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This paper aims to understand the significant farm and market-level factors that incentivize the adoption and marketing of pulses influencing its supply response to changing demand.

The authors first use a modified Nerlovian supply response model using secondary data to identify the major price and non-price factors influencing the supply of pigeon pea, black and green gram in the major pulses growing states in India. Second, using primary qualitative data the authors map the pulses value chain from farm to retail to identify the how proportional and fixed transaction costs (FCTs) influence market participation of pulses growers and limit the transmission of price and quality information.

The supply response model shows some positive influence of price on area allocation for pigeon pea and black gram and some negative effects of yield and price increase of competing crops on pigeon pea acreage. However, for the most part, the area of Kharif pulses is inelastic to prices in the long run. Irrigation, rainfall and yields in the lag year are shown to have a significant influence on area allocation for pulses. The market study reveals that low yields, low landholding size and geographical disadvantages of high agro-climatic risk and poor connectivity hinder market access of pulses farmers relative to other crops. Market power in favor of buyers and poor price and quality information is a disadvantage to sellers, influencing their ability to participate in markets.

A quantitative study would be required to identify the magnitude of farm and market-level transaction costs.

This study helps to understand the supply response of pulses and gives suggestions to direct policy to rectify this.

Contemporary literature reveals that, to date, the poultry livestock sector has not received sufficient research attention. This particular industry suffers from unstructured supply chain practices, lack of awareness of the implications of the sustainability concept and failure to recycle poultry wastes. The current research thus attempts to develop an integrated supply chain model in the context of poultry industry in Bangladesh. The study considers both sustainability and supply chain issues in order to incorporate them in the poultry supply chain. By placing the forward and reverse supply chains in a single framework, existing problems can be resolved to gain economic, social and environmental benefits, which will be more sustainable than the present practices.

The theoretical underpinning of this research is ‘sustainability’ and the ‘supply chain processes’ in order to examine possible improvements in the poultry production process along with waste management. The research adopts the positivist paradigm and ‘design science’ methods with the support of system dynamics (SD) and the case study methods. Initially, a mental model is developed followed by the causal loop diagram based on in-depth interviews, focus group discussions and observation techniques. The causal model helps to understand the linkages between the associated variables for each issue. Finally, the causal loop diagram is transformed into a stock and flow (quantitative) model, which is a prerequisite for SD-based simulation modelling. A decision support system (DSS) is then developed to analyse the complex decision-making process along the supply chains.

The findings reveal that integration of the supply chain can bring economic, social and environmental sustainability along with a structured production process. It is also observed that the poultry industry can apply the model outcomes in the real-life practices with minor adjustments. This present research has both theoretical and practical implications. The proposed model’s unique characteristics in mitigating the existing problems are supported by the sustainability and supply chain theories. As for practical implications, the poultry industry in Bangladesh can follow the proposed supply chain structure (as par the research model) and test various policies via simulation prior to its application. Positive outcomes of the simulation study may provide enough confidence to implement the desired changes within the industry and their supply chain networks.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to formulate an exhaustive list of the issues, gaps, and barriers at each level of the agri-food value chain in North Carolina (NC), and second, to identify the issues of greatest importance to its members.

This research employed the Delphi technique in two stages of input. The first round of input was designed to create a comprehensive list of issues for each of nine “stages” of the agri-food value chain. In round two, the issues were prioritized.

The top ten responses of each stage were aggregated into themes that represent the most critical issues identified by respondents: connectedness within the value chain, access to markets and marketing, affordability/availability of food and food distribution, farm profitability, societal awareness, and education about healthy, local food, and supporting institutions.

The findings could be used by practitioners to inspire innovation in food-related products, programs, processes, organization, and marketing. The findings can help farmers, institutions, food distributors, policy makers, and other members of the agri-food value chain to make decisions about food distribution and access in NC and in other states facing similar issues and circumstances. The findings of this research also have further reaching implications, such as the connectivity of members along the agri-food value chain, the impact of a strong agri-food value chain on agritourism and the potential value of state marketing initiatives.

This paper aims to analyse a simultaneous role of micro-credit in intensive farming to improve rural prosperity and to determine factors affecting farmers to access micro-credit and to adopt technologies.

