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Reducing food loss and waste (FLW) is one strategy to limit the environmental impact of the food supply chain. Australian data suggest that primary production accounts for 31% of national FLW, but there are no comparable data in New Zealand. This study aimed to measure food loss and explore food loss drivers for one of New Zealand’s largest tomato growers by weighing and visually assessing tomato losses at the glasshouse, packhouse and sales warehouse. Qualitative interviews were also held with the grower (n = 3), employees (n = 10), and key industry stakeholders (n = 8). Total food loss for this greenhouse tomato grower was 16.9% of marketed yield, consisting of 13.9% unharvested tomatoes, 2.8% rejected at the glasshouse and 0.3% rejected at the packhouse. The grower’s tomato loss predominantly resulted from commercial factors such as market price, competitor activity and supply and demand. Similar issues were recognized throughout the New Zealand horticulture sector. Commercial factors, in particular, are challenging to address, and collaboration throughout the supply chain will be required to help growers reduce food losses.

This research brief examines the experiences of growers running Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) projects on the central coast of California, including their motivations for starting a CSA, the economic viability of their projects, the challenges they face, and issues of equal access to their products.

Highlights • Pigs that received more straw had more straw directed behaviour. • Pigs that received more straw showed less pen directed behaviour. • Increased straw ration decreased the amount of damaged tails in finishing pigs. • Increased straw provision did not affect pen hygiene. Abstract According to the European Union Council Directive 2008/120EC, measures to minimise the risk for tail biting shall be taken before practicing tail docking, e.g. provision of manipulable material. Still, >90% of the pigs within EU are tail docked. Thus, management routines for providing manipulable material in commercial pig production are needed. The aim of this study was to investigate how an increase from normal straw ration influence pig behaviour, occurrence of tail- and ear lesions and impact on pen hygiene. The experiment was conducted on five Swedish commercial farms; one grower and four farrow-to-finish farms. One batch per farm was studied, following pigs throughout the grower or finishing pig period. Both age groups were examined in two of the farrow-to-finish farms and only finishers in the other two, studying three grower and four finisher batches in total. The pens in a batch were divided into Control (C) and Extra Straw (ES). Pens in C were provided with the farm normal daily straw ratio, while pigs in ES got a doubled C-ration. The pigs in eight focus pens per Treatment were scored for lesions on ears and tails every two weeks. In connection with lesion scoring, behaviour observation was conducted in active pigs during one hour (4 min scan sampling) in the focus pens. All pigs in the batch were examined for tail- and ear lesions during the first and last week of the experiment. Both growers and finishers spent most of their active time manipulating straw. ES-pigs showed more straw-directed and less pen-directed behaviour in both age groups compared to C-pigs. Behaviour was also affected by farm and age revealing that the impact of an increased straw ration differed between farms and pig age. The increased straw ration did not affect the pen cleanliness, showing that it was practically feasible to increase the straw rations on all participating farms. The prevalence of tail damages increased with age, and more severe damages was found in C compared to ES. Severe tail and ear lesions were found in ∼0.6 and 0.07% of the growers and ∼2.2 and 0.75% of the finishers, C- and ES pigs respectively. Approximately 50% of the finishing pigs had tail damages at the end of the study, but the majority of lesions were less than 5 mm long and might not have been detected without close clinical examination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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A meta-analysis on the effects of management and animal-based factors on the performance and feed efficiency of growing pigs can provide information on single factor and interaction effects absent in individual studies. This study analysed the effects of such factors on average daily gain (ADG), feed intake (FI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) of grower and finisher pigs. The multivariate models identified significant effects of: (1) bedding (P

Experiments were conducted to evaluate the response of different originated (the same mother plants with different growers from different cities in Ethiopia) cut rose flowers to various relative humidity (RH) and recut (recut and non-recut). Three different experiments (E1, E2 and E3) using three RH (60, 75 and 90%) and three Ethiopian growing areas (Fleur, Liki and Longonot) with 10 replications were designed. Cut rose flowers from three growing area were recut to 5 cm and placed in 60, 75 and 90% RH as a commercial supply chain. Rose flowers without any recut were selected as control. Mean comparison in three experiments revealed that by increasing storage time in cold room, flower vase life significantly decreased. 