Food System Dynamics (E-Journals)
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Towards a Smarter Greenport: Public‐Private Partnership to Boost Digital Standardisation and Innovation in the Dutch Horticulture
Get PDFThe horticulture and propagation materials sector has been designated as one of the so‐called top sectors in which the Netherlands excels globally and that are a government priority. The top sector approach for further innovation is based on public‐private partnerships (PPPs) in which businesses, knowledge institutes and the (national) government are working closely together towards a common vision and action plans (the 'golden triangle'). This paper introduces the Digital Greenport Holland (Dutch: Tuinbouw Digitaal) and its research and innovationprogramme ‘a Smarter Greenport’. Digital Greenport Holland is the PPP of the horticultural top sector that focuses on digital information management. The business involvement consists of the collaboration between three activeindustry associations for chain information, i.e. Frug I Com (fruit and vegetables), Floricode (flowers and plants) and EDIbulb (flower bulbs). The activities focus on four main themes: E‐standards, E‐information‐integration, Ebusiness‐to‐government and E‐competence. The programme ‘a Smarter Greenport’ has currently conducted eight projects on these themes
Argentine Beef Demand and Household Choices of Retail Channels
Get PDFHousehold choices of outlet retail channels in beef purchases depend on several characteristics related to the quality of the product, convenience and ease of purchase, and economic factors such as price, income and payment methods. The aim of this paper is to study the influence of demographic and socio-economic attributes in the choice made by argentine consumers using a Multinominal Logit Model. The results show that the total number of purchases, the type of household, payment methods, and gender and schooling years of household head are the most relevant variables in the sample
Agri‐environmental Policies to Meet Consumer Preferences in Japan: An Economic‐Biophysical Model Approach
Get PDFPromoting environmentally friendly farming products is crucial to meeting consumer demand. Although governments implement policy measures to improve the environmental performance of the agriculture sector, theirimpacts are difficult to assess. This study analyses the performance of agri‐environmental policies in Japan, by using the OECD’s policy impact model and reference level framework. In particular, it identifies the environmental impacts of three simulated agri‐environmental policies based on farms’ characteristics. The results suggest that a policy mix of regulation and an incentive payment would reduce environmental impacts, suggesting that targeted approaches could improve the cost‐effectiveness of agri‐environmental policies
Assessing the Supply Chain Governance Scenario in the Agri-food Sector: Development of a Measurement Tool
Get PDFDefining a supply chain governance structure able to adapt to the supply chain technical and organizational characteristics positively influences the relationships between the agents and its overall competitiveness. The present study proposes a tool for the evaluation of the impact on the supply chain governance structure resulting from the adoption of sustainability improvement options in the area of organization and management in the agri-food sector. Two different approaches, proposed by (Gereffi et al., 2005) and (Hobbs and Young, 2000) are merged to provide a theoretical framework supporting the tool implementation. Gereffi et al., suggest that supply chains fall into one of five different governance structures, depending on the relative levels of three dimension: complexity of transaction, ability to codify and capabilities in the supply-base. Hobbs and Young link the product characteristics, regulatory and technology aspects to a change in supply chain vertical coordination. The parameters linking the sustainability improvement options to the change in the supply chain governance structure should result by interviewing a panel of experts, considering the difficulty to generalize the influence of the improvement options in different food chains contexts. This difficulty seems to be, to date, the main methodological limitation to the tool application. However, its represent a first step towards the assessment of the existing governance structure and its management
An Analysis of Food Safety Private Investments Drivers in the Italian Meat Sector
Get PDFThe general focus of this study is to investigate the decision to invest in food safety as a field of connection between public and private strategies. The objective if the study is to investigate how the legislation pressure influence the decision to invest in food safety systems. The basic idea is to conceptualize the allocation of the decision right to invest among the transaction party, counterparty and regulator as a source of drivers of investments. While the allocation of the decision rights is recognized as the key factor in coping with uncertainty (Gibbons, 2005), it is also here held as term of the micro-foundations of the organizational arrangements (Grandori, Furnari, 2008).Food companies and agricultural farms pay a great and necessary attention to technologies and economic relationships and arrangements aimed at enhancing and ensuring the due degree of products safety. In all the chain stages, adequate technologies are needed in order to carry out the productive process according to the best prerequisites identified by health and food sciences. Policy interventions intended to prevent food safety crisis have shaped the institutional environment of food systems channelling the companies strategies and have induced, with the technological requirements, the raise of complex organizational forms (Hobbs, 2002; Mènard and Valceschini, 2005). The food chain actors elaborate complex strategies in which technological and organizational choices and institutional commitments assure the food safety level demanded by public and private safety regulations and strategies
Stated Preferences for Consumption of Sea Urchin: A Choice Experiment in Sardinia (Italy)