This paper uses a concept of technological change as the underlying theory. The analysis is conducted using structural equation modelling based on data compiled from a survey that interviewed 220 of farm-households. Samples of the study were randomly selected from chili farming community in three regions of Java in 2013-2014.

The results show that micro-credit provides positive direct and indirect impacts on rural prosperity. The indirect effect of micro-credit was due to a mediation of technology adoption. Farmers’ personalities and agribusiness environment determined farmers’ decision to access micro-credit and to adopt the technology.

Policymakers should introduce more advanced technology and provide credit facilities at the same time to ensure technology adoption and welfare improvement of the community.

Using structural equation modelling enables analysis of simultaneous regression models. Along with technology here, micro-credit played roles as catalyst and reagent in improving rural livelihood.

This article investigates the relationship between farm management skills, entrepreneurial bricolage and market orientation in smallholder farms.

The study used quantitative approaches to survey 378 smallholder farms in Uganda. Data were analysed using Structural Equation Modelling to establish the relationship between farm management skills, entrepreneurial bricolage and market orientation.

Farm management skills positively predict market orientation while entrepreneurial bricolage partially mediates the relationship between farm management skills and market orientation.

The study utilized a survey design, which provides a cross-sectional view. Given that market orientation of smallholder farms can vary during the farm growth process, it becomes more informative to analyse how the independent and mediating variables cause a variation at different levels of market orientation.

Farm management training programmes that emphasize financial management skills and employ a household approach should be strengthened to enhance smallholder market orientation. Strategies for enhancing market orientation should also entail bricolage as a complementary behaviour to farm management.

We introduce entrepreneurial bricolage to the market orientation debate. The study brings alive the significance of entrepreneurial bricolage in smallholder farming. It also confirms the role of farm management skills in enhancing the market orientation of smallholder farms.

Marketing boards are an integral part of the farm economy in Canada. Their purposes have been debated for decades but seldom from a marketing perspective. Such an approach makes for an interesting way to study them. The purpose of this paper is to assess the pros and cons of marketing boards, suggesting how they can be made more responsive to market forces.

The paper positions the need for Canada to bring agricultural market reforms. The wave toward freer access to world markets makes the study of supply management that more interesting and relevant in the twenty‐first century. A brief history of marketing boards is presented, followed by a discussion of their economic, social and constitutional impacts on Canadian society. Dairy supply management issues are discussed because they serve as the basis for comparative analysis, given that dairy trade liberation has been the most successful. The impact of marketing boards on consumers is well documented.

The research points out that marketing boards lack managerial savvy to make them more efficient and responsive to market changes. Logistical and supply chain management approaches seem to be lacking. A failure to respond to markets has resulted in lost market opportunities, both domestically and abroad. The quota values, the legal and constitutional powers of Canadian marketing boards and the interprovincial trade barriers, among other issues, have stifled entrepreneurship and innovation, all with rising prices to consumers. Trade liberation will not be easy to implement even if it is urgently needed.

Some of the suggested market reforms presented in the paper are bound to have repercussions not only on farmers and their current ways of doing business but on Canadian society as well.

Few studies on marketing boards have been done from a marketing perspective rather than an agricultural economic one. It is the most current review of Canadian marketing boards. Marketing studies are needed to know more about how such boards are managed and function. They need to be more accountable. The recommended managerial studies on boards make the paper unique. While trade liberation is highly recommended for milk and dairy boards to meet world pressure, the paper does not call for their elimination.

Due to the importance of quality to customers, this study considers criteria of quality and profit and optimizes both in a multi-echelon cold chain of perishable agricultural products whose quality immediately begins to deteriorate after harvest. The two objectives of the proposed cold chain are to maximize profit and quality. Since postharvest quality loss in the supply chain depends on various decisions and factors, in addition to strategic decisions, the authors consider the temperature setting in refrigerated facilities and transportation vehicles due to the unfixed shelf life of the products which is related to the temperature found by Arrhenius formula.

