Search

The research described in this paper was designed to identify the factors that influence the importance small-scale farmers place on different marketing channels of short food supply chains. The focus concerns two entirely different types of market that are present in the bigger cities in Hungary: 'conventional' markets where there are no restrictions on locality but the farmer-market relationship is based on binding contracts, and newly-emergent farmers' markets at which only local growers can sell ad hoc, using their own portable facilities. Results are based on a survey that was conducted in 2013 among 156 Hungarian market oriented farmer-vendors at different types of market and confirm that different markets are visited by different types of farmers. Farmers who favour conventional markets are typically less educated, operate on smaller scales and are more committed to their chosen markets via long-term contracts (which reduce the probability of their trying other outlets). The preference for farmers' markets is stronger with farmers who are more open to cooperation, have specific investment plans for developing their farms and among those who are specifically looking to directly interact with their customers to avoid middlemen. The relevance of the findings is highlighted by the ongoing Short Food Supply Chain Thematic Sub-programme in the present European Union financing period; farmers' profiles in any given marketing channel must be understood if short food supply chains are to be effectively promoted. Different types of small-scale farmers will benefit from different supporting frameworks, interventions, and initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the malt barley value chain in Ethiopia with emphasis on value chain structure, integration, and performance and their respective interactions. Data were gathered from individual chain members through qualitative interviews and analyzed according to definitions of concepts in the literature and their arrangements within a conceptual framework. We identified several fragmentations that constrained value chain performance and weakened its integration. The major causes of fragmentation were a lack of value chain thinking, opportunistic traders, weak cooperative organizations, poor information sharing, and less support from the malt factory and breweries to upstream members of the chain. A conceptual framework was designed to guide future analysis, open managerial and policy dialogues, and initiate questions for future research to identify new ways of linking small-scale farmers to the large agro-processors in Sub-Saharan Africa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]