1,720,973 research outputs found
Linking Smallholder Rural Producers to High-Value Markets: The Role of Technical Assistance and Credit
Full text linkSmallholder rural producers face many challenges in supplying their products to high-value markets. While these markets usually off er higher prices compared to the traditional market, they also set stricter requirements in terms of quality, volume, delivery, and packaging. For farmers to meet these standards and to achieve a higher income, they need to improve production
practices and achieve a higher level of efficiency, not only in production but also in marketing. However, these changes require significant capital investments. This paper examines the role of technical assistance and credit in developing high-value chains that involve smallholder producers. Two cases are presented to illustrate the importance of both credit and technical assistance in linking smallholder producers to modern value chains. Technical assistance
and credit are important but need not be directed to the production node of the chain to be effective. Marketing intermediaries can also be financed to develop linkages and to facilitate market access. It is clear, however, that credit and technical assistance will be most effective when directed towards meeting the requirements of the market. It is therefore critical that any assistance in credit, production, or marketing is treated as an investment to meet market demand
Agricultural Contracts in Mindanao: the Case of Banana and Pineapple
No full textContract growing has been defined as an agreement between farmers and processing and/or marketing firms under forward agreements, usually at predetermined prices for the production and supply of agricultural products (Eaton and Shepherd 2001). As such, it offers a solution to a number of production and marketing problems that lead to low farm productivity and profitability. These problems plague the agricultural sector and contribute to the high poverty incidence in the rural sector particularly in many areas in Mindanao. On the other hand, Mindanao, being groomed as the country’s food basket, shows an example on how contract growing can address various marketing and production problems in the farm sector. This is demonstrated in industries that serve as the lifeblood of Mindanao’s economy for many years such as banana and pineapple. Production of these commodities including asparagus, corn, and poultry was pioneered mainly by multinationals and large agribusiness firms in the island-region. This study aims to understand the nature of contract farming in Mindanao, identify problem areas and opportunities, and analyze its implications to Mindanao’s agricultural sector particularly in terms of efficiency, equity, and sustainability. Agricultural contracts in banana and pineapple were analyzed using the principal-agent framework. The structure conduct performance (SCP) model was used to incorporate the analysis of external factors affecting the contract or the project such as demand and supply conditions as well as government policies. Primary data, which focus mainly on the contracts of bananas and pineapple, were gathered through structured interviews with key informants such as farmers or growers, contractors and relevant government agencies, and nongovernment organizations. In addition, information on external conditions affecting the performance of agricultural contracts such as government policies and socioeconomic factors were gathered.crop production, agricultural contracts, marketing, contractual arrangements, contract growing, banana, pineapple
An Analysis of the Structure of the Philippine Retail Food Industry
Full text linkThe enactment of Retail Trade Liberalization Act of 2000 (RA 8762), which liberalizes the Philippine retail trade business, was not based solely on the overall thrust of the government to pursue market-oriented policies. It also stemmed from the observation that the sector lacked competition. Large retailers, particularly supermarkets, continue to displace sari-sari stores and are alleged to exercise market power, such as that enjoyed by the food manufacturers. This paper examines the structure of the retail food industry and analyzes the demand and supply factors and government policies affecting the industry. It argues that while there is some evidence supporting allegations of market power in the retailing and manufacturing sectors, it appears insufficient. Thus there is a need to empirically test these allegations.food sector
Where Are We in the Innovation Pathway Towards Agri 4.0?
No full textProf. Larry N. Digal, PhD, is a professor of agricultural and applied economics, School of Management, and the former chancellor of the University of the Philippines Mindanao. He finished his PhD and MS in Agricultural Economics at the University of Sydney in Australia and Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana, USA, respectively. He finished his undergraduate degree in the same field at the University of the Philippines Los Baños cum laude and received the Gamma Sigma Delta Honor Society of Agriculture Gold Medal Award for Academic Excellence and the Joan Gonzales Gold Medal also for Academic Excellence. He excelled in his area of specialization particularly in the “economics of sustainable agricultural value chains.” In this area, he developed, led many research projects and programs, developed research networks in UP Mindanao with links to international partners, mentored junior researchers, developed and led interdisciplinary research groups, led conferences and published extensively. His research interests also include industrial organization of agricultural markets, market power, and policy
Agricultural Contracts in Mindanao: the Case of Banana and Pineapple
Full text linkContract growing has been defined as an agreement between farmers and processing and/or marketing firms under forward agreements, usually at predetermined prices for the production and supply of agricultural products (Eaton and Shepherd 2001). As such, it offers a solution to a number of production and marketing problems that lead to low farm productivity and profitability. These problems plague the agricultural sector and contribute to the high poverty incidence in the rural sector particularly in many areas in Mindanao. On the other hand, Mindanao, being groomed as the countrys food basket, shows an example on how contract growing can address various marketing and production problems in the farm sector. This is demonstrated in industries that serve as the lifeblood of Mindanaos economy for many years such as banana and pineapple. Production of these commodities including asparagus, corn, and poultry was pioneered mainly by multinationals and large agribusiness firms in the island-region. This study aims to understand the nature of contract farming in Mindanao, identify problem areas and opportunities, and analyze its implications to Mindanaos agricultural sector particularly in terms of efficiency, equity, and sustainability. Agricultural contracts in banana and pineapple were analyzed using the principal-agent framework. The structure conduct performance (SCP) model was used to incorporate the analysis of external factors affecting the contract or the project such as demand and supply conditions as well as government policies. Primary data, which focus mainly on the contracts of bananas and pineapple, were gathered through structured interviews with key informants such as farmers or growers, contractors and relevant government agencies, and nongovernment organizations. In addition, information on external conditions affecting the performance of agricultural contracts such as government policies and socioeconomic factors were gathered
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
QUALITY GRADING IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN: THE CASE OF VEGETABLES IN SOUTHERN PHILIPPINES1
Full text linkThis paper examines the role of quality grades or standards in the supply
chain. A model is employed which shows that quality grading provides
information that lower search cost of buyers. Thus, when such standards
are inadequate, information is distorted which results to asymmetric price
transmission. The model is applied in the vegetable industry in Southern
Philippines using primary and secondary data. A price asymmetry
marketing margin model is estimated using secondary data for cabbage and
onion. Results show that price transmission is symmetric for cabbage and
asymmetric for onion. Asymmetry in price transmission implies that
marketing information are not effectively transmitted in the food chain and
that establishing quality grades or standards is necessary to improve
efficiency in the supply chain
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
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