Who and what set the price of walnuts for small-scale farmers in Southwest China?

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-152 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mei Yan ◽  
Anne Terheggen ◽  
Dagmar Mithöfer
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Tree Planting ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Village Level ◽  
Small Scale Farmers ◽  
The Village

Purpose Domestic demand for walnuts has been on the rise for the last decades. Consumption outstrips domestic production capacities, which led to increasing prices until recently. Small-scale farmers are at the centre of walnut tree planting and walnut collection efforts. Farmers are now integrated into rapidly expanding agrifood value chains. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the walnut value chain originating in Yunnan (the dominant producer of walnuts in China). The authors are especially interested in the position of small-scale farmers in the chain and the factors affecting the price that they receive. Design/methodology/approach Price and intra-chain governance information were collected through structured interviews with value chain actors like certified and conventional small-scale farmers, traders, processors, food manufacturers and wholesalers. The resultant price data set was analysed using a multiple regression analysis. Findings Timing of harvest, distance to market and sales volume are correlated with the village-level price. Farmers are in a market governance segment of the chain. Lead firms (e.g. supermarkets) are price-setters and determine the value distribution, with farmers receiving a smaller share relative to downstream actors’ shares. Research limitations/implications Improved connectivity to markets, transparency of standards and price (formation), processing and certification could improve farmers’ profits. Originality/value The authors contribute to the growing literature of value chain studies focussing on farmers’ integration into food systems at different scales. The authors investigated the price determinants at the village level and additionally provide information on an organic marketing arrangement.

Welfare implications of intertemporal marketing margin manipulation

2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (8) ◽  
pp. 1656-1671 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Kopp ◽  
Bernhard Brümmer ◽  
Zulkifli Alamsyah ◽  
Raja Sharah Fatricia
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Crumb Rubber ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Parametric Estimation ◽  
Price Transmission ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Subsequent Step ◽  
Welfare Implications

Purpose In Indonesia, rubber is the most valuable export crop produced by small scale agriculture and plays a key role for inclusive economic development. This potential is likely to be not fully exploited. The observed concentration in the crumb rubber processing industry raises concerns about the distribution of export earnings along the value chain. Asymmetric price transmission (APT) is observed. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach This study investigates the price transmission between international prices and the factories’ purchasing prices on a daily basis. An auto-regressive asymmetric error correction model is estimated to find evidence for APT. In a subsequent step the rents that are redistributed from factories to farmers are calculated. The study then provides estimations of the size of this redistribution under different scenarios. Findings The results suggest that factories do indeed transmit prices asymmetrically, which has substantial welfare implications: around USD3 million are annually redistributed from farmers to factories. If the price transmission was only half as asymmetric as it is observed, the majority of this redistribution was re-diverted. Originality/value This study combines the approaches of non-parametric and parametric estimation techniques of estimating APT processes with a welfare perspective to quantify the distributional consequences of this intertemporal marketing margin manipulation. Especially the calculation of different scenarios of alternative price transmissions is a novelty. The data set of prices on such a disaggregated level and high frequency as required by this approach is also unique.

Exploring farmers' adoption of VietGAP from systemic perspective: implication for developing agri-food systems

2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (12) ◽  
pp. 3641-3661
Author(s):  
Hung Gia Hoang
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Food System ◽  
Agricultural Practices ◽  
Sampling Strategy ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Fresh Vegetables

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate factors that influence farmers' adoption of Vietnamese Good Agricultural Practices (VietGAP) in Vietnam.Design/methodology/approachA case study design was employed. A purposive and snowball sampling strategy was used to select 54 participants for semi-structured interviews. Qualitative data analysis techniques were applied to analyse the data.FindingsThis study found that the social, cultural and institutional dimensions that define the dominant traditional agri-food system determined farmers' adoption of VietGAP and this was expressed in: (1) there was a lack of concern about food safety amongst value chain (VC) actors, particularly consumers and this limited demand for VietGAP-certified vegetables; (2) subjective rather than objective measures were used to assess vegetable quality by actors throughout the domestic vegetable VC and (3) the coordination of this vegetable VC was dominated by informal, trust-based relationships between VC actors rather than through formal written contracts.Research limitations/implicationsThis study employed a case study approach and focussed on a local VC for fresh vegetables. The findings of this research may therefore differ to those concerning other produce.Practical implicationsThis study highlights that farmers' uptake of VietGAP requires changes to the socio-technical regime of the traditional agri-food system.Originality/valueThis research provides a systemic view of the determinants of GAP adoption by farmers and highlights areas that need to be considered when designing policies to enhance the uptake of public GAP programmes and introduce agri-food systems in developing countries.

