Browsing by Subject "Wertschöpfungskette"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6

Certification as an upgrading strategy for small-scale farmers and their cooperatives : a value chain analysis for Nicaraguan coffee
(2010) Kiemen, Anna; Beuchelt, Tina
For many small producers in developing countries coffee is a major income source. However, the coffee market is characterized by high price volatility and increased power concentration among buyers in consuming countries. Due to the very low international coffee prices during the recent coffee crisis and an increased demand among consumers for healthy and ethical products as well as for high quality, interest in standards and certification has increased substantially in coffee producing and consuming countries. Responding to the demand for differentiated products and accessing these new and potentially more profitable markets is especially challenging for poor small-scale farmers in developing countries. Although certification schemes and standards are widely applied and promoted, little research has been conducted identifying the complete value chains for certified coffee, their structure and gross income shares among the different chain actors. The framework for this study is based on the value chain concept. The research analyses selected conventional and Fairtrade value chains in terms of prices paid at different levels, information flows among chain actors, governance structures and upgrading strategies. The focus is on Nicaragua?s small-scale coffee producers, organised in cooperatives, and their upgrading strategies with special attention paid to organic and Fairtrade certification. Qualitative interviews have been conducted with all relevant chain actors. Results show that the structure of the value chain has a major influence on the benefits for individual farmers and their involvement in upgrading strategies. Although higher prices are paid to producers for organic-Fairtrade coffee than for conventional or conventional Fairtrade coffee, the producers? share on the final retail price is substantially lower in the certified chains than in the conventional chain. Producers face limited bargaining power on the quality premiums paid by buyers in consuming countries. The paper emphasizes the need for transparency and appropriate chain management to improve small-scale farmers? integration in value chain upgrading activities. An enhanced knowledge transfer among chain actors could increase farmers? understanding of differentiated markets and provide them with information on the coffee attributes sought by consumers. Being able to meet consumer expectations on attributes and quality standards could empower farmers with greater bargaining power and enable them to demand adequately higher prices. Simultaneously, business skills and management capacity need to be enhanced especially at the level of producers and leaders of grassroot cooperatives, but also at second order cooperatives? staff.
Obsoleszenz - auch ein Thema bei Lebensmitteln : Ergebnisse einer Expertenbefragung
(2018) Gebhardt, Beate; Ding, Jana-Lisa; Feisthauer, Philipp
Obsolescence is a topic that also concerns food products. Popular science has speculated that to a more or less significant extent, actors involved in food value chains were responsible for preliminary spoilage of food products. This speculation is true. Research and food experts in the field confirmed this during an expert survey conducted in 2015. This paper presents this survey. Experts confirm the main issue of this analysis which sheds light on the relevance of the following idea: Is obsolescence a topic regarding food products or does it only concern (technical) consumer goods? Only the latter is currently under debate. In total, 19 researchers and practicians from food value chains were surveyed and the majority shares this view. However, not all of them agree. The topic polarises researchers in particular. Eventually, issues such as the waste of ressources and social disparity due to food waste are not very disputed, irrespective of the reasons they emerged, but rather those responsible for the issue as well as the term that is to be used when food products spoil or are disposed preliminarily: obsolescence, food waste, avoidance, or other. The ensuing question focuses on this by addressing the advantages or added value if food waste was introduced into the debate on obsolescence or, on the contrary, if food waste was perceived in light of the debate on obsolescence. In this regard, we must emphasise the following key topics: 1) Avoiding arbitrary authority of definition: Shifting a term and generating authority of definition regarding (planned) obsolescence in merely specific areas is arbitrary. There are no objective reasons to apply obsolescence solely to consumer goods or technical devices. Irrespective of the type of industry, product, or the product’s shelf life, the reasons and circumstances for which products spoil preliminarily are similar in many aspects. Problems and reasons of unnecessary use of resources arise along the value chain due to processes and practices on all markets of modern and innovative societies. 2) Corrective of consumer responsibility: Addressing manufacturers and retailers represents a corrective when handing over responsibility for food waste. Especially in the food sector, to much responsibility is falling on consumers. In general, the aims of mitigating waste of resources are disputed. It should not pursue the way of least resistance and address primarily consumers. The corrective of consumer responsibility enables a corrective for solution-oriented approaches with greater diversity along the whole food value chain. 3) Problem-centred revision of definitions: In light of food waste, the use of natural materials and the role of agriculture are often neglected, described as inevitable, or excluded by definition or regulation (e.g. harvesting losses). However, obsolescence and its clear distinction between natural and artificial (planned) obsolescence does not fundamentally alter the view on natural resources of food and their use. Moreover, the necessity to critically revise regulation (e.g. the German Waste Management and Product Recycling Act) becomes clear. 4) Learning from and with each other: Changes in perspective and exchange among experts in debates on obsolescence and food waste are the bedrock to learn about tools, solutions, as well as experiences and mistakes made by others (e.g. proposal for a shelf life indication for technical devices without referring to experience with best-before indications of food products). Topics for further research include interdependencies and conflicts of targets which concern innovation for sustainability, shortage of product life cycles as well as the establishment of standards as means for more transparency to check their contribution to obsolescence and identify approaches for more appreciation in the overall concept considering all market participants.
