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A geographically proximate group of rice mills, supporting companies, suppliers, and associated institutions in a particular field is emerging as a concept to make rice mills more competitive. The factors, which emerged due to cluster formation, appear to have the potential to contribute to the performance of rice mills. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of a rice mill cluster initiative. The primary objective is to identify the critical factors of a successful rice mill cluster initiative. To meet this objective, a questionnaire is developed for the assessment of effects of cluster elements.

The methodology used for this paper is an exploratory cross‐sectional and literature review of published materials.

There is strong evidence to suggest that a cluster policy brings additional positive effect to existing small enterprises such as rice mills located in a cluster.

This study offers initial empirical evidence and a number of important insights to assist managers and policy makers in enhancing performance of rice mills located in a cluster. The findings from this research will assist strategy makers in making more informed decisions regarding the adoption of a cluster approach and entering into cluster‐based relations, as well as assisting policy makers in designing more efficient cluster policies. The academic value will be added in the context of expanding knowledge in relation to the impact of clusters on economic development in developing countries and as such contribute in filling gaps within the existing literature.

This paper aimed to analyze the contribution of the interorganizational relationship (IOR) factors trust and knowledge resources to the relational and transactional performance of a Brazilian agricultural cluster formed by small farmers.

A survey was conducted using a questionnaire divided into groups of variables, each group seeking to identify one of the three constructs: trust, knowledge resources and relational and transactional performance. A theoretical framework was elaborated and later compared with survey results, which were analyzed using exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and partial least squares–structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

Correlations between trust and relational and transactional cluster performance varied according to actors involved, being significant between some actors and not significant between others. Knowledge resources, on the other hand, proved to be significantly relevant for cluster performance, considering both relational and transactional measures.

It was made in a Brazilian single cluster and its conclusions cannot be generalized.

Farmers cannot innovate with the efficiency and effectiveness that the process demands. They need complementary capacity that apparently is not in the agricultural cluster. Research and development involve knowledge and techniques that empirical knowledge alone may not provide. And much of the formal knowledge is embedded in universities and research institutes. If there were investments by public entities in research and development to improve the culture and its by-products, this could contribute to improving the income of farmers.

This study provided a photograph of the current scenario of a Brazilian agricultural cluster. Changes in trust and knowledge resources could affect cluster relational and transactional performance. Special attention is deserved to the important role of scientific research on agricultural clusters to strengthen the capacity of critical analysis by the researcher who, with the results in hand, makes them public, hoping that the shared information can contribute with the research of other scholars and improve the quality of life of farmers involved.

This study offers empirical evidence that trust and knowledge resources can contribute to a Brazilian agricultural cluster performance, which can be analyzed considering both relational and transactional measures. These findings brought new fact to Singh and Shrivastava’s (2013) research.

The purpose of this paper is to explore and compare consumer perceptions of unpolished pigmented rice and milled white rice between unfamiliar and typical consumers.

This study first employed focus groups to explore attitudes and habits relating to rice consumption among British subjects. A sensory descriptive analysis method, flash profiling (FP), was then applied on consumer panels in the UK and Thailand to gain perceived sensory quality of unfamiliar and typical rice samples. The sensory profiles generated by British and Thai panellists were analysed by generalised procrustean analysis (GPA) and compared based on perceived attributes, dominant characteristics and repeatability.

Focus group results suggested that consumer familiarity with rice might influence preferred rice textural quality. The prominent textures of stickiness and bittiness of unpolished pigmented rice were negatively associated with perceived quality in the UK participants. The sensory profiles generated by GPA consisted of similarity with darkness of colour and sweet/earthy type odours that are key dominant characteristics of the Thai pigmented rice.

The research has provided sensory information of the unpolished pigmented rice as compared with milled white rice. The information gives insights on product development directions for export and further research on rice processing and cooking instructions.

This study is the first to apply sensory evaluation in a cross-cultural comparison of pigmented rice.

In spite of the government’s support for small-scale rice farmers in rural areas of Thailand, several problems still affect their production and marketing performance. This study aims to assess a rice production community enterprise (RPCE) through an in-depth investigation of its problems and capabilities; and formulate internal strategic guidelines for enterprise development.

This study used a qualitative approach through in-depth interviews with the community enterprise leader and committee members, and focus group discussion with eight farmer-members, purposively selected in Chachoengsao, Thailand. Data were transcribed, sorted and organised to determine themes and patterns. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) and threats, opportunities, weaknesses and strengths (TOWS) matrix situational analyses were done to develop strategic options. Strategic guidelines were formulated through a final deliberation with all members to ensure strategies aligned with the enterprise’s goals and objectives.

The results have identified three main problem categories encountered by the community enterprise in the areas of membership and labour; production and milling operations; and product design and marketing. The enterprise’s main strengths and opportunities include its product certifications and support from external organisations. Strategic points were developed, and policy support programmes are recommended for capacity building and product development as most problems identified relate to these aspects.

The utility of this study is its focus on an RPCE. The findings will help policymakers and concerned government agencies implement better programmes and policies to develop RPCEs. Furthermore, this study will be a source for future qualitative literature that will provide helpful information to other studies aiming to develop other types of community enterprises (CEs).

The purpose of this paper is to assess the efficiency of rice millers and determine factors influencing cost efficiency in Southwest Nigeria using the cost route approach.

The paper analyses cost efficiency of rice millers using primary data collected from 62 respondents through a structured questionnaire. A multi-stage sampling procedure was employed for this purpose. The profile of rice millers and mills were derived using the descriptive analysis. Cost efficiency of the millers was obtained using the quadratic cost function analysis, and Tobit regression was used to determine factors that influence cost efficiency.