Challenges of agri-food supply in city region food systems: an emerging economy perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samanthi Kumari Weerabahu ◽  
Premaratne Samaranayake ◽  
S.W. Sarath Dasanayaka ◽  
Chaminda Nalaka Wickramasinghe
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Fruits And Vegetables ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
City Region ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Urban Rural ◽  
Food Value

PurposeThis paper explores the challenges of food security from source to consumption of agri-food value chain by considering urban–rural linkages in city region food systems (CRFSs) and proposes a strategic framework for CRFS identifying strategies to promote urban–rural linkages among multiple stakeholders.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative case study approach to a fruit and vegetable value chain from rural source to consumption in the Colombo City region identifies the challenges of food security. A snowballing sampling method was used to gather information from retailers, wholesalers, commission agent, farmers and consumers. The data were collected through face-to-face interviews, observations and secondary data sources. The data were analysed using thematic analysis.FindingsChallenges in food security in the value chain related to five areas: input and production, infrastructure, public institutional support and policy, finance, and food market. Colombo city is heavily dependent on food sourced from other cities due to limited land and lack of locally situated commercially oriented farmers.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is limited to a selected number of fruits and vegetables in the Colombo city region and leaves out other food items.Originality/valueThis study contributes to informing policy and decision-making processes to promote a more balanced rural to city food value chain in Colombo City that could benefit all stakeholders from rural small-scale producers to urban consumers.

scholarly journals Small-scale private equity: demand versus supply

2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 363-380
Author(s):  
Bruce Dwyer ◽  
Keith Duncan ◽  
Colette Southam
Keyword(s):  
Private Equity ◽  
Supply And Demand ◽  
Large Data ◽  
Market Liquidity ◽  
Structure Theory ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Cost

Purpose This paper aims to bridge the gap between theoretical dissertations on the demand and supply for equity by Australian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and the reality of the capital raising markets. Design/methodology/approach The mixed-methods approach includes questions integrated into a survey of 26,000 SMEs paired with semi-structured interviews with the CEOs or Chairs of the 15 Australian small-scale private equity (SSPE) firms. Findings Contrary to capital structure theory expectations, 46 per cent of Australian SMEs are interested in equity funding, despite a stated ability to acquire additional debt. The authors reveal a mismatch between supply and demand for SSPE with few SMEs able to meet private equity (PE) firms’ stringent investment criteria. Research limitations/implications The population of Australian SSPE firms is small and interviewee responses are qualitative and are not easily replicated. Practical implications To improve SSPE market liquidity, SMEs must overcome severe information asymmetry to demonstrate their quality and reduce the cost of due diligence for PE firms. One relatively easy step is for SMEs to voluntarily adopt auditable financial controls on SMEs similar to publicly traded firms. Originality/value Few studies focus on small firm equity, which is essential to economic growth and innovation. The authors use a large data set of Australian SMEs and unique informationally rich interview data on the population of Australian firms in SSPE, an industry known for its lack of transparency.

Evaluating the capacity of small farmers to adopt aquaponics systems: empirical evidence from Brazil

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Alexandria Brewer ◽  
Jose F. Alfaro ◽  
Tadeu Fabricio Malheiros
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Product Placement ◽  
Organic Production ◽  
Limiting Factors ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Small Farmers ◽  
Sustainable Food Systems ◽  
Sustainable Food ◽  
Small Scale Farmers