75% RH produced the highest flower vase life compared to 60 and 90% RHs. However, mean comparisons showed that cut rose flowers originated from Liki growers significantly had the highest vase life compared to others which followed by Longonot and Fleur ones. The results revealed that 5 cm cut the end of flower stem significantly increased flower vase life compared to control. Mean comparison of bacterial populations in commercial supplies of the three experiments, declared the highest amount of bacteria in E1 than the other experiments. Cut rose flowers originated from Liki growers had the highest bacterial populations at the bottom part of the stem compared to the other growers. The results also showed that the end part of stems contain more bacterial agent compared to upper parts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent research has demonstrated benefits of genetically improved seed material (from seed orchards) for growers. In this study, we analyzed whether the profits of genetically faster growing material are also realized as simultaneous economic benefits for a sawmill. We compared three types of improved Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) seedlots to unimproved seedlots on three climatically different sites using stand-simulation software MOTTI. Genetic gains in early-rotation growth traits were incorporated in the growth models as genetic multipliers. Bare land values of the simulated stands were maximized using stand-level optimization. Consequently, removals of each thinning and final harvest were used to estimate the total value of sawing yield. This was subsequently maximized by optimizing the sawing procedure of the logs assuming identical timber quality between improved and unimproved seedlots. The results indicate that simultaneous financial incentives from tree breeding are achievable for both agents (growers and a sawmill). In general, the financial potential increases with the growth potential of the regeneration material, although the form of the relationship is not linear in all cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Government of the Lao PDR has a range of policies, including the promotion of domestic processing and discouraging the export of unprocessed wood, aimed at generating a greater share of benefits to all actors in the value chain. There are however, limited studies of the structures, operations and effects of policies on, value chains. This study aimed to compare financial returns to three different types of actors (growers, traders and a sawmilling and wood products manufacturing company) in a teak value chain in Paklay District of Xayabuly Province. The data were collected from two groups of growers on different site types, two timber traders and an integrated sawmill and wood products manufacturer. These data were triangulated with, and supplemented by, formal and informal interviews with other forest stakeholders in the district and province. Two silvicultural regimes were compared, with a single thinning at 11 years and clearfell at 18 years on good riverside alluvial sites, and 24 years on poorer, hillslopes sites. All sites were profitable for growers, as indicated by internal rates of return. The net returns per cubic meter of final product for the manufacturer is 7.3–20.3 times higher than net returns for the growers. Traders’ profits were considerably less than for the two other parts of the chain. Prices for others in the chain are largely controlled by the manufacturer and collaboration and co-innovation between the three actors is unlikely in the current environment. Possible options for increasing growers and traders’ incomes and improving value chain links are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the current conditions, preliminarily it evidences the compliance of the requirements of the GLOBALG.A.P., standard, and identifies the shortcomings and needs that at procedural level limits its compliance. Hence, a descriptive exploratory study was carried out, and a verification and information gathering instrument was designed, which consisted of a survey based on the checklist of the standard, in the base module for crops. To reveal the compliance, three fundamental elements were established; Traceability backward, inward and forward. As a final result, it is revealed a cultural process rooted regarding crops and land management, which can be a great potential to achieve the implementation of each of the points of the norm from the establishment of a link between ancestral wisdom and the standard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increased DNA damage and the propension to cancer development, depend on the modulation of the mechanisms to control and maintain genomic integrity. Poly(ADP-Ribose)Polymerase activation and automodification are early responses to genotoxic stress. Upon binding to DNA strand breaks, the enzyme, a molecular DNA nick sensor, is hyperactivated: this is the first step in a series of events leading to either DNA repair or apoptosis. Enzyme hyperactivation and automodification can be easily measured and are widely used to look at DNA damage extent in the cell. We investigated whether these two markers (increased catalytic activity and auto modification), could help to monitor DNA damage in lymphocytes of flower growers from Southern Italy, occupationally exposed to pesticides. Peripheral lymphocyte lysates were analyzed for Poly(ADP-Ribose)Polymerase activity, and by SDS-PAGE and anti-Poly(ADP-Ribose)Polymerase 1-antibodyto measure automodified Poly(ADP-Ribose)Polymerase levels bydensitometry. Poly(ADP-Ribose)Polymerase activity and PARP automodification followed the same trend. Growers daily exposed to pesticides, showed both biomarkers very high, either in the presence or in the absence of pathologies. PARP activity and auto-modification in peripheral blood lymphocytes are possible, non-invasive, androutinartools to monitor the healthy conditions of floricoltorists.

