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The institutional determinants of bilateral Agricultural and food trade
53-57Views:141The paper investigates the effects of the institutional determinants on trade in agricultural and food products among the OECD countries using a gravity model approach. We focus on the impact of the quality of governance and the similarity of institutions in explaining variation in bilateral agricultural and food trade patterns. Results confirmed the separate effects for the institutional similarity and the institutional quality on trade patterns. The institutional similarity has positive and significant impact on trade in a similar institutional framework for agricultural, but less for food products. The institutional quality has significant positive impact on trade in both agricultural and food products for importing countries.
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Clasters and Correlations among the Eu Member States Regarding Agri-Food Foreign Trade
55-63Views:129The European Union has a significant role in international trade but this is largely in the area of industrial goods. However, in the case of some agricultural commodities the EU applies tariffs, bans, or different restrictive measures; it manages foreign trade in agricultural goods with many countries all over the world. On the other hand the member states do not contribute to the total trade of the EU to the same extent. In this study, a comparative analysis was performed in relation to the member states by means of data of Eurostat and Faostat. First, a multivariable correlation analysis was carried out in order to find the interrelation between the trade features of each country. In the second part of the study, a cluster analysis was carried out with almost the same component as in the foregoing, also in terms of the EU member states. It can be ascertained that the date of EU accession of a Member State as well as getting EU agricultural subsidies do not affect the agricultural foreign trade of the member states. Countries with significant agricultural production also export food commodities in larger quantities. Countries that have significant exports extra-EU also have larger imports in the case of both basic commodities and prepared food as well. As a result of the cluster analysis, it can be stated that the member states can be divided into specific groups according to the three examined aspects (food trade features, exports of commodities, imports of commodities). The following typical country groups can be divided as follows: non-trade countries, countries with larger trade extra-EU, agri-food exporter and importer countries, non-agri-food exporter and importer countries, primary commodity exporters and importers, and last but not least processed food exporters and importers as well.
JEL Classification: F10
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The motivations for the diversification of the Nigerian economy focusing on sustainable agriculture
7-13Views:201Agriculture is one of the major branches of the economy in Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa. It employs around 70% of the population and its contribution to the national GDP ranges around 45% (2012). In spite of the fact that most of the area is arable the majority of food, the Nigerian population consumes, comes from imports. The paper attempts to provide in insight to the reasons, why Nigeria could still not achievew self sufficiency from major food crops and livestock. Beyond the rapid growth of the population, one of the major reasons is the rich oil and natural gas reserves, the exploitation and export of which has been providing with the country with “easy cash” for the recent few decades. Another reason is that the agricultural holdings are small and scattered, and farming is carried out with simple tools and techniques. Modern and large-scale farms are not common. The political leadership and economic decision makers of the country already recognized the necessity of the development of the food and agricultural sector, which – contrary to the oil industry – would exercise a deep and positive impact on the rural society as well. Nigerian agriculture is being transformed towards commercialization at small, medium and large-scale enterprise levels.
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Consumers’ Awareness, Perception and Interest in Labelling of Processed Foods in Ghana: A Case of ‘Sobolo’
Views:370Food labels contain much information that helps consumers to make decisions based on the details which are of much importance to them. The study assessed awareness, perception and factors that influence consumers’ interest in labelling of sobolo in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ashanti region, Ghana. Systematic random sampling was used to select 300 respondents from five randomly selected sub-metros and data were collected using a semi structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, tables and percentages were used to summarize the socio-economic characteristics of respondents. Perception index was used to assess the perception statements on the product labelling and the Logistic Regression Model was used to analyze the factors that significantly influence consumers’ interest in labelling of sobolo. Results of the study showed that majority (97.3%) of respondents were not aware of labelled sobolo but 67% was interested, though with low awareness. The estimated perception index (2.8) showed that consumers had positive perception about labelling of sobolo. Among the socio-economic characteristics; age, education, household income and household size and respondents’ perception on health and safety aspects of sobolo were found to significantly influence interest in labelling of sobolo. In conclusion, the study found that, consumers would prefer different information on labels and thus their interests are significantly influenced by different factors. It is recommended that efforts should be made to promote the awareness, education and interest in labelling of food products to enhance production, consumption and sustainability of the food industry.
