scholarly journals Stakeholders’ Perception and Preferences of Post-harvest Quality Traits of Tomato in Ghana

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 93
Author(s):  
Michael Osei ◽  
Agyemang Danquah ◽  
Essie Blay ◽  
Eric Danquah ◽  
Hans Adu-Dapaah
Keyword(s):  
Shelf Life ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Crop Improvement ◽  
Food Preferences ◽  
End Users ◽  
Quality Traits ◽  
Vegetable Crops ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Tomato Production ◽  
Important Quality

The high levels of tomato consumption coupled with wide production levels in Ghana make the crop economically viable. Food preferences vary among individuals and geographical locations. Traits to select during crop improvement therefore, depend on the target beneficiaries. Breeders sometimes fail to consider preferences of end users probably because they are oblivious of them. This study used Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) and surveys to identify preferences and perceptions of end users in tomato value chain, for making proper breeding choices according to the information collected. The strategy employed for this research was descriptive survey. The target population included tomato farmers, market players and consumers. A multi-stage sampling was used to select the study sample. More than half (57.3%) of the respondents had been involved in tomato production for over 10 years. Sixteen variables were discussed with each group. The first three principal components (PCs) with Eigen values greater than 1.0 together explained 100% of total variation in the data set. Scores for ranking popular vegetable and ranking causes for poor shelf life were not significantly associated with any of the components. The Focus Group Discussion (FGDs) also established that, seven main vegetable crops were cultivated and produced by the communities and ranked tomato as number one. Similarly, six important quality traits of tomato were mentioned by stakeholders as their favorite. Respondents showed extreme preferences for firmness and shelf life as the most important quality traits of tomato. Seventy-seven-point five percent (77.5%) of the consumers use tomatoes every day in their food preparation. The study revealed stakeholders’ desire and plea for firmness and extended shelf life of tomato fruits in Ghana. Consequently, the survey validated the need to regulate tomato breeding goals to develop high yielding tomatoes with improved fruit quality and prolonged shelf life.

scholarly journals Postharvest Handling Practices and Treatment Methods for Tomato Handlers in Developing Countries: A Mini Review

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Isaac Kojo Arah ◽  
Gerald K. Ahorbo ◽  
Etornam Kosi Anku ◽  
Ernest Kodzo Kumah ◽  
Harrison Amaglo
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Shelf Life ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Modified Atmosphere Packaging ◽  
Postharvest Quality ◽  
Tomato Production ◽  
Treatment Methods ◽  
Postharvest Handling ◽  
Handling Practices

Tomato production has increased in recent years due to the economic and nutritional importance of the crop. This increase is made possible by the numerous research advances made along the entire value chain. However, scientific research has been focussed mainly on production whilst neglecting postharvest issues. Tomato producers have therefore enjoyed good harvests in recent times, though the good harvests of those from developing countries do not translate into profit as most are lost after harvest. From this study, it was revealed that the postharvest quality and shelf life of the fruit in part will depend on some postharvest handling practices and treatments carried out after harvest. Handling practices like harvesting, precooling, cleaning and disinfecting, sorting and grading, packaging, storing, and transportation played an important role in maintaining quality and extending shelf life. Using appropriate postharvest treatments like refrigeration, heat treatment, modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), and 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) and calcium chloride (CaCl2) application was also vital. It was concluded by this study that the quality of the harvested fruit can be maintained and shelf life extended by using appropriate postharvest handling practices and treatment methods. Failure to adhere to these practices will result in a high amount of loss.