The concept ‘governing through the community’ has been used frequently to interpret the neoliberal policy embraced by Australian governments since the 1990s. Yet explanation is still inadequate of how ‘governing through the community’ is conducted in practice, particularly the specific mechanisms that regulate interaction among government agencies, groups seeking to represent the community and individuals in the community. In this study, we find that ‘governing through the community’ is actually ‘governing through representatives of the community’ because it is the representatives that make the community visible and governable. This observation is based on a case study of three kinds of farmer organizations, in two states of Australia, who see their role as serving the community and are regarded by outsiders as representatives of the community at least on certain issues. An understanding of the interaction among different stakeholders within and outside of the community is developed through three themes of ‘paperwork’, ‘data’ and ‘price’ that were used by locals from Landcare groups, grower groups and farmer cooperatives, respectively, to articulate how they experience the mechanisms through which their interactions are regulated. This paper concludes that these groups can claim to represent some residents within a defined geographical area, rather than any exact definition of ‘the community’ and that this is a sufficient claim to enable these groups to participate in the process of ‘governing through the community’. The tensions between government agencies, community representatives and community members threaten the legitimacy of the community representatives as intermediaries. Government agencies do try to contribute to reduce these tensions by strengthening the legitimacy of community representatives through various policy and project mechanisms. However, while the stated aim of ‘governing through the community’ is often focused on producing a ‘flourishing rural community’ through improving democratic modes of representation, this study demonstrates that it is only part of the community, namely the ‘targeted customers’ of the farmer organizations, that is potentially reachable to ‘the state’. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was conducted in Banswara and Udaipur district of Southern Rajasthan. Total 80 urd beneficiary farmers were selected on the basis of random sampling method from the identified districts. The study revealed that timely non-availability of seed mini kits of urd at village level, lack of skill about application of chemicals, improper knowledge about application of micronutrients, Non--availability of bio-fertilizers at village level, lack of technological guidance at proper time and inadequate knowledge about soil treatments were major constraints perceived by the beneficiary urd growers in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A research study was conducted at Department of Agricultural Extension, Education and Communication, University of Agriculture, Peshawar, Pakistan during the year 2014 to identify cost and return from wheat production at selected area Bajaur Agency of Pakistan. A multi-stage sampling technique was used for selection of sample size. In first stage of sampling, three most wheat growing villages i.e Salarzai, Tangi and Khar were selected randomly. Further, sample size was selected by stratified sampling method. Thus, total of 90 wheat growers were selected for this research study. Primary data were collected from these wheat growers by a well-designed and pre-tested interview schedule. Similarly, simple budgeting technique applied to estimate costs and return of wheat crop which was 86.12 percent on all farms basis. The results indicated that mostly 71.12 and 78.88 percent wheat growers were illiterate and owner land growers, respectively. Total cost of wheat production was Rs. 14327.49 per acre which was incurred on harvesting, threshing fertilizers application and land rent activities. Moreover, average wheat grain yield per acre was observed as 832.51 kg per acre. Therefore, net income return was Rs. 10696.76 per acre. The study suggested that wheat growers should be educated and train in adopting better cropping pattern and management practices to increase per acre. Likewise, input and output price should be kept at stable level to ensure higher income for farmers' family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strawberry is an early species, producing at short time after planting, according to crop technology and variety. Strawberry growing is profitable by extending the ripening and delivering periods, using economically feasible techniques and new valuable varieties. Strawberry fruit quality is defined by several characteristics and is influenced by genetic factors, crop location and growing methods. The purpose of the study was to identify the Romanian strawberry growers' needs, limitations and pathways in order to put forward the traits which can influence the choice of varieties by the strawberry growers, as a solution for their sustainability. The main limitation identified was the strawberry varieties used in their crops, beyond the dominance of unprotected consecrated crop technologies with low-density. In this respect we have highlighted some traits of strawberry varieties which can influence the future choices of Romanian growers: harvesting season, desired characteristics of fruit quality, and plant architecture related to production potential and stress factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study sought to establish the constraints to Moringa agronomic practices and marketing in the smallholder farming sector of Zimbabwe. Purposive sampling selected 96 respondents across four study districts in Zimbabwe who were interviewed using an open-ended questionnaire. Eight focus group discussions disaggregated by gender were carried out to supplement primary data. Growers asserted Moringa oleifera production problems of livestock damage, theft, seed supply, inefficient cultivation practices resulting in inherent low productivity and poor marketing. The growers coped through intensive monoculture of M. oleifera, enhanced local seed supply from establishing their own seed orchards, product value addition and organized associations. Moringa can be used to promote climate change resilient agricultural systems and will be a solution to environmental problems.