Abstract Aquaponics technology has recently been offered as a good option for sustainable food systems among small-scale farmers, particularly those seeking an organic production or dealing with land quality constraints, such as urban farmers. However, there is a lack of empirical evidence for the capacity of small farmers to adopt the technology. The unique requirements of aquaponics may create technical, economic and even cultural constraints and opportunities. This paper uses empirical evidence gathered with small-scale farmers in São Carlos, State of São Paulo, Brazil, to present the capacity of adoption for the technology, including possible limiting factors and incentives for farmers. The study conducted interviews with owners of ‘agriculturas familiares’ (Portuguese for small family owned farms) within 30 km of São Carlos. The interviews revealed that there is widespread interest in the potential profitability of aquaponics systems, significant interest in environmentally friendly practices, familiarity with organic production and hydroponics and a large base of agricultural knowledge in the community that can drive adoption. However, lack of initial financing, limited human power and concerns about product placement were significant barriers to adoption. For settlement farmers (those working on land formerly abandoned) poor soil quality and water scarcity are key issues that could be alleviated by the technology. The city of Sao Carlos present program for purchasing specific types of products from these farms could be used as a model for increasing aquaponics adoption and relieving success concerns.

scholarly journals Food pedagogy for transformative social change

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chelsea Klinke ◽  
Gertrude Korkor Samar
Keyword(s):  
Food Systems ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Food Studies ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Relationship Building ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Transformative Change ◽  
Urban Farming ◽  
Transformative Engagement ◽  
Small Scale Farmers

The contemporary global agrarian regime has altered the patterns of food production, circulation, and consumption. Its efforts towards food security vis-á-vis capitalist modes of mechanized cultivation have produced large-scale climatic and socioeconomic ramifications, including the dispossession of small-scale farmers from their lands and positions in market value-chains. In an effort to improve the dynamics of contemporary agro-food systems, food practitioners and scholars are engaging in critical analyses of land-grabbing, the feminization of agriculture, extractive-led development, and more. However, we argue that there is a gap between Food Studies scholarship and community-based transformative engagement. To support social justice frameworks, our paper calls for an academic paradigm shift wherein learner-centered experiential classrooms bridge academic-public divides and enhance student learning. Through a case-study of urban farming in Calgary, we also explore topics in place-based learning and participatory approaches that acknowledge and integrate Indigenous ways of knowing, doing, being, and connecting. Our paper provides strategies for supporting local food systems through activist scholarship, capacity building of leadership and technical skills in advanced urban farming, and intercultural relationship building. We conclude by evaluating the success of our approach, presenting potential benefits and challenges, and providing recommendations for best practices in food scholarship to support transformative change.

scholarly journals Applying the Best-Fit Framework to Assess and Strengthen National Extension and Advisory Services

2017 ◽  
pp. 80-90 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin Davis ◽  
David J. Spielman
Keyword(s):  
Value Chain ◽  
Local Context ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Extension Agents ◽  
Performance Incentives ◽  
Advisory Services ◽  
Innovative Solutions ◽  
Cross Country ◽  
Small Scale Farmers ◽  
Best Fit

Agricultural extension and advisory services are critical to supporting technological and institutional changes that can improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in developing countries. However, many extension services are under-resourced, out of date, and need of structural and content changes. However, efforts to systematically strengthen local extension systems often fall into the trap of promoting blueprints that are insufficiently adapted to local context. To that end, researchers developed the best-fit framework in the 2000s to provide impetus for pursuit of more locally-tailored extension solutions. Today, almost a decade later, researchers test the framework under real-world conditions in a cross-country application. This paper examines the application of this framework across six dimensions and seven countries to formulate a set of best-fit recommendations that are also broadly appreciable. The findings show that it is possible to apply the framework to the analysis of EAS across countries while also maintaining a very localized perspective on recommendations. Across the seven countries, certain obvious commonalities exist: The growth in pluralism in extension providers, the persistence of weak incentives for extension agents, and the lack of enabling policies. At the same time, innovative solutions to many of the challenges held in common—ICT-enabled extension, performance incentives, and value-chain oriented extension—are heterogeneous. The framework allows users to pursue change processes in EAS in response to their own local realities.

scholarly journals MOTIVATIONS AND RESOURCES OF SMALL-SCALE FARMERS FOR STAYING IN THEIR VILLAGE IN NORTHEAST THAILAND

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Masatoshi Uehara
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Natural Environments ◽  
Worth Living ◽  
Northeast Thailand ◽  
Simple Question ◽  
Small Scale Farmers ◽  
Decision To Stay ◽  
Profit Maximisation ◽  
The Village

