Search results

The purpose of this paper is to identify, present and compare agricultural production financing alternatives available to grain producers in South Africa. From the South African perspective, agricultural land cannot always be utilised as collateral and therefore alternative financing has developed.

The study makes use of an exploratory study by applying qualitative techniques. The research population was agricultural finance providers in South Africa and semi‐structured interviews were conducted with representatives of the sample.

The production financing alternatives identified and presented include: grain contract financing; grain contract financing with additional collateral; and corporate farming. A comparison of these alternatives indicates that although the traditional balance sheet financing is a cheaper form of financing, using agricultural land as collateral has a number of limitations, especially within the South African context.

Using agricultural land as collateral to obtain production financing is not always viable considering the present South African agricultural environment. Commercial grain producers should therefore consider the identified alternative production financing.

Limited research on agricultural production finance from the South African perspective has been performed. Furthermore, no previous research on identifying production financing alternatives without utilising agricultural land as collateral has been performed. This paper therefore provides new knowledge by combining South African practice with theory.

The purpose of this paper is to fit a logit model for dry bulkers transporting grains through the Panama Canal versus alternative routes destined to East Asia, originating on the US Gulf and East Coast. This is with the purpose of better understanding the attributes.

In this paper, grain transits both through the Panama Canal and alternative routes, which are examined, and a logit model is developed to explain the route decision from a carrier/vessel operator point of view.

Transit draft is the most important attribute in the route decision process for grains according to this study. Also, Panamax bulkers are the preferred vessel size into China, especially through the Cape of Good Hope route, impacting Panama Canal’s market share for grains.

This research used only a full year of grain traffic data approximating fiscal year 2018 (October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018). Data will come mostly from the Panama Canal transit data and observations using IHS’s Market Intelligence Network (MINT).

This paper is highly dependent on visual observations of grains vessels through alternative routes using AIS data from MINT software.

Major cereal staples such as wheat, white rice and corn have a significant negative impact on the environment, a low nutritional profile and are associated with obesity. In comparison, alternative staples (such as rye, quinoa, buckwheat, etc.) are more environmentally sustainable and nutritious, yet are underused. There has been a recent surge in research into and awareness of alternative staples, but the current understanding of the different drivers of and barriers to their consumption remains fragmented.

The present study attempts to assimilate and incorporate the current knowledge on the drivers of and barriers to the consumption of alternative staples. Eighty-one empirical studies were curated and analysed according to stringent protocols in order to examine the existing research profile and themes arising from prior research in this domain.

The study presents a profile of the extensive existing literature examining the drivers of and barriers to the consumption of alternative staples. The thematic analysis of selected studies resulted in the identification of six drivers and seven barriers. The drivers are an awareness of health; awareness of environmental factors; recommendations; awareness of the brand, labels and source of origin; household structure and demographic attributes. The barriers are difficulty in preparation, lack of familiarity, lack of availability, lack of affordability, culture, product attributes and sensory attributes. The various research gaps and avenues for future research associated with the drivers and barriers identified are also presented.

The key outcomes of the study are the presentation of the research profile, the identification of various drivers and barriers, the recognition of gaps in the research and avenues for future research and, finally, the development of a theoretical framework entitled “Behavioral reasoning towards the consumption of alternative staples (BRCAS)”. The study offers various insights for nutritionists, marketers, policymakers and consumers by increasing awareness of alternative staples.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the grain production implications of alternative designs for China’s grain subsidy policy. In particular, the authors examine three subsidy designs including area-based subsidy, quantity-based subsidy and production-cost-based subsidy.

To carry out the analysis, the authors develop a Chinese agricultural sector model (CASM) and an econometric, policy action–farmer response summary model. The CASM is used under a wide variety of subsidy level and basis experiments to generate pseudo data on farmer reactions to subsidies. Then a summary function model was estimated over those pseudo data that quantitatively summarized modeled farmer responses to different grain subsidy schemes. In turn, the summary functions were used to optimize the subsidy level such that it maximized grain production both within and across the area-based, quantity-based and cost-based subsidies. Regional implications were also developed.

