety Department and Veterinary Service Section (via focus group discussions) and direct interviews with local small farmers, food importers, food manufacturers and retailers and animal feed manufacturers and retailers were used to describe the value chain for white meat in the Emirate of Dubai. The data were collected through detailed questionnaires in the interview with the focus groups and interviews of groups of stakeholders selected by the Food Safety Department in Dubai Municipality. Data from government strategies and reports were collected and analysed to understand the government’s position and the size of the white meat sector. The data provided by representatives of local small farmers, food importers, food manufacturers and retailers and animal feed manufacturers and retailers were used to understand the value chain of white meat from the private sector perspective. After studying the value chain and the results of this research, areas were identified in the value chain of the white meat sector at the level of the Emirate of Dubai that can be improved, for example, the need for better marketing of local products. Some areas are already strong such as the inclusion of white meat products in the Dubai strategy for Food Security approved at the level of the Emirate of Dubai. The results of this chapter highlight critical opportunities for changes in policies and best practices that if implemented by the Dubai Government would ensure that the white meat industry is able to meet local market demands. Recommendations to the Dubai Government are presented in support of enhancing Dubai’s economic sustainability and efficient contributions to food and nutrition security.

Strategi Peningkatan Ketahanan Pangan pada Masa Pandemi COVID-19 melalui Penguatan Kearifan Lokal Di Kabupaten Badung Bali

When the COVID-19 pandemic came to Bali, many people lost their jobs and had difficulty getting food. This article discusses strategy to increase food security in Badung Regency, Bali, during the COVID-19 pandemic through strengthening local wisdom. The research method used is descriptive qualitative. The research results indicate the role of stakeholders in food security in Badung Regency before and after the COVID-19 pandemic to build synergy between large and small food producers, seek supporting regulations and work on capital assistance, as well as strategies to increase food security in Badung Regency through strengthening local wisdom by seeking expansion of agricultural land involving the customary villages (desa pakraman) and farmer organization (subak); socialization to the working society who caused COVID-19 to switch professions to the agricultural sector. This article contributes in providing input for formulating a strategy to increase food security in Badung Regency during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Culinary Industry Health Product in Surakarta, Indonesia: Health Policy Guaranteeing Halal and Healthy Products

AIM: This paper aims to analyze the behavior of small and medium industrial food producers in Surakarta City in ensuring the halal status of their products according to the legal policy after the enactment of Law number 33 of 2014 concerning Halal Product Guarantee. METHODS: This paper uses a juridical empiric methods and approaches. RESULTS: The results showed that 87.79% of respondents stated that halal (good and health food for Muslims) certification is important, but only 16.07% already had a halal certification. This shows that the level of compliance of Law number 33 of 2014 concerning Halal Product Guarantee is still low. Islamic guidelines on ethics as a basis can be one of the elements in legal policy of this law that can be a driving force for legal culture on food producers’ behavior in guaranteeing halal and health products. There is a close relationship between ethics and law as both revolve around human actions. Non-compliance does not only come from a lack of ethics. Respondents stated that they pay attention to the process in food production so that they are guaranteed halal and healthy, but due to technical problems and costs in obtaining halal certification, they do not register to obtain it. Halal product guarantee is legal certainty of the halalness of a product as evidenced by a halal certificate. There is no legal impact if a product is not labeled as halal because in Law number 3 of 2014, it does not require entrepreneurs to register halal guarantees for their products. However, if a product has a halal label, it will gain the trust of consumers as a choice of products to be purchased or not. CONCLUSION: Thus, halal certificates will have a positive social and economic impact.

Using PLS-SEM to Analyze the Effect of CSR on Corporate Performance: The Mediating Role of Human Resources Management and Customer Satisfaction. An Empirical Study in the Spanish Food and Beverage Manufacturing Sector

Although in recent decades corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been subjected to numerous studies in management and marketing literature about its impact on business results, the mechanism by which it affects performance has not been established. There is a lack of consensus when it comes to explaining how CSR actions are related to firm performance. Our research helps to understand this relationship through mediating effects such as CSR-oriented human resource management and customer satisfaction because employees and customers are critical stakeholders of companies and contribute directly to the determination of the corporate results. Through a study on a sample of small and medium-sized Spanish food and beverage manufacturing companies, and by using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), we found that CSR does indeed impact business performance when CSR actions are mainly oriented towards more efficient management of human resources and customer satisfaction. In this way, the results lead us to conclude that depending on the stakeholder to which these actions are oriented, a specific orientation of the company’s CSR policy can be more efficient in corporate performance.

A practice perspective on knowledge, learning and innovation – insights from an EU network of small food producers

ABSTRACT Drawing on insider research with a three-year EU network created to support innovation in geographically marginalized traditional food companies, this paper makes three contributions to discussions of innovation in small and micro-firms. First, we shift focus away from conceiving of knowledge as a discrete entity, and of knowledge sharing, transfer and exchange as the passing of objects. Applying a practice perspective that conceptualizes innovation as situated in the everyday activities of organizing, learning and working, we extend open innovation ideas and identify three distinct sets of knowledge-creating practices that small and micro-firm actors in this network context engage in as they interact: seek-and-take, peer exploration and critical reflection. Second, we integrate these practices into a model that suggests how different kinds of knowledge boundary (entitative, epistemic, pragmatic and existential) are differently traversed by these practices, with more complex boundaries benefitting from a practice approach. Third, we refine a practical approach for policy interventions designed to stimulate small and micro-firm innovation. The relevance of our contribution lies in the significance of small firms within peripheral economies, and the particular challenges they face in accessing new knowledge for innovation.