Get PDFIn Sardinia sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus) roe is a basic ingredient for several dishes (e.g. pasta, pizza, croutons) and its demand is constantly increasing. However marketable value of local sea urchin appears to be potentially higher than the current value. This paper aims to estimate the value of a based sea urchin dish according to the stated preference of consumers. A Choice Experiment (CE) analysis on 475 consumers was carried out in order to estimate their willingness to pay (WTP) for consuming sea urchin. Seafood was proposed as alternative to sea urchin. CE regarded two attributes: certification of local origin and place where dishes are consumed. Findings suggest that WTP for a generic dish is significantly higher for sea urchin (11.65 Euros) than for seafood (7.94 Euros) based dish. Furthermore, we found that WTP is higher when both foods are consumed with spaghetti and as raw fresh product, whereas an opposite effect is associated to pizza. Finally, the influence of some socio-economic characteristics of responders on their preferences was estimated
Farmers’ Valuation of Incentives to Produce GMO-free Milk: A Discrete Choice Experiment
Get PDFThis paper investigates farmers’ willingness to adopt a Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO)-free milk production scheme introduced by the dairy. Incentives like a price premium, advice, quality control and feed procurement are set to encourage the conversion. The analysis is based upon Discrete Choice Experiments with 151 dairy farmers in Germany. Alternative-specific conditional logit estimation reveals the marginal effects of incentives and the amount of compensation. The results indicate that attributes like the price premium, takeover of feed procurement and an external audit affect the likelihood of adoption. Farmer, farm characteristics and attitudes concerning GMO as well as expectations on feed prices were found to be significant determinants of adoption. Moreover the findings demonstrate variation in the values of attributes across regions
The European Food Prices Monitoring Tool as a Prerequisite for more Price Transparency in the Food Chain
Get PDFDuring the last decades, the variable agricultural commodity prices and the increasing producer and consumer prices illustrated the need for more transparency about the pricing of food products in the European food system. Therefore, the European Commission launched in 2009 a public tool, the European Food Prices Monitoring Tool (EFPMT), to compare prices to increase transparency for price transmission in the food chain and to facilitate comparisons across the European member states. The main purpose of this paper is to examine how the EFPMT can contribute to a fair competition and increase the price transparency and competitiveness in the European food system
Benefits through Utilising EPC Network Components in Service‐Oriented Environments – an Analysis Using the Example of the Food Industry
Get PDFImprovements in the food sector imply enhancements of delivering food which is safe, affordable, readily available, and of the quality and diversity consumers expect. However, prevalent information systems (IS) of companies in the food industry are not ready to support further significant improvements. They especially lack the capability to exchange relevant information in an efficient manner. Since recently, two major developments can be observed from IS perspective: the spreading of service-oriented architectures (SOA) as well as an increase in mass serialization (due to public and private traceability requirements, e.g.). So far, though most important due to food safety, a growing need to become more efficient as well as an increasing information demand of consumers, the food sector has attracted little attention in literature concerning an analysis about the potential of both service-orientation and the Electronic Product Code (EPC) Network. This is why this paper will investigate to which extent these two developments can contribute to facilitate food companies’ IS helping them to maintain their competiveness. As a starting point, the research paper will depict the state of the art including SOA and the EPC Network. After describing the research approach, it will proceed with a characterisation of the food sector including an examination why there is need for action. Based on current research findings as well as experience gathered in recent projects, the paper will investigate the application of the EPC Network with its three major components, i. e. EPCIS (EPC Information Services), ONS (Object Name Service) and the EPC Discovery Services, as part of future IS architectures in this sector. The paper will close with a discussion whether the envisioned IS architecture is appropriate to accomplish the previously identified challenges and requirements in the food sector in a more agile, efficient and effective way. What is more, it will highlight the most pressing challenges and provide an outlook as to the following steps of the research
Stated Preferences for Consumption of Sea Urchin: A Choice Experiment in Sardinia (Italy)
Get PDFIn Sardinia sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus) roe is a basic ingredient for several dishes (e.g. pasta, pizza, croutons) and its demand is constantly increasing. However marketable value of local sea urchin appears to be potentially higher than the current value. This paper aims to estimate the value of a based sea urchin dish according to the stated preference of consumers. A Choice Experiment (CE) analysis on 475 consumers was carried out in order to estimate their willingness to pay (WTP) for consuming sea urchin. Seafood was proposed as alternative to sea urchin. CE concerned two attributes:certification of local origin and place where dishes are consumed. Findings suggest that WTP for a generic dish is significantly higher for sea urchin (11.65 Euros) than for seafood (7.94 Euros) based dish. Furthermore, we found that WTP is higher when both foods are consumed with spaghetti and as raw fresh product, whereas an opposite effect is associated to pizza. Finally, the influence of some socio‐economic characteristics of responders on their preferences was estimated