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Traceability systems as a differentiation tool in agri-food value chains: a framework for public policies in Latin America

Juan Carlos Hallak (Instituto Interdisciplinario de Economía Política, Universidad de Buenos Aires - CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina) (CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina)
Andrés Tacsir (Instituto Interdisciplinario de Economía Política, Universidad de Buenos Aires - CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina)

Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies

ISSN: 2044-0839

Article publication date: 14 April 2022

Issue publication date: 2 August 2022

360

Abstract

Purpose

The goal of this paper is to develop a classification of traceability systems that will help academics and policymakers think of them as a tool for differentiation in agri-food value chains.

Design/methodology/approach

Based on the analysis of case studies and a literature review, the authors develop a conceptual framework to classify traceability systems based on two dimensions: their scope in the value chain (individual vs integrated) and the type of information they contain (basic vs advanced).

Findings

Integrated traceability systems provide a variety of benefits vis-à-vis individual systems as a tool to achieve greater product differentiation by meeting current and latent requirements from foreign countries' governments and consumers. Also they serve as a platform for including advanced (vis-à-vis basic) information into the system.

Research limitations/implications

A series of studies would be required to quantify the relative costs of different traceability systems and compare them on a cost-benefit basis. Nevertheless, since integrated traceability systems are subject to coordination failures, significant public focus and efforts should be placed on the potential promotion of those systems.

Originality/value

This paper provides a novel classification of traceability systems that distinguishes them according to scope and information content.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the financial support received from the Inter-American Development Bank to carry out this project. The authors especially want to thank Guillermo Rossi and Ernesto Stein for their critical reading of previous versions of the article. The authors also want to thank the valuable comments from Piero Ghezzi, Ricardo Negri, Romina Ordoñez and Lina Salazar, as well as the participants of the research seminars organized by the IADB.

Financial disclosure: This work was supported by the Inter-American Development Bank. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Inter-American Development Bank Group, its respective Boards of Directors, or the countries they represent.

Citation

Hallak, J.C. and Tacsir, A. (2022), "Traceability systems as a differentiation tool in agri-food value chains: a framework for public policies in Latin America", Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 673-688. https://doi.org/10.1108/JADEE-10-2021-0272

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited

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