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Bioenergy: Risks to food-, energy- and environmental security
121-130Views:198There are growing opportunities and demands for the use of biomass to provide additional renewables, energy for heat, power and fuel, pharmaceuticals and green chemical feedstocks. However, the worldwide potential of bioenergy is limited, because all land is multifunctional, and land is also needed for food, feed, timber and fiber production, and for nature conservation and climate protection. The recent expansion of the bioenergy industries together with a strong increase in many commodity prices has raised concerns over the land use choices between energy needs and food and feed. New systems of energy production must be developed based on cost of environmental damage due to production and use of fossil energy and certain chemicals and materials. This article presents risks to food and energy security, estimates of bioenergy potential and the challenges of the environmental and social impact associated with expansions in bioenergy production.
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Smallholder Food Marketing Behaviour: Exploring the Role of Informal Credit and Traders in Stabilization of Food Crop Prices
67-82Views:117Many farmers in Africa sell their produce at low prices immediately after harvest because they need cash. They could solve temporary liquidity constraints by use of credit and store their produce to sell when prices are high. However, due to various reasons such many poor farmers have been excluded from formal financial services. In response, the informal financial market has expanded, but the question why informal credit has not facilitated storage to enable farmers benefit from intertemporal arbitrage opportunities remains largely unanswered. To answer this question, we investigate the role of informal credit markets and traders in stabilizing seasonal food crop prices. Our analysis is based on a household survey data, and in-depth interviews with key players in the informal credit market and grain traders in rural southwestern Uganda. We find that community-based self-help savings and credit associations provide credit for the majority (62%) of farmers. Informal credit still excludes the very poor and is not sufficient to enable farmers benefit from intertemporal arbitrage opportunities. Thus, poor farmers continue to ‘sell low and buy high’. The study also addresses a related fundamental aspect of food marketing: why is there no competition between traders bidding up prices after harvest and eliminating seasonal price fluctuations? We analyse traders’ costs and profit structure in the study area, and shed some light on imperfections in the grain market and the barriers that limit competition between traders. We find that grain trade is not highly competitive. High transaction costs and limited access to credit are the main barriers limiting competition. Supporting community-based self-help savings and credit associations to raise their portfolio can enable more farmers to borrow at the same time. Investing in infrastructure, organising and supporting small scale farmers to bulk their produce might lower transaction costs, promote competition and dampen price fluctuations.
JEL Classification: D53, O13, O16, Q12, Q13
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Segmenting Hungarian people based on healthy eating
65-72Views:250Relying on customer trends healthy eating, which is one aspect of healthy lifestyle is becoming more and more popular. The aim of this study was to understand the healthy eating style of Hungarian adult consumers. An online empirical research with a sample of 1563 respondents (58.7% females and 41.3% males) was conducted in November 2018. Considering healthy eating two factors, namely the choice of healthy foods and the avoidance of unhealthy foods could be distinguished. A hierarchical cluster analysis was conducted to segment consumers. Four groups of consumers were identified: unhealthy food avoiders (20.3%), rejecters (11.8%), neutrals (26.2%) and healthy food choosers (14.7%). Unhealthy food avoiders are seniors. Rejecters are blue collar workers and have financial problems. Healthy food choosers live in families with children over 10 and do not have weight problems. This study is useful for the health sector and the government since targeted marketing programs can be planned to change eating behavior. To decrease overweight and obesity is the goal of all society, especially in developed countries. To increase the well-being of people and their quality of life educating social marketing campaigns are necessary with the aim of raising their awareness and explaining the basic principles of a healthy diet.
JEL Classification: 112, M30, M39
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Synthetic biology applied in the agrifood sector: Societal priorities and pitfalls
89-95Views:259Synthetic biology offers potential for innovation in the agrifood sector, although concerns have been raised consumer rejection of applications will occur similar to that associated with the introduction of genetically modified foods. Risk-benefit assessment should address socio-economic, as well as health and environmental impacts. Ethical issues may be of particular relevance to the application synthetic biology, and may also resonate with societal concerns. A case-by-case analysis of relevant issues may be needed, and innovation must be driven by societal and consumer preferences as well as technological possibilities. Research into consumer and societal priorities is required early in the innovation trajectory.
