A multi-stakeholder perspective on the adoption of good agricultural practices in the Thai fresh produce industry

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (9) ◽  
pp. 2234-2249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rungsaran Wongprawmas ◽  
Maurizio Canavari ◽  
Chutima Waisarayutt

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors hindering the adoption of good agricultural practices (GAPs) in the Thai fresh fruit and vegetable industry from the perspectives of key stakeholders in different tiers of the supply chain up to consumers. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews were carried out in Bangkok and nearby cities. The key informants were experts, governmental authorities, producers, distributors, exporters, and consumers. A qualitative content-summarising approach was used to analyse the interview transcripts. Findings – Stakeholders perceived the credibility of national GAP (Q-GAP) standards implemented in the Thai domestic market as low, due to a lack of reliable verification and traceability and because the system is managed by governmental bodies. Consumer demand could drive the market of safe produce, but retail stores are the main influencers of producers’ adoption of GAPs in domestic markets. Research limitations/implications – The findings are based on a small group of Thai fresh produce industry players and consumers who operate mainly in an urban context. Practical implications – The paper provides relevant information for policy makers and industrialists to find appropriate strategies to sustain GAPs in Thailand. Stakeholder awareness of food safety issues and information provision are crucial. Originality/value – This is the first in-depth study of stakeholders’ perceptions of GAP implementation in the Thai fresh produce supply chain as the industry is currently transitioning from a commodity market to a quality/safety-oriented market. The results raise important issues regarding GAP adoption, food safety certification, and labelling in Thailand.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Janpriy Sharma ◽  
Mohit Tyagi ◽  
Arvind Bhardwaj

PurposeOutbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has created the catastrophic situation, it has crippled all the economic activities and seized off the operations of food supply chain (FSC). Disrupted FSC escalated the societal concerns related to food safety and security. The purpose of this study is to consolidate various issues, exploring the perspectives associated with the agricultural practices, food industries and society concerns related with the FSC performance system dynamics amid of COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachTo structure this work, a detailed research literature insight focussing on the key findings associated with the past disease outbreaks like influenza, avian flu, Ebola, bird flu, SARS, foot and mouth disease and ongoing phase of COVID-19, encompassing the perspective related with various agricultural and concerned supply chain practices is clustered. Furthermore, issues having relevancy with the notion of this work, sourced from platforms of print and electronic media have been incorporated to ground the reality associated with the impacts, for better visualisation of the perspectives.FindingsThis study outlays the key findings which are relevant with the past pandemic outbreaks from the core of the research literature. It details the impact of the current COVID-19 scenario on the various FSC operations, focussing on dimensions allied with the industry, economic and society concerns. For the same, to mitigate the effects, relief measures focussing on the short- and long-term perspectives have been incorporated. Steps ramped up by the Government of India (GOI) to safeguard masses from the threat of food security, accelerate pace of the FSC operations and upscale operating capacities of the industries and agriculture practices have incorporated.Research limitations/implicationsPresented work is persuaded amid of the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions hence it outlays the theoretical perspectives only. But, these perspectives portray the ongoing scenario's impacts, extending its implication to the people coming from the industry and academia background. This study can felicitate the government bodies to make them familiar with the various impacts which indented the FSCs, food industries and added woes to the society concerns.Originality/valueIndia is the second largest populated nation of the world, and outspread of the COVID-19 has capsized the FSCs and raised the various instances, making population vulnerable to the threats of food insecurity. This study encompasses effect of the FSC disruption by incorporating its effect on the food industries practices, societal issues and extending possible relief measures to restructure the FSC dynamics. As of now, study focussing on the Indian FSC concerns, detailing of impacts due to pandemic outbreak, relief measures to sail out of the hard times are not available.


HortScience ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 498D-498
Author(s):  
D. C. Sanders ◽  
L. M. Reyes ◽  
D. J. Osborne ◽  
D. R. Ward ◽  
D. E. Blackwelder