The purpose of this study was to conduct a qualitative comparative analysis of growers' costs for inputs related to production, processing, packaging, and distribution of local foods to independent restaurants. Growers have been motivated to sell locally due to the asymmetry in farm-retail price spreads. Yet selling locally direct to restaurants may imply new types of processes, costs, and investments. While local farm-to-retail markets may provide opportunities to reduce these price spreads and maximize benefits for growers, it is unclear whether such efforts are economically viable for growers when all input costs are considered. Interviews with local food producers found that there were clearly higher costs for growers in most of the value chain for directly selling products to restaurants. Specifically, growers expressed a need for increased communication and interaction with restaurant buyers. Such interaction helped growers showcase their products to restaurants, yet required greater time inputs. However, premiums received by growers for these direct market sales were perceived to offset these costs. Local food is gaining popularity as an alternative economic strategy for developing local communities. For it to develop and be adopted progressively, however, clear costs and benefits need to be examined, evaluated, and communicated to producers and consumers.

A transmissão de Salmonella na cadeia produtiva de suínos é um problema de difícil controle. O objetivo do estudo foi avaliar o efeito da administração oral de probiótico sobre a ocorrência de infecção e excreção fecal de Salmonella em suínos em fase de crescimento. Os tratamentos consistiram de ração basal sem aditivos (controle) ou adicionada de probiótico (10(7)ufc g-1 de células viáveis dos gêneros Bifidobacterium, Enterococcus, Lactobacillus e Saccharomyces). Foram alocados seis leitões de 50 dias em cada tratamento, com duas repetições por tratamento. Todos os animais foram inoculados com Salmonella Typhimurium (10(6)ufc mL-1) após 14 dias do alojamento. Semanalmente, foram coletadas amostras de sangue e fezes e no dia 35 pós-inoculação os animais foram sacrificados e necropsiados. Os animais de ambos os tratamentos foram infectados por Salmonella e soroconverteram. Não houve diferença (P>0,05) entre os grupos nas médias de Salmonella, Enterococcus, Lactobacillus e coliformes totais nas fezes, porém a administração de probiótico resultou em menor frequência de isolamento de Salmonella a partir de fígado (P=0,04), linfonodos mesentéricos (P=0,04), pulmão (P=0,03) e baço (P=0,01). Conclui-se que os microrganismos probióticos testados não foram capazes de impedir a infecção ou a excreção fecal de Salmonella em suínos de crescimento, mas diminuíram o número de portadores em linfonodos mesentéricos.Control of Salmonella transmission has been a challenge for the pork production companies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of oral administration of probiotics on the occurrence of infection and fecal excretion of Salmonella in growers. The treatments consisted of basal diet without additives (control) or added of probiotic (10(7)cfu g-1 of viable cells of the genera Bifidobacterium, Enterococcus, Lactobacillus and Saccharomyces). Six 50 days-old pigs were allocated into each treatment, with two replicates per treatment. All animals were inoculated with Salmonella Typhimurium (10(6)cfu mL-1) after 14 days of housing. Afterwards, blood and feces samples were taken weekly and on day 35 post-inoculation the animals were euthanized and necropsied. The animals in both treatment groups were infected by Salmonella and seroconverted. There was no difference (P>0.05) between groups in mean counts of Salmonella, Enterococcus, Lactobacillus and coliforms in the feces samples, but the probiotic administration resulted in a lower frequency of isolation of Salmonella from liver (P=0.04), mesenteric lymph nodes (P=0.04), lung (P=0.03) and spleen (P=0.01). It was concluded that the probiotic microorganisms tested in this study were not able to protect against the infection or to decrease the fecal excretion of Salmonella in growing pigs, but were able to decrease the number of carriers in the mesenteric lymph nodes.

