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This study aims to investigate the landscape of family-based organic farm businesses in the Kashmir Valley, India, analyzing the factors that either facilitate or hinder their adoption. The research also intends to uncover sources of information seeking. The primary purpose is to provide qualitative evidence to address existing knowledge gaps and offer insights for promoting sustainable farm practices in the region.

The research employs a qualitative approach, drawing on focus group interviews. The study thoroughly explores the background and relevant literature, utilizing a comprehensive research framework. Data is collected from family based farmers engaged in organic farming practices in the Kashmir Valley. The data is analyzed using content analysis ensuring a robust and thorough exploration of the subject matter.

This study reveals a notable transition in the agricultural landscape of the Kashmir Valley, showcasing a widespread adoption of organic farming on considerable land. The study reveals that key facilitators for organic farming among family-based farms are farm productivity, entrepreneurial intention, governance, environmental consciousness, and health concerns. The exchange of information, both through formal and informal channels, is found to be a crucial factor influencing the adoption of organic farming. The study also unveiled significant inhibitors that hinder the adoption of organic farming on commercial scales, including on-farm challenges such as difficulties in acquiring inputs and facing reduced yields, market-related concerns, and a lack of support and assistance from government agencies.

This research contributes significantly to the existing literature by advancing the understanding of organic farm business and agri-entrepreneurship. It unveils key factors that either support or hinder family-based organic farms, identifying crucial information sources and presenting valuable insights for policymakers. Furthermore, this study provides practical guidance for overcoming obstacles, enhancing infrastructure, and translating identified facilitators into successful agri-ventures in the Kashmir region.

This study aimed to the attributes, consequences and personal values that motivate the behavior of consumers of fruits and vegetables (FV) at local markets and how these elements are associated with food safety.

This is a qualitative research that used the laddering in-depth interview technique for data collection. Fifty interviews were conducted with consumers from Minas Gerais, Brazil. From the codification of the interview content, a hierarchical value map was constructed, showing the relationships between the attributes, consequences and values involved in the consumers’ purchasing decision.

Consumers value characteristics related to the origin of the product and the way it is produced and marketed. They seek particular benefits – such as satisfaction with the purchase, care for their health/well-being and safety when consuming food – and social benefits, such as the possibility of contributing to the local economy. Issues related to hygiene, organization, exposure and handling of products were some of the concerns reported by respondents with regard to food safety.

It is worth highlighting the application of the laddering technique itself. Analyzing the predictive validity of the method, there is a propensity for biases linked to possible interference by the researcher, especially in the coding stage of the elements.

This study can be used by producers, marketing professionals and public policymakers to promote FV sold at local markets and to encourage the improvement of food safety practices.

The research points to five consumer segments according to the different motivations that guide their purchase behavior for local FV. In addition, a focus is given to food safety, revealing its importance in the investigated context.

This aim of this study is to identify the ways of helping public authorities bring about change to environmentally sustainable household food practices.

The authors identified the practices involved in this concept from the consumer perspective and measured their diffusion among French households. The analyses were conducted following two successive data collection campaigns comprising 571 and 501 respondents in France. The methodology involved two complementary scaling techniques: factor analysis and item response theory.

The results show that consumers understand sustainable food through five food practices: buying and cooking products with sustainable attributes, anti-waste storage, self-production, plant protein consumption and anti-waste cooking.

The findings suggest that while at the individual level people appear to have incorporated anti-waste practices into their daily lives, at the household level, there is still work to be done for improving diets and stimulating the production of home-grown food. It is also worth noting that the emerging vision typically involves sustainable foods that are organic, locally grown, seasonal, based on fair trade and packaging-free.

This work aims to assess the potential of a Bio-District as a model for applying the circular economy concerning the waste scope. It aims to understand the capability of organic farms to manage waste with a circular perspective, starting with the use of indicators that directly or indirectly impact the waste scope.

This study is based on previous work that identified and systematised the circular indicators of the agri-food sector within a dashboard. With this research as a basis, the indicators within the waste scope in the dashboard were extracted. Cross-linked indicators with an indirect connection to the waste scope were also systematised and tested in a case study. Primary and secondary data were used for the study. The primary data came from a semi-structured interview, and the secondary data were from official databases.