The Southeastern Fresh Produce Food Safety Training Program has been training extension agents across the southeastern U.S. since 2000. This program has utilized a variety of methods including group case study to enhance learning and promote team work. Multistate trainings have fostered collaboration between states and institutions. One goal of the program was to produce a method for agents to provide training that was repeatable and easy to implement. As a result, two videos were produced for use in training field and packinghouse workers. These videos were an English language good agricultural practices (GAPs) video entitled Bridging the GAPs: From the Farm to the Table and a Spanish language hand-washing video entitled ¡Lave sus Manos: Por Los Niños! This program has been very effective, but has faced challenges due to language barriers. Many field and packinghouse crews were mixed in terms of language with some crew members speaking only English while others spoke only Spanish. As a result, Spanish speakers were unable to access the information in the good agricultural practices video while English speakers were unable to access information in the hand-washing video. The solution was to produce a bilingual training aid that included both sets of information and has been compiled into a DVD containing the footage of both of the original videos in both languages. For the Spanish version of the GAPs video and the English of the hand-washing video, the audio of the video's original language was left at a low sound level and the audio of the alternate language was added. These DVDs are currently being distributed to extension programs in all of the cooperating states with the aim of reaching growers who want to start a food safety plan.


EDIS ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesscia A. Lepper ◽  
Aswathy Sreedharan ◽  
Renée Goodrich Schneider ◽  
Keith R. Schneider

Good agricultural practices (GAPs) and good handling practices (GHPs) encompass the general procedures that growers, packers and processors of fresh fruits and vegetables should follow to ensure the safety of their product. GAPs usually deal with preharvest practices (i.e., in the field), while GHPs cover postharvest practices, including packing, storage and shipping. This factsheet covers GAPs relating to packing operation sanitation. There are seven other Florida Cooperative Extension factsheets in the ‘Food Safety on the Farm’ series that focus on specific aspects of the GAPs program and how they relate to Florida crops and practices. Under the new Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), GAPs are a foundation of the Produce Safety Rule (PSR). Other than for round tomatoes in Florida (T-GAPs regulation), GAPs have mainly been a voluntary program. Additionally the PSR mandates all non-exempt operations to follow these new FSMA federal guidelines (6), but all exempt commodities and for those producers exporting to foreign countries, GAPs may still be required. Both the mandatory PSR and GAPs aim to reduce the foodborne illness burden associated with produce.


2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Micael Thunberg ◽  
Martin Rudberg ◽  
Tina Karrbom Gustavsson

Purpose This study aims to identify and categorise common on-site problems from a supply chain management (SCM) perspective and to trace the origin of these problems in the construction project process, the supply chain or in the intersection between these processes. This allows for identification of how on-site problems affect SCM in construction projects and how they can be mitigated. Design/methodology/approach A literature review in combination with semi-structured interviews was used to identify on-site problems. This enabled triangulation and strengthened both construct validity and internal validity. Findings On-site problems can be categorised in one of the four following categories: material flows, internal communication, external communication or complexity. The first category has its origin in the supply chain, the second in the construction project process, the third in the supply chain-construction process intersection on site and the fourth in the construction project as a whole. The findings conclude that on-site problems often originate from construction companies’ lack of supply chain orientation. Research limitations/implications It is suggested that supply chain planning (SCP) can facilitate on-site problem mitigation in construction project management. This extends the body of knowledge of SCP in construction project management and supports the development of effective on-site construction project management. Practical implications The results show that SCP can aid construction project management in handling on-site problems earlier in the project process. Originality/value The main value lies in extending the body of knowledge in construction project management research by applying an SCM perspective and by introducing SCP to support more effective construction project management.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 253-266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tillmann Böhme ◽  
Alberto Escribano ◽  
Emma Elizabeth Heffernan ◽  
Scott Beazley

Purpose The construction industry is a significant driver of economic activity in many countries. However, there has been a lack of growth in productivity within the Australian construction sector over recent years. The purpose of this paper is to gain an in-depth understanding of the causes for declining productivity within the Australian mid-rise residential construction network. Design/methodology/approach Two in-depth case studies have been conducted with a builder and developer, both significant entities of the Australian mid-rise residential construction network. Case study data collection comprised a five-stage process including semi-structured interviews and archival information review. Findings Drivers for declining construction productivity were identified under the categories of: industry-, firm- and project-level productivity. The drivers include: incomplete documentation, design changes, inefficient project management, supply chain fragmentation, among others. Originality/value The contribution of this study is the identification and categorisation of major issues impacting sector productivity along the mid-rise residential construction supply chain. The research identified that the substructure and superstructure are the construction phases during which most productivity losses occur. Mitigations are discussed in terms of systemic sector productivity increases at an industry, firm and project levels.