El estudio está centrado en dos aspectos relacionados con la instalación y desarrollo de la viticultura. Por un lado refiere al papel cumplido por una elite que operó desde una organización corporativa, la Asociación Rural del Uruguay, y su labor en la difusión de la viticultura. Por otra parte, el estudio indaga en la creación de redes de viñateros - en contacto o al margen de la elite- y los niveles de socialización de los conocimientos y prácticas de que eran portadores los inmigrantes europeos y canarios, así como sus conocimientos y experiencias adquiridas en Uruguay. Estos dos niveles no estaban totalmente incomunicados, y una de las funciones cumplidas por la ARU fue precisamente articularlos. En esta perspectiva de análisis, la investigación se detiene en el caso del Departamento de Salto que fuera, inicialmente, el primer productor en UruguayThe paper is focused on two dimensions of introduction and development of viniculture. On one hand, it briefly refers to the role of an elite starting from a corporative organization, the Asociación Rural del Uruguay (Rural Association of Uruguay), and its activity in disseminating viniculture. On the other hand, this study inquires into the creation of networks of vine-growers - in contact with, or at the margin of the elite- where knowledge and practices from abroad, brought by European and Canaries immigrants, as well as studies and experiences carried out in the Uruguayan soil were socialized. These two environments were not totally isolated, and one of ARU's accomplishments was precisely to try to articulate them. This perspective of the analysis investigates a particular case: Salto Department, which was initially, the first vine-growing region of Uruguay.

Biological control (BC) is an ecological approach that provides environmentally harmonious and safe alternative method for pests' suppression. Biologically based technology is not always easily adopted by the growers. However, extent and level of BC adoption in Jordan is still largely unknown. Therefore, this paper aimed at analyzing factors affecting BC adoption among vegetables and fruit trees' growers in Jordan. For this purpose, Jordanian growers were questioned about their social aspects, types of pests encountered, and BC knowledge, practices, barriers, needs and resources by conducting a survey of growers in some Jordanian governorates during 2014. Results revealed that almost 56% of respondents have never heard about BC or not sure what BC is? and none of the respondents were regularly used BC. The majority (70%) of growers had low level of attitude towards BC and did not monitor (natural enemies) NEs. Almost 76% did not depend on NEs to control pests, and 59% did not do any thing to conserve NEs. The major barriers and needs to start adopting BC were thoroughly discussed, and the most BC agents found in respondents' farms were well documented. The majority of the respondents (66%) stated that BC is neither required nor recommended by Ministry of Agriculture, and 83% of those respondings had not been involved in BC training program. Almost 47% of the respondents would like to change to adopt BC in their farms. There was a positive correlation between growers' education level and each of familiarity with BC, involving in BC training, willingness to change to BC and level of attitude towards BC. Age was negatively correlated with level of attitude towards BC. In conclusion, the findings of this study might contribute to ongoing efforts to promote BC adoption in Jordan in order to provide healthy living conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A meta-analysis on the effects of management and animal-based factors on the performance and feed efficiency of growing pigs can provide information on single factor and interaction effects absent in individual studies. This study analysed the effects of such factors on average daily gain (ADG), feed intake (FI) and feed conversion ratio (FCR) of grower and finisher pigs. The multivariate models identified significant effects of: (1) bedding (P<0.01), stage of growth (P<0.001) and the interaction bedding×lysine (P<0.001) on ADG. ADG was higher on straw compared with no bedding (710 v. 605 g/day). (2) FI was significantly affected by stage of growth (P<0.01), bedding (P<0.01), group composition (P<0.05), group size (P<0.01), feed CP content (P<0.01), ambient temperature (P<0.01) and the interaction between floor space and feed energy content (P<0.001). Pigs housed on straw had a lower FI in comparison with those without (1.44 v. 2.04 kg/day); a higher FI was seen for pigs separated by gender in comparison with mixed groups (2.05 v. 1.65 kg/day); FI had a negative linear relationship with group size, the CP content of the feed and ambient temperature. (3) Stage of growth (P<0.001), feed CP (P<0.001) and lysine content (P<0.001), ambient temperature (P<0.001) and feed crude fibre (CF) content (P<0.01) significantly affected FCR; there were no significant interactions between any factors on this trait. There was an improvement in FCR at higher ambient temperatures, increased feed CP and lysine content, but a deterioration of FCR at higher CF contents. For ADG, the interaction of bedding×lysine was caused by pigs housed without bedding (straw) having higher ADG when on a feed lower in lysine, whereas those with bedding had a higher ADG when on a feed higher in lysine. Interaction effects on FI were caused by animals with the least amount of floor space having a higher FI when given a feed with a low metabolisable energy (ME) content, in contrast to all other pigs, which showed a higher FI with increased ME content. The meta-analysis confirmed the significant effect of several well-known factors on the performance and efficiency of grower and finisher pigs, the effects of some less established ones and, importantly, the interactions between such factors. