Well-being Of Producers Research Articles

Why do you want an organic coffee? Self-care vs. world-care: A new SOR model approach to explain organic product purchase intentions of Spanish consumers

The growing concern for environmental preservation, sustainability and the well-being of producers and consumers has created demand for alternative organic products. In the context of organic product consumption, individuals may be motivated by self-care or world-care factors. This study proposes a new, adapted version of the SOR model − stimulus (S), organism (O), response (R) − to explore the acceptance of an organic coffee produced in Peru. The model used data from 570 Spanish consumers, and the analysis was carried out using partial least squares (PLS), based on variance. The findings revealed that world-care (S) significantly influences both hedonic and utilitarian attitudes (O), while self-care (S) was not found to have a significant impact on these attitudes. In addition, both hedonic and utilitarian attitudes were found to influence consumers' purchase intentions for organic coffee (R), with hedonic attitudes playing a particularly crucial role. These results carry substantial theoretical and practical implications for the fostering of a more sustainable and environmentally conscious coffee market.

Supply and demand indices and their welfare implications

Abstract Despite wide availability of publicly reported price and quantity movements of agricultural commodities, these data alone do not easily allow one to determine whether and to what extent changing market conditions are due to shifts in underlying supply and demand curves. Such information, however, is needed to determine contemporaneous changes in consumer and producer well-being. To address these issues, this paper derives supply and demand indices, links the indices to structural parameters in equilibrium displacement models, and shows how the measures can be used to calculate welfare changes over time. Empirical applications are presented for the US cattle, hog, and chicken sectors and for county-level corn supply. We show that supply and demand improvements have led to significant gains in beef producer and consumer welfare over time. Hog, and especially chicken, supply indices have increased markedly over the past four decades, reflecting significant productivity gains, whereas growth in cattle supply index has stagnated in recent years. We test the validity of the supply and demand indices for livestock, and find they correlate in hypothesized directions with factors such as corn prices, drought, aggregate agricultural total factor productivity, gross national product, and exchange rates. Trends in disaggregate corn supply indices reveal marked heterogeneity across US counties with the largest gains since 1980 being observed in the Dakotas, Kansas, Missouri, and the Mississippi Delta. Many areas of Ohio and Indiana have experienced negative corn supply shocks in 2016–8 relative to 2000. The approaches illustrated in this paper potentially have wide application in the study of many agricultural markets. For example, the supply index is an easy to calculate commodity- and geography-specific alternative to commonly used aggregate total factor productivity measures. The demand, supply, and welfare indices can provide timely information about the economic fundamentals in a market that can be coupled with other data to analyze structural adjustment patterns and rapidly determine changes in the well-being of producers and consumers.

Short food supply chains – a growing movement. The case study of the Viseu Dão Lafões Region

AbstractIn spite of the increasing attention being paid to short food supply chains (SFSCs), research in the area is still scarce, particularly in Portugal. Thus, based on a case study in Viseu Dão Lafões Region (VDLR), we intend to identify and discuss (emphasizing potentialities and constraints) the movement of SFSCs in the region. This case study is based on document analysis and interviews with agrifood baskets’ promotors. On the one hand, the results show the wide variety of SFSCs that exist in the region and the emergence of new forms of SFSCs like the agrifood baskets. On the other hand, the empirical research also emphasizes the environmental, economic, and sociocultural benefits of SFSCs that will have a positive impact on the well-being of producers, consumers, and/or on the whole region. However, the interviews have also exposed a (certain) limitation in terms of communication and marketing that may constraint these initiatives. From a practical point of view, it became clear that producers must do their best to develop their communication and marketing strategies; from a political point of view, local authorities should provide the necessary assistance to help implement training programmes and develop suitable communication and marketing skills.