The results showed that cost efficiency indexes range from 1 to 57 percent averaging at 20.2 percent. Large rice mills were found to be most efficient with the mean cost efficiency of 25 percent. Paddy, transport and energy costs contributed positively and significantly (p=0.05 and p=0.01) to cost efficiency. Milling capacity and machine age increase cost efficiency while the distance to purchase paddy and quantity of diesel used reduces cost efficiency.

The paper shows that there is enough potential for rice millers to improve their cost efficiency based on the available technology. This has a direct implication on the economy through the increased domestic production and processing of rice to meet the increasing demand for locally produced rice.

The paper attempts to bridge the gap in the literature of cost efficiency among rice millers in Nigeria, and specifically in the application of the normalized quadratic cost function in estimating cost efficiency in the rice milling sector in Nigeria.

Understanding parboiled rice consumption trends by households is important because parboiled rice provides economic benefits as well as health benefits compared to non-parboiled ordinary milled rice. Thus, the objective of this study is to examine the patterns and determinants of parboiled rice consumption by Sri Lankan households.

This study uses the Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES) data compiled by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS) of Sri Lanka in 2002, 2006/2007 and 2012/2013. This paper analyses the parboiled rice consumption behaviour of households using information from 56,000 households. Specifically, present paper estimates the determinants of parboiled rice consumption within two-part model econometric framework controlling for demand side factors as well as location and time fixed-effects.

Despite its nutritional and health benefits, results show that the likelihood of consuming parboiled rice has decreased over the years. There are significant ethnic and regional differences of consuming parboiled rice supporting the claim of heterogeneous distribution of rice consumption patterns even within the same country.

Use of repeated cross-sectional data due to lack of panel data and missing data on several districts due to security concerns are limitations of the study.

To our knowledge, this is the first study for Sri Lanka that examines parboiled rice consumption behaviour using nationwide data for last 2 decade.

The purpose of this paper is to examine descriptive sensory characteristics and consumer acceptability of eight commercial ready-to-eat cooked rice samples by 8 trained panelists and 50 consumers.

A total of 24 descriptive attributes for appearance, odor/aroma, taste/flavor, and texture were developed. Also Consumer Acceptability (CA) was performed for overall liking, appearance, flavor, and texture liking. All statistical analyses were using analysis of variance, principal component analysis (PCA), hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), and partial least square regression (PLSR).

The overall liking score for the cooked white rice from C brand was the highest (6.43) among the eight samples. Three groups of eight commercial ready-to-eat cooked rice samples were obtained from PCA and HCA. The samples of cooked white rice from C, N, and O brand characterized by intactness, starch odor, translucency, whiteness, and glossiness were located on to the positive PLS 1, whereas the samples of cooked white rice from D and E brand characterized by scorched odor, cohesiveness, stickiness, and moistness were located on the negative side of PLS 2 in the PLSR analysis.

Further studies on the improvement of sensory quality for brown rice are necessary to increase CA in terms of health functionality of brown rice.

This paper aims to produce hybrid reinforcement for the development of aluminium matrix composites using ball-billing technique to avoid or reduce the problem of agglomeration of the reinforcement during casting.

In the present investigation, a mixture of silicon carbide (SiC) and rice husk ash (RHA) powder in equal weight percentage ratio 4:4 (1:1) was alloyed mechanically in a ball-mill at distinct milling times of 15, 30, 45, 60 and 75 h. Morphological Characterization and density measurements of the ball-milled powder were carried out after different intervals of milling times.

The results revealed that the process of ball milling is a novel technique for the conversion of two or more powders in to an integer powder and reduces the problem of agglomeration also. The density measurement results revealed that an increasing trend of density initially and reduction of the density with the increase of milling time. The density value of the combined particles became comparable to the density of aluminium at the milling time of 75 h for the equal weight percentage ratio 4:4 (1:1) of SiC and RHA.

The manuscript highlights the research work related to the development of the reinforcement for the aluminium hybrid composites by ball milling process. The use of this process for the development of the reinforcement not only reduces the problem of the agglomeration but reduces the density mismatch of the reinforcement and matrix material also.

Product quality standardization is the solution to market collapses due to quality-insensitive pricing regimes prevalent in West African (WA) rice value chains. However, access to local rice that is differentiated by quality standards is limited. This paper explores feasibility of quality standardization of local rice and evaluates how its price–quality connecting effect depends on retailer characters/reactions.

This study uses panel data from a wholesale randomized control trial (RCT) and three surveys of 135 rice retailers in Ghana.

Improved local food value chains and access to quality differentiated products are impactful entry points for import substitution policies. The strength of interretailer competition, retail infrastructure and wholesaler activities matter for a stronger connection of prices and quality, given uptake of quality-standardized local rice.

Access to quality-differentiated local rice can be increased via private and third-party certification. This addresses the prevailing inefficient pricing and its related problems. The positive impacts of such access would be magnified by designing quality certification interventions to elicit regular-frequent purchases by retailers and target retailers with adequate retail infrastructure in high competition areas. However, this study only explored profitability and opportunities for strategic behavior as the behavioral basis for quality-sensitive pricing. Other impact mechanisms could be explored in further research that includes consumer data.

Despite their difficulty and limited use in value chains studies, RCT and panel data methods are used. This study is the first to empirically analyze feasibility of introducing product standardization, a missing institution in the WA local rice markets.