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The objectives of the study were (a) to examine the perception of chili growers toward contract farming (CF) and (b) to ascertain the factors that motivate the growers to participate in CF. A total of 190 chili growers within East Coast Economic Region (ECER) were interviewed. The data were analyzed using SPSS to describe the respondents' profile and CF practices. At the present moment, the chili growers have a contract agreement with the Farmers' Organization Authority of Malaysia (FOAM) and FOAM, in turn, has a contract agreement with Nestle. Factor analysis was carried out to identify latent factors that influenced chili growers in their participation in CF. These factors are extension services, access to new markets, market assurance, protection for growers, skills transfer, and indirect benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Control of Salmonella transmission has been a challenge for the pork production companies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of oral administration of probiotics on the occurrence of infection and fecal excretion of Salmonella in growers. The treatments consisted of basal diet without additives (control) or added of probiotic (107cfu g-1 of viable cells of the genera Bifidobacterium, Enterococcus, Lactobacillus and Saccharomyces). Six 50 days-old pigs were allocated into each treatment, with two replicates per treatment. All animals were inoculated with Salmonella Typhimurium (106cfu mL-1) after 14 days of housing. Afterwards, blood and feces samples were taken weekly and on day 35 post-inoculation the animals were euthanized and necropsied. The animals in both treatment groups were infected by Salmonella and seroconverted. There was no difference (P>0.05) between groups in mean counts of Salmonella, Enterococcus, Lactobacillus and coliforms in the feces samples, but the probiotic administration resulted in a lower frequency of isolation of Salmonella from liver (P=0.04), mesenteric lymph nodes (P=0.04), lung (P=0.03) and spleen (P=0.01). It was concluded that the probiotic microorganisms tested in this study were not able to protect against the infection or to decrease the fecal excretion of Salmonella in growing pigs, but were able to decrease the number of carriers in the mesenteric lymph nodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The survey evaluated the market potential for guinea fowl (GF; Numidia meleagris) products in the city of Harare, Zimbabwe. Questionnaires were administered to traders/producers ( n = 17), retailers ( n = 12), cafeteria industry ( n = 33) and consumers ( n = 1,680) to establish their perceptions on guinea fowl products. The average household size was 6 ± 2. Each trader sold 10 ± 6.30 keets (mean ± standard error), 33 ± 15.05 growers, 20 ± 12.69 breeders and 20 ± 10.1 crates of 30 eggs per month. Each household consumed 2.5 ± 1.39 kg of GF meat and 3 ± 0.65 dozens of GF eggs per month. Retailers purchased 52 ± 44.42 crates of GF eggs and 41 ± 30.50/kg of GF meat whilst cafeteria purchased 33.6 ± 14 crates of GF eggs and 65.5 ± 33.52 kg of GF meat per month. Growers for breeding were the major product for sale by traders (94.1%) at a price of US$7.50 ± 1.74/bird. Different industries were offering different prices for guinea fowl products because of their scarcity on the market. The mean purchase price per crate of 30 guinea fowl eggs sold to the retail and cafeteria were US$3.00 ± 0.58 and US$4.50 ± 0.50, respectively. The mean purchase prices for GF meat was lower ( P < 0.05) for retailers (US$2.5 ± 0.81/kg) than cafeteria (US$3.67 ± 0.83/kg). The challenges faced by producers in the marketing of guinea fowl products included poor supply due to the absence of good road networks to connect source areas and the market, perishability of dressed chickens due to power cuts and poor publicity. Overall, the study showed that there is greater market potential for guinea fowl products and farmers can channel their products through traders, cafeteria and retail industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do some firms grow while others do not? This study identifies factors present in growing small firms that are absent in non-growers. An inductive method is used with a theoretical sample of businesses with contrasting growth histories, selected as matched pairs from the same manufacturing and service industries in the same urban location. Replication logic identified four factors: opportunistic perceptions of the external environment; controlled ambition of the owner-manager to grow; business culture of innovation and flexibility; and use of extensive private business networks, including portfolio entrepreneurship. The role of organizational learning in underpinning these factors was also noted. The paper ends with some limitations and suggestions for further research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]