Configurations to Superior Environmental Innovation Strategy: A Both–And Approach

2021 ◽  
pp. 108602662110316
Author(s):  
Tiziana Russo-Spena ◽  
Nadia Di Paola ◽  
Aidan O’Driscoll
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Future Generations ◽  
Innovation Strategy ◽  
Environmental Innovation ◽  
Data Set

An effective climate change action involves the critical role that companies must play in assuring the long-term human and social well-being of future generations. In our study, we offer a more holistic, inclusive, both–and approach to the challenge of environmental innovation (EI) that uses a novel methodology to identify relevant configurations for firms engaging in a superior EI strategy. A conceptual framework is proposed that identifies six sets of driving characteristics of EI and two sets of beneficial outcomes, all inherently tensional. Our analysis utilizes a complementary rather than an oppositional point of view. A data set of 65 companies in the ICT value chain is analyzed via fuzzy-set comparative analysis (fsQCA) and a post-QCA procedure. The results reveal that achieving a superior EI strategy is possible in several scenarios. Specifically, after close examination, two main configuration groups emerge, referred to as technological environmental innovators and organizational environmental innovators.

scholarly journals When Amazon ate Whole Foods: big changes for Big Food

2017 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 615-622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Phillips-Connolly ◽  
Aidan J. Connolly
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Food Preferences ◽  
Grocery Store ◽  
Grocery Stores ◽  
Processed Food ◽  
Food Supply Chain ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Food Value

The grocery store is ground zero in the tsunami of change facing Big Food. Consumers are changing how they relate to grocery stores, increasingly circling the perimeter, focusing on produce and preferentially choosing fresh, local, and new, even unknown, brands while spending less time in the processed food aisles in the center. The next generation, the millenials, are increasingly shunning traditional outlets when buying food. Traditional leading brands of processed food, backed by traditional marketing strategies (heavy advertising on traditional media, coupons, brand extensions, etc.) are failing to hold on to their customers. The challenges can be found throughout the food value chain, from new competitors for grocery providers to new delivery mechanisms, from changes in generational food preferences with social media platforms to express their preferences to farmers who increasingly can and want to communicate directly with the end-users who actually eat the food that they produce. This access to more information opens more options (and opportunities) to buyers and suppliers all along the food value chain. Barely 100 years old, the grocery store model is becoming obsolete, and with it the organization of the food value chain must be re-written. So what does that mean for Big Food and the food supply chain? What directions can the industry take to adjust to the new competitive realities? This paper offers direction and guidance for Big Food and other producers in the food supply chain.

How to foster employee satisfaction by means of coaching, motivation, emotional salary and social media skills in the agri-food value chain

New Medit ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Employee Satisfaction ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Business Skills ◽  
A Value ◽  
The Social ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Food Value ◽  
Insight Into

Most employee satisfaction studies do not consider the current digital transformation of the social world. The aim of this research is to provide insight into employee satisfaction in agribusiness by means of coaching, motivation, emotional salary and social media with a value chain methodology. The model is tested empirically by analysing a survey data set of 381 observations in Spanish agribusiness firms of the agri-food value chain. The results show flexible remunerations of emotional salary are determinants of employee satisfaction. Additionally, motivation is relevant in the production within commercialisation link and coaching in the production within transformation link. Whole-of-chain employees showed the greatest satisfaction with the use of social media in personnel management. Findings also confirmed that employees will stay when a job is satisfying. This study contributes to the literature by investigating the effect of current social and digital business skills on employee satisfaction in the agri-food value chain.

Big Data in Cultural Tourism – Building Sustainability and Enhancing Competitiveness

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Cultural Tourism ◽  
End Users ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Tourism Sector ◽  
Cultural Experiences ◽  
Selection Of

The use of big data is becoming increasingly important across the tourism sector and the value chain. With this publication, UNWTO intends to provide a baseline research on using big data by tourism and culture stakeholders, in order to improve the competitiveness of cultural tourism and reinforce its sustainability. The study sets the basis to connect tourism, culture and new technologies for mutual benefits, while calling for a reflection on the ethical implications for policymakers, businesses and end-users. The selection of case studies illustrates the most frequent case-scenarios of the use of big data in cultural tourism within destinations, compiled during the research. As the new technologies are facing ever-evolving scenarios, their use will be harnessed by the tourism sector in its endeavour to innovate and provide new cultural experiences.