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Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility (ECSR) in Polish food sector enterprises from Częstochowa region – empirical analysis
101-105Views:107The purpose of the paper is the assessment of implementation of Environmental Corporate Social Responsibility (ECSR) concept in Polish food industry in Czestochowa region. ECSR is an important part of the concept of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The food industry has many impacts on the environment and strongly depends on natural resources, that is why companies’ environmental consequences of their functioning are important part of corporate management. The most popular activities in the area of the CSR in Polish enterprises relate to the environmental protection. The analysis of the research results indicates, that 38% of the surveyed enterprises follow the ECSR rules, including mostly large manufacturing enterprises. The ECSR is seen as a tool for creating positive image and reputation of a company on the market and for enhancing the organizational culture of an enterprise. Unfortunately, surveyed enterprises have not perceived the ECSR concept as a tool for creating a competitive advantage on the market yet.
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An ICT-based traceability system in compound feed industry
59-64Views:179The term traceability refers to recording of flow of products along the food chain from production to consumption with inclusion of all intermediate applications involved in processing/packaging stages. The aim for establishing traceability in the food chain is to provide the timely identification and recall of batches of product from the market when a risk threatens the health of consumers. Since compound feed products are basic inputs in livestock and poultry production, ICT-based feed traceability systems can be considered as a initial step in food traceability management. These systems are simply information recording systems that are designed to trace and track the flow and characteristics of animal feed along the feed supply chain. This paper describes the architecture and some functional properties of a feed traceability system called as the “feed TRace”, focusing particularly on compound feed and integrated poultry meat industries. The feedTRace aims to improve compound feed supply chain management, to increase feed safety and quality control, and to gain marketing competencies with traceable products in compound feed industry. The system is currently under beta stage, and is tested in two high capacity feed milling plants and an integrated broiler company located inAdana province of Turkey.
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Total Quality Management in the food industry – Current situation and potential in Germany
83-87Views:439The requirements in terms of information availability, risk precaution and control in the food industry continue to increase. In this context the interest of companies in the Total Quality Management (TQM) approach is also increasing. This development attracts notice to Business Excellence and connected systems. Similarly, various quality management tools and techniques are available. In this regard a research project analyzed to what extent the companies in the food industry apply different activities of the TQM scheme. The research calculates the importance that the companies attach to different requirements of TQM and how they implement them. Additionally, statistical analysis provides evidence that there is a positive correlation between the implementation of the activities of TQM and the medium- to longterm success of a company. In this article the methodology and major findings of this research project are presented.
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Socioeconomic determinants of frequency of fish purchasing among Trinidad and Tobago shoppers: A binary logit analysis
105-109Views:127As the Caribbean continues to succumb to the pressure of Non-Communicable Diseases innovative strategies are being sought to rectify the problem. Increasing the purchase and consumption of fish/seafood has great potential in this regard; however, very little empirical research appears to have been undertaken on food marketing in general and for fish in particular in the Caribbean. This study analyzed the factors that affect the frequency of fish purchasing in Trinidad and Tobago. The results of the analysis indicated that 63% of the sample are occasional purchasers of fish (purchased fish less frequently than once per week). The binary logit analysis showed that of the eight socioeconomic variables analyzed, only three were statistically significant – age, educational level attained and religion. The results suggested that persons over 35 years, more educated (tertiary level trained) and non-Christians are more probable to be regular purchasers of fish than younger, primary and secondary level educated Christians. It is hoped that marketers trying to develop strategies to gain market share in the highly competitive food market, nutritionists and others attempting to reduce the health care costs of Trinidad and Tobago and other Caribbean countries through the increased consumption of fish/seafood find these results informative.