The work highlights two important results. The first allows the definition of a subclassification of indicators by product and organisation, extracting those with a cross-linked characteristic concerning the waste scope. Secondly, the indicators' application shows the farm's circular and waste valorisation potential within the Bio-District. The study also made it possible to test a new indicator, the “Potential Energy Biomass Recovery”, to measure the farm's potential to produce energy from waste.

This research proposes a new circular economy approach to evaluate waste management in the agri-food sector.

The global organic market is expanding, and India is in an advantageous position with the highest number of organic producers worldwide. Although many articles have been published on the value chain of organic products from India, no significant studies were found related to the value chain analysis of organic pineapple. This study aims to know the various aspects of the organic pineapple value chain, i.e. network structure, value addition at various stages of chain actors, value chain upgradation and governance structure.

The study is explorative in nature, and primary data from various actors involved in the chain is collected and analyzed. Primary data through a structured schedule and interviews are collected from farmers and traders. A multistage sampling plan has been adopted. A sample of 75 farmers was randomly selected from the study area. For traders, snowball sampling is used due to the nonavailability of the sampling frame. A total of 10 commission agents, 10 wholesalers and 20 retailers were thus selected for the study. For objectives 1 and 4, descriptive statistics are used. For objective 2, a modified formula described by (Murthy et al., 2007) is used to calculate farmer’s net price and marketing margin. For objective 3, Garrett’s ranking technique is used to identify various constraints in upgrading the organic pineapple value chain in Assam.

This study shows that the value chain of organic pineapple is in the initial stage and proper value addition is required to have a complete regulated value chain. Six marketing channel is identified, and products are sold through farmer producer company only in case of export and trade with distant buyers. The marketing efficiency for channels II and III is 1.69 and 0.99, respectively. The degree of value addition for channel II in the hands of the commission agent, wholesaler and retailer is 11.65%, 4.56% and 12.60%, respectively. In the various constraints in upgrading the value chain, farmers rank “policy support” as a major constraint. In the governance structure, trade with distant traders and exports is done formally and through written contracts.

The study performs value chain analysis of organic pineapple in Cachar district of Assam, India for the year January 2022–January 2023. Future studies are encouraged related to various aspects of the supply chain and value chain of organic pineapple from various northeastern states of India and other states.

The study will help policymakers and key actors to know the existing chain and frame a well-coordinated and regulated value chain.

This study is one of the first study to explore the value chain of organic pineapple of Cachar district of Assam, India. Implementation of these findings can help various actors to strengthen the existing value chain.

Regarding the retail internal supply chain (SC), both retailers and research are currently focused on reactive food waste reduction options in stores (e.g. discounting or donations). These options reduce waste after a surplus has emerged but do not prevent an emerging surplus in the first place. This paper aims to reveal how retailers can proactively prevent waste along the SC and why the options identified are impactful but, at the same time, often complex to implement.

The authors follow an exploratory approach for a nascent topic to obtain insights into measures taken in practice. Interviews with experts from retail build the main data source.

The authors identify and analyze 21 inbound, warehousing, distribution and store-related options applied in grocery retail. Despite the expected high overall impact on waste, prevention measures in inbound logistics and distribution and warehousing have not been intensively applied to date.

The authors provide a structured approach to mitigate waste within retailers' operations and categorize the types of barriers that need to be addressed.

This research provides a better understanding of prevention options in retail operations, which has not yet been empirically explored. Furthermore, this study conceptualizes prevention and reduction options and reveals implementation patterns.

The aim of this paper is to better understand European consumers' behaviour in relation to Short Food Supply Chains (SFSCs), so as to provide insights to support their development as part of a sustainable food system. Specifically, it aims to analyse consumer purchase patterns, motivations and perceived barriers and to identify patterns of behaviour amongst different consumer groups.

An online consumer survey was conducted in 12 European countries (n = 2,419). Quantitative data analysis, including principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis, was undertaken using SPSS.