scholarly journals Alcobaça allele and genotypic backgrounds affect yield and fruit shelf life of tomato hybrids

2003 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 269-275 ◽  
Author(s):  
Túlio José Mendes Dias ◽  
Wilson Roberto Maluf ◽  
Marcos Ventura Faria ◽  
Joelson André de Freitas ◽  
Luiz Antonio Augusto Gomes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Shelf Life ◽  
Fruit Quality ◽  
Tomato Fruit ◽  
Total Yield ◽  
Fruit Shape ◽  
Quality Traits ◽  
Average Mass ◽  
Post Harvest ◽  
Fruit Quality Traits ◽  
Commercial Yield

Post-harvest shelf life of tomato fruit may be increased by deploying mutant alleles which affect the natural ripening process and/or by a favorable genotypic background. Among the several ripening mutant genes, alcobaça (alc) has proved to be highly efficient in increasing shelf life of commercial tomato fruits, especially in heterozygosis, a state at which no limiting deleterious effects upon fruit color occur. The effects of heterozygosity in the alcobaça locus (alc+/alc) on yield and fruit quality traits of tomato hybrids with three genotypic backgrounds. We evaluated three pairs of hybrids obtained from crosses between the near-isogenic pollen source lines Flora-Dade (alc+/alc+) and TOM-559 (alc/alc), and three maternal lines (Stevens, NC-8276 and Piedmont). The six treatments were factorial combinations of two different status in the alc locus (alc+/alc and alc+/alc+) versus three different genotypic backgrounds (maternal lines). Fruits were harvested at the breaker stage of maturation and stored in shelves at 21ºC for 14 days. Yield and fruit quality traits were then evaluated. Regardless of the background, the alc allele in heterozygosis (alc+/alc) did not interfere with the total yield, commercial yield, average mass per fruit, average mass per commercial fruit, fruit shape, or with fruit peduncular scar diameter. The alc+/alc genotype reduced the rate of firmness loss and delayed evolution of the red color of the fruit, thus contributing to an increase of the post-harvest shelf life for all three genotypic backgrounds.

scholarly journals A Comparison of Disinfectants to Prevent Spread of Potyviruses in Greenhouse Tomato Production

2011 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. M. Wintermantel
Keyword(s):  
Sodium Hypochlorite ◽  
Quaternary Ammonium ◽  
Infected Plant ◽  
Transmission Efficiency ◽  
Aphid Species ◽  
Vegetable Crops ◽  
Greenhouse Production ◽  
Tomato Production ◽  
Greenhouse Tomato ◽  
Direct Inoculation

Potyviruses, transmitted by a diverse array of common aphid species, infect a broad range of vegetable crops, and can be problematic in greenhouse tomato production. Once introduced, these viruses are believed to be transmitted plant-to-plant during pruning operations, and can infect large sections of a greenhouse, resulting in significant losses in fruit quality and yield. Several methods are used for virus management in greenhouse production, including rouging of diseased plants and treatment of tools and facilities with virucides to eradicate the virus responsible. To clarify potyvirus transmission efficiency from an infected source during pruning operations, experiments were conducted using direct and serial mechanical inoculation of Potato virus Y (PVY) using a scalpel dipped in a suspension of PVY-infected plant sap. Tests demonstrated that both serial and direct inoculation resulted in significant PVY transmission, but that transmission rates declined after the first few plants in serial transmission. Additional tests evaluated the efficiency of two virucides, a quaternary ammonium solution and sodium hypochlorite, for virus inactivation during pruning operations using a range of concentrations and time points. Results demonstrated that 0.5% sodium hypochlorite treatment for two seconds was sufficient for virus control, and superior to treatment with quaternary ammonium solutions. Accepted for publication 20 December 2010. Published 21 February 2011.

scholarly journals New Technology Tools and Life Cycle Analysis (LCA) Applied to a Sustainable Livestock Production