The authors found that the production-quantity-based subsidy is the most cost-effective in stimulating grain production among the subsidy schemes. The authors also argue that scheme complies with WTO regulations regarding product-specific support. The authors found that the areas where grain production was most affected were the traditional grain-producing regions.

To the authors’ knowledge the authors have not seen a study of the Chinese grain subsidy program context that examined the effects of alternative subsidy schemes, nor one that developed estimates of the optimal subsidy level. In addition, the methodology is unique employing bottom-up, regionally disaggregated, sector modeling coupled with an aggregate pseudo data based summary function approach providing a new, original approach for analyzing agricultural policy design.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the significant supply chain issues in the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) food industry. The objectives are to identify the major themes and the dynamic evolution of SME food supply chain (FSC) issues, the current research trends, the different modelling approaches used in SME FSC, and the most addressed SME food sector.

In all, 3,733 published articles from 2002 to 2018 in the Clarivate Analytics Web of Science database were collected, from which 1,091 articles were shortlisted for the review. The authors used bibliographic coupling combined with co-word analysis to identify the historical relations of the research themes that emerged during the periods 2002–2014 and 2002–2018.

This research identified five major research themes such as production and distribution in alternative food networks, relationship, safety and standards in the FSC, greenhouse gas (GHG) emission impact of the farm food system, traceability and product quality in FSC and asymmetric price transmission in the FSC. Among the identified themes, GHG emission impact of the farm food system and traceability and product quality in the FSC have received increasing attention in recent years. The dairy sector is the most addressed sector (36 per cent), followed by fruits and vegetables (27 per cent), meat and poultry (18 per cent), seafood (10 per cent) and grains and oilseed (8 per cent). It is also identified that the dairy sector has received significant attention in the “GHG Emission impact of farm food system” theme. Similarly, meat and poultry sectors have received much attention in the “Traceability and product quality in the food supply chain” theme. Also, the authors identified that the empirical modelling approaches are the most commonly used solution methodology, followed by the conceptual/qualitative methods in the SME FSC.

This study maps and summarizes the existing knowledge base of supply chain issues in the SME food sector. The results of this review provide the major research areas, most commonly used approaches and food sectors addressed. This study also highlights the research gaps and potential future research direction.

Through the application of domain-analytic principles, the purpose of this paper is to explore how participants’ understandings of healthy eating are related to their grouping and classification of foods.

In total, 30 food-interested people were asked to (1) sort a series of 56 statements about food, health, and eating on a scale from “most disagree” to “most agree”; (2)complete an open card sort of 50 foods; and (3) classify these 50 foods on a scale from “most unhealthy” to “most healthy”. Exercises (1) and (3) involved Q-methodology, which groups people who share similar understandings of a phenomenon.

Participants’ understandings of healthy eating – revealed by the first Q-methodology exercise – were related to shared food priorities, values, and beliefs; these understandings were indirectly connected with food identities, which was not expected. This suggests that lay domain knowledge is difficult to capture and must involve other methodologies than those currently employed in domain-analytic research.

Although a small sample of food-interested people were recruited, the purpose of this study was not to make generalized claims about perspectives on healthy eating, but to explore how domain knowledge is related to everyday organizational processes.

To “classify” in Library and Information Science (LIS) usually involves an engagement with formally established classification systems. In this paper the author suggests an alternative path for LIS scholars: the investigation of everyday life classification practices. Such an approach has value beyond the idiosyncratic, as the author discusses how these practices can inform LIS researchers’ strategies for augmenting the messages provided by static classification technologies.