Four consumer clusters are named according to their behavioural stage in terms of SFSC engagement: Unaware Unengaged, Aware Unengaged, Motivationally Engaged and Executively Engaged. Unaware Unengaged and Aware Unengaged are in the non-engagement phase of behaviour. Motivationally Engaged are motivationally activated to engage in the behaviour but fail to do so consistently. Executively Engaged is the fully engaged cluster, being motivated to act and purchasing local food on a frequent basis. The results show an interesting interplay between motivations and barriers, i.e. higher scores for motivations and lower scores for barriers do not necessarily translate into higher purchase frequency.

The research gleans insights into the contextual factors that may inhibit SFSC purchases in different consumer segments. It offers practical implications for policymakers and others seeking to develop SFSCs as part of a sustainable food system.

This study analyzes the impact of COVID-19 on agricultural production in South India by evaluating the influence of market channels and socioeconomic conditions on the production decisions of farmers during two key cropping seasons. We base our analysis on primary data from 200 marginal, small and medium farmers, primarily focusing on the key seasonal crops, namely paddy and black gram.

We studied the downstream supply chains of paddy and black gram crops in the district of Villupuram, situated in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Using a Bi-Probit model, we analyzed the production decisions of marginal, small and medium farmers engaged in paddy and black gram cultivation. Various factors are considered, including farmers’ socioeconomic characteristics, gender, market channels accessed and the coping strategies employed.

After the easing of lockdown measures in June 2020, our research revealed substantial disruptions in agricultural production during the critical Kharif and Rabi seasons. Most farmers refrained from returning to their fields during the Kharif season; those who did produced millet as the main crop. Factors such as choice of market channels in previous seasons, economic status, access to all-weather roads, labor availability, gender and coping strategies played an important role in the return to production in the subsequent Kharif and Rabi seasons.

Our data revealed several interesting threads related to price volatility, irrigation and access to markets and their impact on food security. The role of intermediaries and market channels in providing liquidity emerges as an important aspect of farmers' choice of markets. The pandemic impacted all these factors, but a detailed analysis was beyond the scope of this study.

We also find that resilience to economic shocks varies not only by economic status but also by gender and social groups. Farmers with female members are more likely to be resilient, and marginal and small farmers primarily belong to social groups that are economically less developed.

This study contributes to the literature on factors influencing farmer choice and decision-making and provides nuances to discussions by analyzing crop-specific supply chains, highlighting the critical role of socioeconomic factors. It also highlights the role of demographics and infrastructural factors like access to all-weather roads and access to markets that influence farmers’ production decisions.

This study investigates the relationship between stakeholders and implementing environmentally sustainable practices (ESPs) by Thai restaurant chains.

A survey method using the questionnaire was used to collect data from 400 owners/managers of Thai restaurant chains. The structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to determine the relationship between stakeholders and the implementation of ESPs by Thai restaurant chains.

The finding revealed that both primary and secondary stakeholders significantly influence implementing ESPs, with no moderating effect of environmental knowledge on primary stakeholders regarding implementing ESPs.

The results can help restaurant chain businesses understand how stakeholder power, in response to their regular interactions and societal expectations, affects the implementation of ESPs.

This study is among the first study to investigate the effects of stakeholder pressure on the implementation of ESPs in Thai restaurant chains in Thailand. By looking at restaurant chains, the authors add to the body of knowledge on ESPs in the hospitality sector and offer insights on the role of stakeholders and the moderating role of environmental knowledge.

This study aims to analyse how the adoption of Industry 4.0 technologies can help different types of agri-food supply chains introduce and manage innovations in response to the challenges and opportunities that emerged following the COVID-19 pandemic.

A systematic literature review methodology was used to bring together the most relevant contributions from different disciplines and provide comprehensive results on the use of I4.0 technologies in the agri-food industry.

Four technological clusters are identified, which group together the I4.0 technologies based on the applications in the agri-food industry, the objectives and the advantages provided. In addition, three types of agri-food supply chains have been identified and their configuration and dynamics have been studied. Finally, the I4.0 technologies most suited for each type of supply chain have been identified, and suggestions on how to effectively introduce and manage innovations at different levels of the supply chain are provided.

The study highlights how the effective adoption of I4.0 technologies in the agri-food industry depends on the characteristics of the supply chains. Technologies can be used for different purposes and managers should carefully consider the objectives to be achieved and the synergies between technologies and supply chain dynamics.