This study aims to examine one simple question: Why do some small-scale farmers in rural, northeast Thailand keep staying on in their villages despite the fact that they could earn a much higher income if they worked in urban areas? To answer this question, this study which is based on first-hand observations from nine years of intensive fieldwork in rural, northeast Thailand provides a detailed description of the small-scale farmers’ resources that enable them to sustain a living and also provides them motivations to stay in their village. The decision to stay on in the village and forgo the option to move out in pursuit of a higher income may seem irrational in the opinion of economists. However, the author, by employing the “capability approach” argument by A. Sen, argues that their behaviour could be understood as efforts of pursuing “lives worth living” (as expressed in his later work as an architect of the UN’s “human security” program) and not solely profit maximisation. Their efforts include establishing “community groups” and practising “sustainable agriculture” including “organic farming” and “integrated farming”. These activities are well-suited to their natural environments and economic conditions and, at the same time, give them autonomy in their villages.

“Fête de la Soupe”: rural identity, self-representation, and the(re)-making of the village in France

2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 296-314 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hélène B. Ducros
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Rural Setting ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Rural Identity ◽  
Organizational Challenges ◽  
The Past ◽  
Rural France ◽  
The Village ◽  
Do So

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore a grassroot festival in rural France organized around the concept of soup. The annual fête de la soupe held in a village in Auvergne provides a small-scale example of the ways in which space, time and festivalization interact in placemaking. Design/methodology/approach Ethnographic research highlights the motivations and experiences of the organizers and volunteer-participants, as well as some of the organizational challenges. Findings Revealing that the profit motive and economic outcomes are not dominant, this paper shows instead that the fête constitutes a space of relation-building between place and people, between people themselves and an introspective moment over the past and future of place as “rural”. While preserving rurality symbolized and mediated by the exchange of soup as the ultimate peasant dish, the festival is also an opportunity for villagers to revitalize the rural and showcase it as a place of creativity. Originality/value The study addresses the experience of volunteers and organizers in festivals, uses qualitative methods to do so and focuses on festivals in the rural setting, filling three gaps identified by others in the literature.

scholarly journals Effects of agricultural credit on wheat productivity of small farms in Sindh, Pakistan

2018 ◽  
Vol 78 (5) ◽  
pp. 592-610 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abbas Ali Chandio ◽  
Yuansheng Jiang ◽  
Feng Wei ◽  
Xu Guangshun
Keyword(s):  
Wheat Yield ◽  
Considerable Proportion ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Small Farms ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Agricultural Credit ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the impact of short-term loan (STL) vs long-term loan (LTL) on wheat productivity of small farms in Sindh, Pakistan. Design/methodology/approach The econometric estimation is based on cross-sectional data collected in 2016 from 18 villages in three districts, i.e. Shikarpur, Sukkur and Shaheed Benazirabad, Sindh, Pakistan. The sample data set consist of 180 wheat farmers. The collected data were analyzed through different econometric techniques like Cobb–Douglas production function and Instrumental variables (two-stage least squares) approach. Findings This study reconfirmed that agricultural credit has a positive and highly significant effect on wheat productivity, while the short-term loan has a stronger effect on wheat productivity than the long-term loan. The reasons behind the phenomenon may be the significantly higher usage of agricultural inputs like seeds of improved variety and fertilizers which can be transformed into the wheat yield in the same year. However, the LTL users have significantly higher investments in land preparation, irrigation and plant protection, which may lead to higher wheat production in the coming years. Research limitations/implications In the present study, only those wheat farmers were considered who obtained agricultural loans from formal financial institutions like Zarai Taraqiati Bank Limited and Khushhali Bank. However, in the rural areas of Sindh, Pakistan, a considerable proportion of small-scale farmers take credit from informal financial channels. Therefore future researchers should consider the informal credits as well. Originality/value This is the first paper to examine the effects of agricultural credit on wheat productivity of small farms in Sindh, Pakistan. This paper will be an important addition to the emerging literature regarding effects of credit studies.

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