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Poverty alleviation has been a major theme of China's modernization process since the founding of New China. This paper points out that China's poverty alleviation process presents three stylized facts: “Miraculous” achievements of poverty alleviation have been made on a global scale; the poverty alleviation achievements mainly occurred in the high growth stage after reform and opening up; the poverty alleviation process is accompanied by the structural transformation of the urban–rural dual economy.

Therefore, a logically consistent analytical framework should form among the structural transformation of the dual economy, economic growth and the achievements in poverty alleviation. In logical deduction, the structural transformation of the dual economy affects rural poverty alleviation through the effects of labor reallocation, agricultural productivity improvement, demographic change and fiscal resource allocation.

The first two refer to economic growth, and the latter two are alleviation policies. The combination of economic growth and poverty alleviation policies is the main cause for poverty alleviation performance. China's empirical evidence can support the four effects by which the structural transformation of the dual economy affects poverty alleviation.

China's socialist system and its economic system transformation after reform and opening up provide an institutional basis for the effects to come into play. After 2020, China's poverty alleviation strategies will enter the “second-half” phase, namely, the phase of solving the problems of relative poverty in urban and rural areas by adopting conventional methods and establishing long-term mechanisms. This requires the facilitation of the reconnection between poverty alleviation strategies and the structural transformation of the dual economy in terms of development ideas and policy directions.

The purpose of this paper was to assess the effects of quality coffee production on climate change adaptation using household surveys and interview data gathered from coffee farmers in Yirgacheffe, southern Ethiopia.

A sample of 352 households, stratified into conventional coffee farmers 232 (66%) and specialty coffee producers 120(34%), was used. The propensity score model for participating in quality coffee production was estimated using 14 covariates, and the impact of quality coffee production on adaptation to climate change adaptation was examined. The results are augmented with qualitative data collected through focus group discussions and key informant interviews held with randomly selected smallholder farmers. A telecoupling theoretical perspective was used to understand the link between coffee farmers’ adaptation practices and the demand for quality coffee, as coffee is a global commodity.

The PSM analysis reveals that quality coffee production positively influences climate change adaptation. This implies that conventional coffee producers would have performed better in adaptation to climate change if they had participated in quality coffee production. The results of group discussions also confirm the positive effects of quality coffee production on adaptation to climate change, which also suggests a positive spillover effects for sustainable coffee farm management.

This study suggests enhancing quality coffee production is essential if a more sustainable and climate change resilient coffee livelihood is envisioned.

Though many studies are available on adaptation to climate change in general, this study is one of the few studies focusing on the effects of quality coffee production on climate change adaptation by smallholders in one of the least developed countries, Ethiopia. This study provides a better understanding of the importance of adaptation strategies specific to coffee production, which in turn help develop a more resilient coffee sector, as coffee production is one of the most sensitive activity to climate change.

In recent years, governments, donors, and NGOs have increasingly embraced value chain development (VCD) for stimulating economic growth and combating rural poverty. In line with the rise in interest, there has been a proliferation of guides for VCD. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of a review of 11 guides for value chain along six different dimensions, ranging from objectives and value chain definitions to monitoring impact. The paper concludes with suggestions for the use of guides based on local needs and context, and recommendations for future guide development.

The review compares the concepts and methods endorsed and it assesses the strengths and limitations of the guides for steering development practice.

Overall, the guides provide a useful framework for understanding markets and engaging with chain stakeholders, with a strong emphasis on strengthening institutions and achieving sustainability of interventions. However, the guides often lack discussions on the conditions necessary at different levels for VCD to advance development objectives and achieve that sustainability. The guides are designed to be implemented largely independently of the specific context, in which the chain is situated, despite the major implications context has for the design of interventions and overall success of the chain. Attention to mutual learning, whether related to tool design or the outcomes and impacts of VCD interventions, is limited.

More critical reflection and debate is needed on the design of guides for VCD. The authors suggest three areas for this reflection and debate: concepts, methods, and tools for addressing the needs of the poor in value chains; tools for addressing variations in the context; and mechanisms for mutual learning on the design and implementation of VCD.

The paper concludes with various recommendations for guide authors and donors that support VCD.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to take stock of the current state of knowledge about inclusive value-chain development (VCD) in the context of international agricultural research; and second, to draw out the implications for future research and action.

This paper is based on a review of recent research papers authored by professionals affiliated with international agricultural research centers and their partners in Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

The studies reviewed in the paper identify the opportunities emerging from new and expanding markets for agricultural products and challenges to smallholder participation in these markets. It identifies key attributes of successful value-chain interventions, emphasizing the importance of combining value-chain approaches with other approaches, including those emerging from innovation systems and rural livelihoods frameworks. Methods are offered for evaluating complex value-chain interventions.

The paper summarizes the state of knowledge as of early 2016 in a dynamic field. Important contributions to knowledge may have been made since then.

The paper summarizes the state of knowledge in the field, and identifies emerging issues and policy implications, knowledge gaps, and priorities for future applied research.

One method to develop leaders is through leadership development programs designed specifically for an intended context. The International Leadership Association (ILA) provides questions for designing programs such programs. This article reflects data collected during the process of developing a leadership program serving the broader agricultural community in Virginia. The International Association of Programs for Agricultural Leadership (IAPAL) reports that programs for leadership development in agricultural contexts typically include 12 seminars over two years, with less than one-third of the seminars agriculturally related. The profile includes sources of financial support and allocation of administrative duties. A survey of agricultural leaders reveals a strong desire for such programming. The stakeholders sought a program including emerging and experienced leaders with travel for on-site experiential learning. The findings have implications for the state and broad leadership development. Those who develop leadership programs for other contexts may benefit from the guiding questions and data.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a shock to the food supply chain without modern precedent. Challenges in production, manufacturing, distribution and retailing led to the highest rates of food price inflation in the US since the 1970s. The major goal of this paper is to describe statistically the impact of the pandemic of food price inflation and volatility in the US and to discuss implications for industry and for policymakers.