The authors use bi-objective mixed-integer nonlinear programming to design a four-echelon supply chain. The authors integrate the supply chain echelons to detect the sources and factors of quality loss. The four echelons include supply, processing, storage and customer. The decisions, including facility location, assigning nodes of each echelon to corresponding nodes from the adjacent echelon, allocation of vehicles to transport the products from farms to wholesalers, processing selection, and temperature setting in refrigerated facilities, are made in an integrated way. Model verification and validation in the case study are done based on three perishable herbal plants.

The model obtains a 29% profit against a total cost of 71 and 93% of original quality of the crops is maintained, indicating a 7% quality loss. The final quality of 93% is the result of making a US$6m investment in the supply chain, including the procurement of high-quality raw materials; facility establishment; high-speed, high-capacity vehicles; location assignment; processing selection and refrigeration equipment in the storage and transportation systems, helping to maximize both the final quality of the products and the total profit.

The proposed supply chain model should help managers with modeling decisions, especially when it comes to cold chains for agricultural products. The model yields these results – optimal location-allocation decisions for the facilities to minimize distances between the network nodes, which save time and maintain the majority of the products’ original quality; choosing the most appropriate processing method, which reduces the perishability rate; providing high-capacity, high-speed vehicles in the logistics system, which minimizes transportation costs and maximizes the quality; and setting the right temperature in the refrigerated facilities, which mitigates the postharvest decay reaction rate of the products.

Comparison of the results of the present research with those of the traditional chain (obtained through experts) shows that since the designed chain increases the profit as well as the final quality, it has benefits for the main chain stakeholders, which are customers of agricultural products. This study model is expected to have a positive impact on the environment by placing strong emphasis on quality and preventing excessive waste generation and air pollution by imposing a financial penalty on extra demand production.

Since profit and quality of the final product are two important factors in all cultures and communities, the proposed supply chain model can be used in any food industry around the world. Applying the proposed model induces growth in local industries and promotes the culture of prioritizing quality in societies.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research on a bi-objective four-echelon (supply, processing, storage and customer) postharvest supply chain for agricultural products including that integrates transportation logistics and considers the deterioration rate of products as a time-dependent variable at different levels of decision-making.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects of data-driven capabilities on supply chain integration (SCI) and competitive performance of firms in the food and beverages (F & B) industry in Pakistan.

The authors adopt the structural equation modeling approach to test the proposed hypotheses using AMOS 23. Survey data were collected from 240 firms in the F & B industry in Pakistan.

The results revealed that SCI (i.e. internal integration (II) and external integration (EI)) significantly mediates the effect of data-driven capabilities (i.e. flexible information technology resources and data assimilation) on a firm’s competitive performance. In addition to the direct effects, II also has an indirect effect on competitive performance through EI.

The study has several implications for managers in the context of big data application in food supply chain management (FSCM) in a developing country context. The study posits that firms can achieve excellence in performance by governing data-driven supply chain operations. The study also has implications for distributors and importers in the F & B industry. The cloud-based sharing of data can improve the operational performance of channel members while reducing their overall cost of operations. In practice, food franchises largely get the advantage of shared resources of their suppliers in managing orders, payments, inventory and after-sales services.

The study is novel and deepens the understanding about the use of big data in FSCM keeping in view the industry trends and stakeholder’s priorities in a developing country context.

In his diagnosis Lipton occupies an unusual position. He is critical both of the Left and of the Right, of the classicists as well as of the Marxists. He is strongly critical of inequality though he maintains that growth is necessary for development, and development for the abolition of inequality. The struggle is not between the rich and the poor, but between the urban and the rural sectors. The former exploits the latter so that the explanation of poverty (mostly in the rural areas) is urban exploitation in a variety of subtle ways. This exploitation and its consequences — a product of a state of mind — is characterized as “urban bias”, which is the key phrase of the subtitle (“Urban Bias in World Development”).

Food Industries have to cater a plethora of consumers having variety of tastes. For sustaining in such environment companies create their unique selling point and big data helps them to analyze market situation for such purpose. In this book chapter, the supply chain of fruits and vegetables and the post-harvest losses encountered at each stage in absence of data analytics is discussed. This can be an opportunity for the food industries to reduce food loss and gain better returns on investment by going for a digital transformation. Companies combine big data with technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence to get faster and more personalized experiences. This chapter includes comparative case studies of food and retail sector for better understanding of the outcome.