Development and piloting of a support package to enable small and medium sized food and drink manufacturers to obtain third party food safety certification

Multiple benefits exist for food and drink manufacturing businesses from obtaining third-party food safety certification. However, barriers to obtaining certification have been identified as ‘knowledge and skills’, ‘time, cost and resources’, and ‘communication and information’. Such barriers may prevent small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) food manufacturers meeting scheme requirements and obtaining certification. Research has identified the need for a support package incorporating online, off-site, on-site and financial support to assist and enable food manufacturing businesses to obtain food safety certification. This study created and piloted a support package for SME manufacturing businesses to obtain certification against the Safe and Local Supplier Approval (SALSA) scheme. The support package consisted of six mechanisms: (i) self-assessment tool, (ii) internal systems review, (iii) ‘audit-ready’ workshop, (iv) pre-audit factory inspection, (v) post-audit support and (vi) audit-fee contribution. Eligible manufacturers (n = 11) joined the study. Five manufacturers completed the support package; all of which underwent the official SALSA audit and obtained certification within 12 months. The study has successfully created and piloted a support package that resulted in food manufacturing businesses obtaining SALSA certification. Launch of the support package may assist the growth of SME food and drink manufacturing businesses and help to ensure business longevity.

Conscious food choices – differences between perceived benefits and willingness to pay for different product types

Purpose: Consumers increasingly make conscious choices when it comes to food and choose healthy products that protect the natural environment and preserve traditional habits and communities. This study investigates the differences between perceived benefits and willingness to pay for products making different marketing claims yet all suggesting producers’ dedication to protect the health of consumers as well as natural and traditional resources. Methodology: First, focus groups were conducted to identify food marketing claims (i.e., product types) that are relevant to consumers and empirically validate the relevance of the perceived benefits identified in previous research. Second, questionnaires were distributed to consumers to analyse the differences in perceived benefits and willingness to pay between the identified product types. Results: The focus groups revealed that apart from natural and traditional products, handmade, homemade, and autochthonous products represent important marketing claims. They also proved that most benefits identified in literature resonate well with consumers of the studied cultural context. Results of the questionnaire show that emotional benefits are not perceived differently for different product types, functional benefits are perceived higher for natural and handmade products than for traditional ones, while convenience is perceived as higher only for handmade products. Willingness to pay is not different for different product types nor benefits. Conclusion: Since some product types are perceived as providing more benefits than others, small food producers should focus on marketing their products as handmade and natural, rather than traditional. Furthermore, marketing efforts should be directed towards identifying the right consumer segments as those inclined to the protection of traditional resources perceive higher benefits regardless of the product type.

Nutritional quality of organic foods: A systematic review

Background: Despite rising consumer demand for organically grown foods, there is a scarcity of information based on a thorough assessment of their nutritional qualities. The goal of this study was to quantify the differences in reported nutritional content between organically and conventionally grown foods. Design: From 1 January 1958 to 29 February 2008, we carefully searched Pub Med, Web of Science, and CAB Abstracts, contacted topic experts, and hand-searched bibliographies. If they provided nutritional content comparisons between organic and conventional foodstuffs, we included peer-reviewed publications with English abstracts in the study. Study features, quality, and data were retrieved by two reviewers. The research was limited to the most frequently reported nutrients. In the last two decades, the organic foods sector in the United States has grown dramatically. Organic sales are projected to have grown by almost 20% each year since 1990, with consumer sales reaching $13.8 billion in 2005. While the early days of organic agriculture centered on small farms but also local distribution offresh produce, today's organic food system is a complex mix of small and large food producers, local and global distribution networks, and a wide range of products, which include fruits, vegetables, meats, dairy, and processedfoods.

The potential of bio certification to strengthen the market position of food producers

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to critically evaluate the applicability of bio certification in farmers' activity to reduce unfair trading practices in the food supply chain. The secondary purposes are describing the economic reasons of using bio certification and perspectives of using web trading platforms among food producers.Design/methodology/approachData collection included face-to-face interviews with 15 Austrian and German farmers who operate on bio food markets as well as a quantitative survey regarding their assessment of unfair trading practices. This study presents both quantitative and qualitative analyses.FindingsBio certification is more likely unable to eliminate or mitigate unfair trading practices in the food supply chain, however bio certification is able to increase efficiency of farmers together with other web tools.Originality/valueThe study is the first to empirically investigate the applicability of bio certifications, its advantages and impact on unfair trading practices in the food supply chain. It focuses on small and medium-sized food producers and farmers. The research also reveals the perspectives of using web trading platforms in farming activity.

Quality Management Practices of Food Manufacturers: A Comparative Study between Small, Medium and Large Companies in Malaysia

Quality management (QM) has been intensively studied from the perspective of quality management practices (QMP) and market performance in the food manufacturing industry. However, in Asian countries, studies as regards to the sizes of food manufacturing companies are being neglected. Hence, this quantitative study investigates several aspects and focuses on the extent and level of QMP implementation among small, medium, and large food manufacturing companies in Malaysia. A survey questionnaire has been used to collect the data. In general, the results show that the components and types of QMP have the highest impact on large companies and medium companies than the smallest companies. It was found that QMP significantly related to the operational performance and market performance of the food manufacturing companies in Malaysia. Moreover, the verified QMP was particularly important to improve the effectiveness of resource control of small-sized and medium-sized enterprises. The outcome of this study serves as a framework to bring an understanding of QMP and promote continuous QM improvement means to the food manufacturing industries in Malaysia and other countries of the region.