We use Bureau of Labor Statistics data to investigate food prices in the US, 2020–2021. We apply 16 statistical approaches to measure price changes and volatility and three regression approaches to measure counterfactuals of food prices, had the pandemic not occurred.

Food price inflation and volatility increased substantially during the early months of the pandemic, with a great deal of heterogeneity across food products and geographic regions. Food price inflation was most pronounced for meats, and contrary to expectations, highest in the western US Forecasting approaches demonstrate that grocery prices were about 7% higher than they would have been without the pandemic as of the end of 2021.

The research on COVID-19 and the food system remains in its nascent stage. As findings on food loss and waste, employment and wages, food insecurity and more proliferate, it is vital to understand how food prices were connected to these phenomena and affected. We also motivate several ideas for future work.

Premium subsidy rates were increased in 2019 and 2020 for livestock risk protection (LRP) insurance, which is price insurance for cattle producers. The authors examined if the LRP subsidy rate changes affected the LRP coverage levels purchased by feeder and fed cattle producers.

The authors collected the United States Department of Agriculture Risk Management Agency summary of business sales data for daily LRP purchases from 2015 to 2023. The authors estimated a multinomial logit model to determine if subsidy rate changes were associated with the likelihood of LRP policies being purchased at different coverage levels.

After the 2019 and 2020 subsidy rate changes, the likelihood of producers buying LRP-feeder cattle policies with coverage over 95% increased relative to the policies with coverage less than 89.99% but did not influence the likelihood of producers buying LRP-feeder cattle policies with coverage between 90 and 94.99% relative to policies with coverage less than 89.99%. Marginal effects show these subsidy rate changes increased the likelihood of buyers purchasing LRP-feeder cattle policies with greater than 95% coverage. The subsidy change did not affect the purchase of LRP-fed cattle policies.

The results demonstrate the influence of the recent LRP policy adjustments on insurance purchases, which could be important for agency officials and policy makers. This is the first study to explore the LRP policy purchases which provides the United States cattle industry insight into the LRP price insurance take-up, which can guide producer extension education on managing price risk.

Needs assessment is the first step in developing a leadership education program. During the spring of 2008 researchers and program planners conducted focus groups sessions with representatives from Virginia’s agricultural community with the goal of assessing the leadership development interests and needs of that community. As one focus group participant shared, “I’ve had leadership programs all along… they didn’t use examples that were real in my world.” The findings of this qualitative study suggest that an agricultural leadership development program should focus on three areas: (a) knowledge of the changing industry; (b) relationship building across industry sectors; and, (c) practical, transferable skill development. The skill areas of interest include creative problem solving, political advocacy, and communication. These findings are similar to previous research on grassroots leadership development, yet they lead to important recommendations for further research and practice.

This study aims to explore how sustainable business models (SBM) can be developed within agri-innovation systems (AIS) and emphasize an integration of the two with a systemic understanding for reducing food loss and value loss in postharvest agri-food supply chain.

This study conducted longitudinal qualitative research in a developing country with food loss challenges in the postharvest supply chain. This study collected data through multiple rounds of fieldwork, interviews and focus groups over four years. Thematic analysis and “sensemaking” were used for inductive data analysis to generate rich contextual knowledge by drawing upon the lived realities of the agri-food supply chain actors.

First, this study finds that the value losses are varied in the supply chain, encompassing production value, intrinsic value, extrinsic value, market value, institutional value and future food value. This happens through two cumulative effects including multiplier losses, where losses in one model cascade into others, amplifying their impact and stacking losses, where the absence of data stacks or infrastructure pools hampers the realisation of food value. Thereafter, this study proposes four strategies for moving from the loss-incurring current business model to a networked SBM for mitigating losses. This emphasises the need to redefine ownership as stewardship, enable formal and informal beneficiary identification, strengthen value addition and build capacities for empowering communities to benefit from networked SBM with AIS initiatives. Finally, this study puts forth ten propositions for future research in aligning AIS with networked SBM.

This study contributes to understanding the interplay between AIS and SBM; emphasising the integration of the two to effectively address food loss challenges in the early stages of agri-food supply chains. The identified strategies and research propositions provide implications for researchers and practitioners seeking to accelerate sustainable practices for reducing food loss and waste in agri-food supply chains.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the coffee culture of citizens of Southern Nigeria. Specifically, different scales were developed to measure coffee culture among the citizens which cover health, socialisation, elitism, culture and commercialisation factors.

A quantitative approach was adopted for the study, and factor analysis was used to analyse the data collected through an online survey. As a result, EFA and CFA showed the test of sphericity and the different fit indexes.

The findings revealed the experiences of consumers and their disposition to coffee consumption to establish coffee culture among the citizens. Largely, the findings revealed that coffee culture is still very low among the citizens and the summation that coffee culture is still in infancy.

Given the importance of coffee culture in the larger world, and acceptance of coffee as a global social drink, the design of a scale that focussed on socialisation, health, elitism, culture and commercialisation factors help to robustly investigate the state of coffee culture among the citizens.