Socio-economic evaluation of sunflower agri-food chains in Brazil in view of the potential implementation of innovative plant protein ingredients for human consumption
(2018) Sousa, Lucas Oliveira de; Berger, Thomas
This study aimed at performing a socio-economic analysis of an agri-food chain focused on a non-established crop in view of the potential implementation of food innovations, using sunflower agri-food chains in Brazil and upcoming sunflower high-quality food protein ingredients as a case study. Thus, fieldwork was carried out in the main sunflower-producing areas between April and August 2016 for data collection among sunflower chain agents from the input, farming, and processing segments, besides representatives from the research sector. Section 1 applied a multiple case study embedded design to describe and analyze the dynamics of operation of sunflower agri-food chains in Brazil. The analysis followed a theory-driven approach based on concepts from transaction costs economics and the social network approach. The findings indicated an environment of high transaction costs, in which the economic transactions are ruled by formal and relational governance structures, and made possible through knowledge diffusion, under the coordination of a processing company. Nevertheless, the sustainable long-term operation of the sunflower chains is constrained by typical limitations of non-established crops, such as restricted market structure, land use competition with well-established crops, and technological limitations regarding plant breeding, and control of pests and diseases. Moreover, Section 1 revealed that a farmer-led sunflower chain in the state of Mato Grosso (MT) stood out regarding the operational stability, suggesting a closer analysis of this farmers’ collective endeavor, which was performed in the subsequent section. Thus, Section 2 adopted a single case study embedded design to describe and analyze the establishment process of the leading Brazilian sunflower agri-food chain located in MT under the regime of farmers. The analysis followed a framework that regarded the agri-food chain establishment as an entrepreneurial process. The findings indicated that the process of establishment of this sunflower chain has been a complex social-economic endeavor stemming from a set of interconnected driving forces composed of entrepreneurial skills, social network, resource availability, and crop suitability. Furthermore, Section 2 suggested the existence of a supportive institutional environment for the establishment of new sunflower agri-food chains in MT among soybean farmers, besides indicating the need of examining the potential for sunflower production expansion in MT, which was the focus of the next section. Thus, Section 3 applied an integrated assessment approach that combines an agent-based model (ABM) with a crop growth model to investigate the potential for sunflower land use expansion in double-cropping systems prevailing in MT. The ABM was implemented using the software package Mathematical Programming-based Multi-Agent Systems (MPMAS), and the crop yields simulations were implemented using the process-based model for nitrogen and carbon in agro-ecosystems (MONICA). The findings indicated the existence of a potential for the expansion of the sunflower production in MT. Nevertheless, this potential is constrained by the distance between the producing areas and the processing facilities. Moreover, the simulations confirmed the land use competition between sunflower and maize, showing that sunflower land use is strongly associated with agents’ expectations regarding prices and yields of sunflower and maize. However, the results also revealed a complementary effect between these two crops due to the different water deficit tolerance of these crops. Section 3 also highlighted that the simulated potential production of sunflower would require further increases in the current processing capacity installed in MT. To conclude, the analyses performed in Sections 1, 2, and 3 indicated relevant aspects to be considered by innovators interested in implementing food innovations related to non-established crops. The scarcity of feedstock suppliers requires the adoption of contractual and relational governance structures coupled with the provision of technical assistance at the farming level. Moreover, farmers with a recognized professional and social reputation as well as leadership abilities play an important role in influencing other farmers to adopt a non-established crop. Finally, the suitability of the crop for the agricultural system prevailing in the region is essential for ensuring a minimum level of farmers’ willingness to adopt a non-established crop. In this regard, particular attention should be given to the land use competition with well-established crops.