JEL. Code: M31, Q13, C25
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Empowerment of rural women farmers and food production in Rathnapura district in Sri Lanka: a household level analysis
105-112Views:229Women empowerment and gender equity are two significant aspects of the sustainable development of a country. As Sri Lanka is on the way towards sustainable development, this study was conducted to assess the situation of women farmers’ empowerment and food production in Rathnapura district of the country. A sample of 300 women farmers was randomly selected for the study, from two selected Divisional Secretariat (DS) of Rathnapura district. Data was collected from a field survey using a pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire survey from April to July 2019. Empowerment was analyzed using the empowerment framework used by RAHMAN AND NAOZORE in 2007 in the study of “Women Empowerment through Participation in Aquaculture” with necessary modifications. Data analysis was conducted using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis and multiple linear regression analysis. Results revealed that majority of the women farmers were middle aged, married and had children. Furthermore, most of them had education up to secondary level. While average family size was four, average farm size was 1.25 acres. They had around 16 years of farming experience. The average monthly income of them was 25,000.00 LKR whereas 20% of it was from agriculture. The main sources of empowerment of women farmers were the Agrarian Service Center (55%) followed by village organizations/societies (30%) and microfinance institutions (26%). Furthermore, women empowerment index was 0.65. It is a moderate level of empowerment. However, there were women farmers under three categories of empowerment levels: low empowerment (4.1%), medium empowerment (58.5%) and high empowerment (36.1%). Out of the socio-economic factors; age, education, family size, land size, number of training programs participated, monthly income, experience in agriculture and number of organizations participated, education and number of training programs attended had significant and positive effect for the empowerment. Accessibility of credit facilities and agricultural extension program participation showed that there was a considerable impact on food production rather than the cultivable land size and utilization of modern farming technologies for food production. Therefore, proving of timely important agricultural education and training programs, enhance awareness level of modern farming technology utilization, better micro finance programs and agricultural credit facilities will be able to enhance the empowerment level of the women farmers of this area furthermore.
JEL CODE: Q01, Q12
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Network attributes’ evaluation by stakeholder groups concerned to the agri-food sector in Hungary
55-58Views:145As a consortium partner, University of Debrecen, Hungary, has been conducting a European four-year project with the acronym NetGrow financed within the Framework Program 7 under the auspices of the EU focusing on network behaviour of food SMEs and the performance of networks. The overall objective is to reveal more evidences and facts on innovation, learning, and networking in the food sector of the EU. Whithin the scope of the project, special attention was paid to reveal how network attributes were evaluated by the main four stakeholder groups of the food sector such as food SMEs, public bodies, research institutions, and network management organisations. The respondents differ in ranking the attributes, while but we got a clear order of attributes, of which the top five can be explicitly selected. Taking the next three ranks into consideration, the attributes behind them have clear meanings and they seem to be complementary for the top five. The stakeholder groups were significantly differ in scoring openmindedness and external relations, the importance of network rendered services, and the goals relevance of the network to the firms.
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Agricultural policy and rural development
105-112Views:124The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is a cornerstone of EU policy relating to rural areas. Initially, it aimed to provide a harmonised framework for maintaining adequate supplies, increasing productivity and ensuring that both consumers and producers received a fair deal in the market. These priorities have shifted to environmental and animal welfare concerns, as well as food safety and security aspects. As a consequence, the CAP has gradually moved from a production-based structure of subsidies to a market-oriented system, integrating standards for food, environment and biodiversity, as well as animal welfare. In 2010, the EU launched an extensive debate on the future of the CAP, as the European Union needs a better tailored, reformed Common Agricultural Policy to answer the challenges of food, growth and jobs in rural areas. The European agriculture must address the expectations of rural society and demands of the market concerning public goods, the environment and climate change. This raises questions of whether the CAP payments in the past have been effective in achieving their objectives and whether direct payments should be continued for supporting agricultural environmental issues.
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L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele as a Case Study of Traditional Speciality Guaranteed and International Franchising
17-23Views:400This work explores the case study of L’Antica Pizzeria da Michele as a best practice of traditional speciality guaranteed and international franchising. Besides being one of the most ancient and successful pizzerias in Naples, da Michele is renowned all over the world for the quality of its raw products, dough processing, and output. In the last years, da Michele also started pioneering the pizza production and commerce industry with an innovative franchising model and a new company appointed to managing this latter business. This work makes use of in-depth interviews and data collected on the field. For such scope, top managers and employees of both the local and the international companies were interviewed. The study finds that da Michele managed to become a benchmark for territorial food products and, more recently, for high-standard franchising, jumpstarting a successful brand-new company and food business project.