The effectiveness of agricultural certification in developing countries: A systematic review

Certification systems (CS) set and monitor voluntary standards to make agricultural production sustainable in socio-economic terms and agricultural trade fairer for producers and workers. They try to achieve a wide range of socio-economic and environmental effects through bundles of interventions that include the process of standard setting and compliance, advocacy among consumers, capacity building for producers, building supply chains, price interventions, and the application of acceptable labour standards, overall to improve the wellbeing of farmers and agricultural workers. This paper presents the results of a mixed-method systematic review that synthesized the literature on socio-economic effects of certification systems on agricultural producers and wage workers in low and middle income countries. The review followed the Campbell Collaboration guidelines for systematic reviews, and included studies published between 1990 and 2016 in different languages, with evidence on low and middle income countries. The review included a quantitative effectiveness question focused on a range of intermediate (e.g. prices, wages) and endpoint outcomes (e.g. household income). It also included a question on barriers, facilitators and contextual factors shaping effectiveness which drew on qualitative or mixed-method studies. Eligible certification systems were based on second- (industry-level) or third-party certifications, and excluded own-company standards. For the effectiveness review, quantitative impact evaluations must use experimental or non-experimental methods demonstrating control for selection bias. With these inclusion criteria, the review includes 43 studies used for analysing quantitative effects, and 136 qualitative studies for synthesizing barriers, enablers and other contextual factors. Most included studies report on initiatives in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa and focus primarily on agricultural producers. The quality of the included studies is mixed, and several studies are weak on a number of methodological fronts, especially on statistical reporting. Overall, there is limited and mixed evidence on the effects of CS on a range of intermediate and final socio-economic outcomes for agricultural producers and wage workers. There are positive effects on prices and income from the sale of produce is higher for certified farmers. However, workers' wages do not seem to benefit from the presence of CS and, further along the causal chain, we find no evidence that total household income improves with certification. The integrated synthesis of quantitative and qualitative studies shows that context matters substantially in all causal chains and multiple factors shape the effectiveness and causal mechanisms that link interventions associated with certification and the wellbeing of producers, workers and their families.

Postharvest science and technology: enabling nutritional security and economic well-being

Fruit and vegetables are extremely important for their potential contribution to human 'nutritional security' and economic well-being. Nutritional security recognises that food security is not just about providing sufficient calories to keep people alive, but ensuring the food they consume is adequate for a healthy life. Yet much of this contribution is prevented by the extreme perishability of some of these products and poor infrastructure in many countries. In New Zealand, without exception, only products that can be safely stored for at least 4-6 weeks and still retain sufficient shelf-life to last a further five days at ambient conditions are exported by sea to higher-value markets in Asia, Europe or the Americas. Exports from industries based around these products have grown to over $50M per annum (kiwifruit, apples, onions, squash, avocadoes), whereas industries with more perishable products have to rely on airfreight and find their industry struggling to grow over $40M per annum. Rigorous attention to harvest maturity, product grading and tailored packaging and storage systems characterise high-value trade. Lessons learned from experiences with New Zealand industries are now being applied to support health and economic wellbeing of producers and consumers in newly-industrialising or developing countries, such as Indonesia or Vanuatu, to improve nutritional security and enable exports that can transform rural livelihoods.

The Impacts of Farmer Cooperatives on the Well-Being of Cocoa Producing Villages in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana

World cocoa prices fell by 48% from 2002 to 2005, with direct impacts on the incomes, health, and nutrition of cocoa producers. This study investigates whether cocoa cooperatives can improve the productivity, incomes, and well-being of producers. Information was gathered from focus groups, survey questionnaires, and anthropometric measurements in the two major producing countries, Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, and subjected to both quantitative and qualitative analysis to test seven hypotheses about the possible benefits of cooperatives. Results showed that cooperatives did have a positive impact on the income, health, and well-being of producers, and these benefits also spread to the surrounding community.

IMPLIKASIES VAN TARIFERING VIR DIE VRYSTAATSE LANDBOU / IMPLICATIONS OF TARIFFICATION FOR FREE STATE AGRICULTURE

Tariffication means more than the simple replacement of quantitative import controls by tariffs; changes in the marketing systems of commodities. Implications of tariffication for Free State maize, wheat, beef and dairy producers were investigated. Indications are that in future, producer prices will be largely influenced by international trade conditions. World prices, exchange rates and import tariffs will, together with local market conditions, determine local prices. The Free State is centrally located with respect to its main markets while high inland transportation costs form a natural import barrier against imported products. The level of tariffs is important for the well-being of producers, and so also the process of tariffication.