Status Quo und Potentiale des ökologischen Heil-, Kosmetik- und Gewürzpflanzenanbaus in Baden-Württemberg : Studienbericht & Supplement
(2022) Gebhardt, Beate
At first glance, changing social demands, such as the desire for more biodiversity and a more sustainable use of agricultural land, offer new opportunities for the organic cultivation of medicinal, cosmetic and spice plants. The increased health awareness and interest of consumers in organic food, natural cosmetics and alternative healing methods such as phytotherapy, lead to expectations of new product developments and market growth, both in the production of raw materials and in their processing and access to new markets and value chains. However, it is difficult to assess to what extent such potentials can actually be used by farmers and firms in Baden-Württemberg. On the one hand, only few data and studies on the status quo of medicinal and aromatic plant cultivation in Baden-Württemberg have been published. On the other hand, it is unclear which constraints exist for the further development of the organic medicinal and aromatic plant sector. This is the background for a recent status review in this report, which was carried out by the Department of Agricultural Markets at the University of Hohenheim from June 2021 to February 2022 funded by the Ministry of Rural Areas and Consumer Protection (MLR) Baden-Württemberg. The cooperation partners are the Centre for Organic Agriculture, University of Hohenheim, and the Netzwerk Kräuter Baden-Württemberg e.V. (Herb Network Baden-Württemberg).
Status-Quo und Perspektiven von Zweinutzungshühnern in Baden-Württemberg : Ergebnisse eines World-Cafés im Rahmen des 1. Dialogforums des Projektes „ZweiWert“ am 2.3.2023.
(2023) Bermejo, Gabriela; Imort-Just, Annik; Gebhardt, Beate; Hess, Sebastian; Kiefer, Lukas; Zikeli, Sabine
The motivation behind the growing interest in dual-purpose chicken is diverse. Among other things, it is driven by the prohibition of killing male chicks from laying lines, by the desire to improve animal welfare in general, and by the preservation of genetic biodiversity and a more sustainable poultry production system. The project "ZweiWert" aims to create a regional network of actors in order to build up a value chain for dual-purpose chickens in Baden-Württemberg. Following a status quo and potential analysis of the agricultural production of dual-purpose chicken, a network will be established along the entire value chain, so that a sustainable production as well as a regular supply of the resulting products can be ensured. In order to promote the exchange between actors and to be able to develop policy options and recommendations, dialogue forums will be organized during the course of the project. The first forum took place in March 2023 and brought together representatives from different sectors. After various expert contributions, participants were able to exchange views on different areas of the value chain in the format of a World Café. In particular, the topics of networking and economic efficiency, cooperation, aspects of the legal/political framework and the need for more transparency and communication were mentioned during these discussions.
Zweinutzungshuhn – was ist das? Umfrage unter Landwirt*innen und Geflügelhalter*innen in Deutschland 2022
(2023) Gebhardt, Beate; Bermejo, Gabriela; Imort-Just, Annik; Kiefer, Lukas; Zikeli, Sabine; Hess, Sebastian
To comply with the ban on chick culling that has been in effect since January 2022, the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture proposes three alternatives, including the hatching of dual-purpose chickens. In addition to the breeding and economic challenges of establishing dual-purpose animals in the value chain, the inconsistent understanding of what a dual-purpose chicken actually is and how its characteristics can be successfully communicated to consumers are seen as challenges. The goal of this working report is to present what a dual-purpose chicken is and what understanding farmers have of it. The German nationwide online survey among farmers and poultry farmers regarding the understanding and future of dual-purpose chickens was conducted in autumn 2022 as part of the EIP-Agri project "ZweiWert." The EIP project titled "Building Value Chains for Dual-Purpose Chickens in Baden-Württemberg" (ZweiWert) is funded by the Ministry of Food, Rural Areas and Consumer Protection of Baden-Württemberg from 01/2022 to 12/2024. Project partners include the Naturland Association of Baden-Württemberg, several departments of the University of Hohenheim, and many partners from agricultural production and marketing.