JEL Classification: O13, Q13, Q16, Q1
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Reducing consumption of food with high level of fat, sugar and/or salt among young generation
85-91Views:140The young generation is the most influenced and vulnerable segment of the market. Food with high level of fat, sugar and/or salt are popularised for this segment.At the same time nearly 7 people die of obesity or from complications of obesity in Hungary each hour – one every 9minutes. Less than 10% of youth are of the belief of eating healthy and more then one third of youth don’t take care about healthy eating. The young generation can be especially influenced by use of well-known persons, prize games and free gifts. The idea of fat tax’s introduction could be an obvious proposal.
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The characteristics of consumer attitudes in the food market in Hungary
43-49Views:163The objective of our research was to examine the health status and health behaviour of the Hungarian population in relation of food consumption by identifying relationships between the underlying factors. In our research we used the objective factors from secondary data concerning nutritional status and body image as a framework for the interpretation of the examined relationship of eating attitudes and body attitudes. We chose survey as our test method, it was carried out on a national representative sample of 1000 people. After the examination of the factor structure of the two attitude measuring questionnaire, five consumer groups have been identified by the cluster analysis. The five clusters are: Uncontrolled Impulse Eaters, Dissatisfied Tense, Uninterested, Overweight Impulse Eaters and Conscious Consumers. This segmentation based on eating attitudes and body attitudes could serve as a guidance for health marketing experts and the manufacturers of health protective food to determine and address their target group.
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Trends in agriculture and food production
99-110Views:108Agricultural reform resulted a shift from collective farming to small-scale production in China. This reform also has resulted a strong increase in gross agricultural output, which coincides with a slower increase in labour productivity. At the beginning of the reforms, agriculture accounted for 70 percent of total employment in China and still employs more than 50%. As a result of these reforms, China has undergone impressive economic growth also in the agriculture; the country has become one of the world’s top exporters and is attracting record amounts of foreign investment. The government has also stepped up investments in rural areas to meet the market demand for agricultural products. Results are very competitive compared to Central and Eastern European countries, where agriculture accounted for only 15 percent of total employment, but agricultural reform resulted a strong decline in gross agricultural output, which coincides with a similarly strong decline in employment. When approaching the issue of sustainable agriculture, we have to take into consideration, which China and India feed the largest populations in the world and both countries have had its own agricultural successes in the past 50 years. China has used land far more efficiently than many developed countries. With nine percent of the world’s arable land, China is responsible for the greatest share of agricultural production worldwide. Volume of produced pork, eggs, wheat, cotton, tobacco, and rice has increased and China exports an increasing amount of product each year. China has opened his borders, but do not expose food consumers to price shocks and producers to risks and disincentives. In this paper, the land-tenure system and the trends of agricultural developments are analysed in China and selected countries of EU.
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Evaluating linkage between operators’ satisfaction and potential of local resources for rural tourism: Evidence from Matsuura in Japan
33-41Views:136As rural tourism evolves into diversification, the connection between the individual and local resource management is becoming an important issue for the sustainable evolution of rural tourism. To explore this point, we investigated conceptually and empirically whether rural tourism operators’individual satisfaction enhances utilization of local resources and, if so, what mechanism works for it by focusing on rural tourism accompanied by an educational program, i.e. a farm-stay with farm and rural experience services implemented as a part of school trips in Matsuura, Japan. From statistical tests and an econometric estimation based on a questionnaire survey of rural tourism operators we found that operators’individual satisfaction gained from interchange with visitors and direct feedback can positively enhance locally exerted effects that stimulate operators to recognize opportunities within their community and raise the potential for local resource use. Thus, we should strengthen this connection to eventually create a new viable activity.