Many agribusiness firms in Australia are buying into the concept of SCM but are not sure how to apply it. Provides some guidance for firms who are considering following the SCM track. Presents a checklist for auditing potential supply chain partners which has proved useful in focusing the minds of potential partners on the key issues of trust and relationship management.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the market structure and value chain of pearl millet grain and fodder in India. There is a decline in demand for human consumption, with an increase in demand for non-food uses like cattle and poultry feed, raw material for starch and breweries industry. This paper explores alternative channels, uses and value chains of pearl millet grain and fodder. The paper examines in what ways small farmers can benefit from the evolving alternative uses for pearl millet grain in cattle and poultry feed industry, breweries and starch industry. The paper also analyses the impact of aggregators in increasing the efficiency of the value chain.

The study collected primary data from farmers, traders, commission agents and exporters and importers with innovative marketing channels with aggregators (Self-Help Groups) and without aggregators to analyze the prospects for improvements in marketing channels and value chain.

Given that the production of pearl millet is scattered and thin, there is a lot of scope for market aggregators to increase scale economies to reduce market costs to supply in bulk to food and industrial uses. Although there was some demand for human consumption high-quality grain, most of the future demand will come from cattle and poultry feed industry, breweries and starch industry. To tap these larger potentials, farmers need to aggregate their produce and ensure regular supply in bulk quantity at least to compete the cost with alternative grains like maize and broken rice.

The research is based on the field-level data collection and observations obtained from Western India. This paper provides insights how the value chain of pearl millet is working and what improvements are needed to make value chain more efficient and inclusive. Although the results are applicable to similar neglected crops and area, more caution is needed.

Through the formation of farmer aggregators, farmers can enhance their bargaining power vis-a-vis industry.

Till now, there is no study that explored the pearl millet value chain in detail in India, and the paper tries to fill this literature gap.

Coeliac disease (CD) is a prevalent autoimmune disorder, affecting 1 in 100 of all individuals in the UK. Currently, the only treatment for CD is the complete avoidance of gluten, a protein commonly found in wheat, rye and barley. The use of alternative grains (AG) is highly recommended to individuals with CD to improve and diversify their diet. The purpose of this paper is to determine the current knowledge of the gluten-free diet (GFD), consumption rates of AG and awareness of AG, for individuals diagnosed with CD.

A total of 100 participants were recruited via local coeliac support groups as well as an “Allergy and Free From Show”, to participate in a survey. Consent was obtained from all organisations and all individual participants, prior to collecting data. The questionnaire consists of ten questions, related to participants’ demographic characteristics, knowledge of gluten-free food (GFF) and AG and consumption rate of AG. χ² analyses were conducted to compare the variables between gender and time of diagnosis.

Overall, both genders possessed good knowledge of the GFD. Yogurt, vinegar and oats resulted in the highest incorrect responses. It was found that females possessed better knowledge of both GFF and AG. Rice, quinoa and corn were amongst the most popular AG consumed whilst job’s tears, fonio and sorghum were the least consumed grains. Females reported a higher consumption rate of AG than males. Additionally, those more recently diagnosed had poorer knowledge of the GFD, reduced consumption rates of AG and poor awareness of AG.

It can be suggested that the incorporation of AG into the diet can prove beneficial for coeliacs and that both knowledge and education play a fundamental role in determining consumption rates amongst individuals.

This paper compares grain prices between Cairo and Europe during medieval times. Prices were higher and more volatile in Cairo than in Europe. Over time, price levels declined in large parts of Europe but not in Cairo.

No price integration can be seen between the European Mediterranean region and Cairo. In north-western Europe, a cluster of urban centers showing similar price movements had emerged in the fourteenth century, at the latest. The Mediterranean area was not integrated into this network. Price integration in north-western Europe may have contributed to the economic advancement of this region in late medieval and early modern times.

Climatic fluctuations (in temperature as well as in the water level of the Nile) affected Cairo grain prices. In Europe, on the other hand, short-term temperature variation did not have an appreciable impact on prices. Western European price integration cannot, it seems, be explained by the existence of a common climatic factor. Early European economic development was facilitated by a robust environment.