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 130-141
Author(s):  
Edo D’Agaro ◽  
Franco Rosa ◽  
Natalia P. Akentieva
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Information And Communication Technologies ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Life Cycle Analysis ◽  
Waste Treatment ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Gaseous Emissions ◽  
Vegetable Crops ◽  
Industrial Processing ◽  
Biological Potential

Abstract Agriculture 4.0, a combination of mechanical innovation and information and communication technologies (ICT) using precision farming, omics technologies and advanced waste treatment techniques, can be used to enhance the biological potential of animal and crop productions and reduce livestock gaseous emissions. In addition to animal proteins being excellent nutritional ingredients for the human diet, there is a growing concern regarding the amount of energy spent converting vegetable crops into animal protein and the relevant environmental impacts. Using the value chain analysis derived from the neoclassic production theory extended to industrial processing and the market, the hypothesis to be tested concerns the sustainability and convenience of different protein sources. The methodology implies the use of life cycle analysis (LCA) to evaluate the efficiency of different livestock diet ingredients. The use of feeding products depend upon various factors, including cost reduction, consumer acceptance, incumbent industry response, civil society support, policy consensus, lower depletion of natural resources, improved sustainable agri-food supply chain and LCA. EU policy makers should be aware of these changes in livestock and market chains and act proactively to encourage the use of alternative animal proteins.

scholarly journals Demonstrating the full-value chain of climate services in Southern Africa: the FOCUS-Africa project

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberta Boscolo ◽  
Hamid Bastani ◽  
Asmerom Beraki ◽  
Nicolas Fournier ◽  
Raül Marcos-Matamoros ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Scientific Knowledge ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
End Users ◽  
Climate Change Scenarios ◽  
Climate Information ◽  
Climate Services ◽  
Wide Range

<p><strong><em>FOCUS-Africa</em></strong> is an EU Horizon 2020 project funded to co-develop tailored climate services in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. The project, led by the WMO and started in September 2020, gathers 16 partners across Africa and Europe jointly committed to addressing the value of climate services for key economic sectors in Africa: agriculture and food security, water, energy, and infrastructure.</p><p>The project is piloting eight case studies (CSs) in five different countries involving a wide range of end-users. New services derived from seasonal and decadal forecasts are applied for food security and crop production in South Africa, Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania. High-resolution climate projections, as well as historical climate reanalyses, are used to support planning and investment decisions for: a railway infrastructure and a mix of renewable energies in Tanzania, hydropower generation assessment under climate change scenarios in Malawi, and water resources management in Mauritius.</p><p>For all the FOCUS-Africa’s case studies, socio-economic impact assessment of the delivered climate services will be carried out in collaboration with the CS leaders, service providers, and end-users, by providing ex-ante and ex-post evaluations grounded in the Global Indicator Framework for the Sustainable Development Goals. The project will align the capacity development efforts with those promoted by WMO for enhancing the capabilities of the NMHSs to deliver climate services to users and will make sure that the project's innovative processes and tools will be part of the WMO training curricula.</p><p>FOCUS-Africa's expected impacts are:</p><ul><li>Build a strong link between the climate scientific community and stakeholders in the SADC region by leveraging the advanced scientific knowledge and strong networks of the implementing team, and by establishing dedicated channels of communications, so as to target the full value chain of our users, from the start of the project</li> <li>Advance the way in which climate information is developed by characterising end-use requirements through regular engagement</li> <li>Contribute to the advancement of the scientific knowledge in the region and strengthened support for international scientific assessments through publications and reports such as those relevant for the IPCC, through the innovative science developed by FOCUS-Africa</li> <li>Demonstrate the effectiveness of the climate information by strengthening the adaptive capacity of end-users by delivering tailored, actionable, and exploitable climate services and by estimating their socio-economic benefits across the full value chain.</li> <li>Enhance policy-making for climate adaptation in the project and other countries</li> <li>Increase women’s access to climate services</li> </ul>

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