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Education as a factor of awareness development of organic product consumers
39-42Views:124Organic agriculture provides good quality products, the development of sustainable agriculture, environmental protection and economic efficiency. To develop a habit of consuming organic food, as is case with all habits, it is necessary to educate the younger population, so that they can become accustomed to the fact that organic food is a source of both human health and a healthy environment. Therefore, educational institutions should initiate actions in order to develop awareness of the importance of healthy and safe food (especially fresh fruits and vegetables) among youth. This action has already been carried out in some countries.
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How to improve the performance of agriculture in Mongolia by ICT
59-64Views:294Agriculture is one of the most important sectors for the Mongolian economy. Also, self-sufficient food is a significant target that has a vital role in the food safety of people in Mongolia. But due to climate change, not proper management, and lack of technology, the Mongolian agricultural sector is facing several issues. So this article aims to find some potential solutions to improve this situation, especially for the crop production sector in Mongolia. To define the current situation of Mongolian agriculture, we used statistical data and reports and recent scientific articles as well as online sources. The current situation of Mongolian agriculture is defined using SWOT analysis reported by the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Light Industry of Mongolia. Based on this research, we discuss the possibility of using a drone to improve the performance of agriculture in Mongolia. As a result, a drone is effective in enhancing the performance of agriculture performed by householders. Also, two effective models that are based on ICTs to address soil erosion and harvest losses issues in Mongolia are defined in this article.
JEL Classification: Q16
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Quality-satisfaction-loyalty: consumer behaviour in catering
5-11Views:222Our study is the result of the initial research of a qualitative and quantitative research consisting of more stages. The survey was made between 2007 and 2013 and specially focused on the satisfaction of Hungarian customers of catering enterprises with hot kitchen as well as on factors influencing satisfaction and customer loyalty. The results proved that a well planned, central strategy cannot be prepared for the whole catering industry as even enterprises with the same profile (warm food kitchen) show significant differences. The most important task for an enterprise is to establish and know its appropriate clientele well in order to suit its services, selection to their requirements. Our assumption that customers of fast food restaurants, canteens have lower expectations from selection, personal relations, quality of services than customers of restaurants, public houses, wayside inns, brasseries with traditional methods of selling was proven. In the lattest, the main aspect of choosing a 'favourite place' was the quality of human relations, with the special role, besides other customers, of the staff. Establishing unique atmosphere to the liking of customers can be regarded as an important point of the operational strategy. It was also proven that the majority of regular customers of restaurants are men, coming from the economically active population. Other active users are youngsters, they mainly go to fast food restaurants. More impersonal advertisements hardly have any effect, while successful word of mouth propaganda can be achieved by consequent, high level work. Regular customers can be characterized by rather emotional than market-based attachment. Favourite units are mainly preferred because of their atmosphere, relationships with acquaintances and friends, not because of measurable features, selection or prices. Those visiting catering enterprises with hot kitchen more frequently are more critical and less satisfied, in spite of this, they are reluctant to part from their regular places.
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Farm-retail price transmission in Malaysian pork sector
87-92Views:154This study intends to determine the farm-retail price transmission behaviors of pork in Malaysia to serve as a good implication for pork pricing system in Malaysia. Using monthly data from January 1997 to December 2008, markup pricing model, Houck, and ECM approaches were estimated. While many previous studies found that farm-retail price transmission is asymmetric, this study encountered different result where the findings in both the Houck and ECM approaches suggested that the Malaysian pork farm-retail price transmission is symmetric. A change in farm price of pork is likely to have similar direction in change of retail price of pork in Malaysia. The pricing system of pork can therefore be further described by the estimated price transmission elasticities (that derived from the symmetric mark-up pricing model) where retail price is very sensitive to the changes in farm price. A change in farm price is expected to result in a bigger change in retail price of pork while other things remain unchanged.
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Reducing consumption of food with high level of fat, sugar and/or salt among young generation
79-85Views:139The young generation is the most influenced and vulnerable segment of the market. Food with high level of fat, sugar and/or salt are popularised for this segment.At the same time nearly 7 people die of obesity or from complications of obesity in Hungary each hour – one every 9 minutes. Less than 10% of youth are of the belief of eating healthy and more then one third of youth don’t take care about healthy eating. The young generation can be especially influenced by use of well-known persons, prize games and free gifts. The idea of fat tax’s introduction could be an obvious proposal.
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