2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (8) ◽  
pp. 2589-2610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rakesh Raut ◽  
Bhaskar B. Gardas

PurposeThe reduction of food wastage at every stage of a fresh produce supply chain helps in achieving balance among all three dimensions (social, ecological and economic) of the sustainability and helps in stimulating the growth and development in the agricultural domain. The purpose of this paper is to address the causal factors of post-harvesting losses (PHLs) occurring in the transportation phase.Design/methodology/approachThrough exhaustive literature survey and expert opinions, 12 crucial barriers to sustainable transportation of fruits and vegetables (F&V) are identified. The interpretive structural modeling (ISM) methodology, a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach, is employed for developing a structural model of the identified barriers.FindingsThe results of the analysis highlighted that two factors, namely, the non-availability of refrigerated vehicles, and excessive loading on the vehicles, are the most significant barriers to sustainable transportation which are found to have the highest driving power.Research limitations/implicationsThe results of the present research are applicable to the F&V supply chains only. The established interrelation among the identified factors depends on the judgments given by the experts which could be biased. The developed ISM model is intended to guide the policy and decision makers for formulating the policies for the performance improvement of the fresh produce value chain.Originality/valueIt is the first research of its kind focusing on the model development of critical factors causing PHLs in the transportation phase of the agricultural fresh produce supply chain using MCDM process.


EDIS ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher R. Pabst ◽  
Jaysankar De ◽  
Alina Balaguero ◽  
Jessica Lepper ◽  
Renee M. Goodrich Schneider ◽  
...  

Good agricultural practices (GAPs) and good handling practices (GHPs) encompass the general procedures growers, packers, and processors of fresh fruits and vegetables should follow to ensure the safety of their product. GAPs usually address preharvest practices (i.e., in the field), while GHPs cover postharvest practices, including packing and shipping. This 3-page fact sheet covers the GAPs of transporting crops. This major revision is a part of the Food Safety on the Farm series and was written by Christopher R. Pabst, Jaysankar De, Alina Balaguero, Jessica Lepper, Renée Goodrich-Schneider, and Keith R. Schneider and published by the UF/IFAS Food Science and Human Nutrition Department. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs151


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohd Helmi Ali ◽  
Mohammad Iranmanesh ◽  
Kim Hua Tan ◽  
Suhaiza Zailani ◽  
Nor Asiah Omar

Purpose The current complex halal food supply chain (SC) has caused food scandals, which have illustrated the weakness of multiple food quality standards and certification and audits in ensuring food safety. Drawn on the resource-based view (RBV) theory, the purpose of this study is to explore the impacts of SC integration (SCI) on halal food SC integrity and, consequently, food quality. Design/methodology/approach Empirical data were collected from 275 halal-certified food companies in Malaysia and analysed using structural equation modelling – SmartPLS3.0. Findings The results confirmed that SCI, including internal, supplier and customer integrations, has significant effects on the dimensions of the halal food SC integrity which, in turn, lead to halal food safety and quality. Practical implications The importance of SCI in halal food SC is highlighted in this study. The impact of SCI is contexted in halal food SC integrity and food quality. Therefore, it provides a clear understanding to managers of SC applicability in the halal food industry. Originality/value Based on the RBV theory, this study contributes to the limited body of research of the relationships among SCI from the context of the halal industry with a specific focus on food supply chain integrity and food quality.


2018 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 314-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hendryk Dittfeld ◽  
Kirstin Scholten ◽  
Dirk Pieter Van Donk

Purpose While systems theory explicitly considers interactions as part of a system’s complexity, supply chain complexity (SCC) is mostly conceptualized and measured as a linear summation of several aspects. The purpose of this paper is to challenge the general understanding by explicitly investigating interactions between and across different types (detail and dynamic) and levels (plant, supply chain, environment) of SCC. Design/methodology/approach An exploratory multiple case study methodology is adopted drawing on in-depth semi-structured interviews with respondents from eight manufacturing plants in the food processing industry. Findings On the one hand, it is found that different types add and increase overall SCC. On the other hand, the study also shows the opposite: interactions between detail and dynamic complexity can reduce the overall SCC experienced. Additionally, the findings highlight the specific food processing characteristics such as the variability of quality and quantity of raw materials that underlie interactions between types and levels of SCC. Originality/value This study adds to theory by empirically showing that interactions across and between types and levels do not automatically increase, but might also reduce SCC. As such, the findings contribute new detail to the concept of SCC: aspects of complexity do not necessarily add up linearly. Additionally, this study is one of the first to demonstrate how specific contextual aspects from the food processing industry relate to SCC.


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