Today, technological global agri-food economies dominated by vertically integrated large enterprises are failing in meeting the challenge of feeding a growing global population within the limits of the “Planetary Boundaries”, and are characterised by a “triple fracture” between agri-food economies and their three constitutive elements: nature, consumers, and producers. In parallel to this crisis, new eco-ethical-driven agri-food economies are built around new farming and food distribution practices to face the challenge of food system transition to sustainability.
This thesis is situated in this field of inquiry and studies entrepreneurship in agriculture. It explores how we can further develop both agriculture and sustainable rural areas. Farmers have traditionally played a significant role in rural areas and rural development, and still do. However in pace with societal development and the reduced number of farms and farm production, their role has changed. Today, they are considered as raw material producers, being the first link in a food chain, and active in landscape conservation in the countryside.
The use of digital technologies has been recognized as one of the great challenges for businesses of the 21st century. This digitalization is characterized by the intensive use of information technologies in the different stages of the value chain of a sector. In this context, smart agriculture is transforming the agricultural sector in terms of economic, social, and environmental sustainability.
Organic farming can play an important role in rural development and food production, by reinforcing the trend toward sustainable agriculture and its purpose of ecosystem conservation. The agribusiness of organic farming is particularly relevant in family farming, given the labor availability and the short marketing circuits. The innovative techniques of organic farming, namely with soil fertility, weed and pest control, opens a wide range of possibilities in its development and extension.
Theoretically, improved food security can be achieved through (a) increased availability – by extending staple food production area, higher productivity, good post harvesting practices; (b) enhanced access – as a result of more stable prices, improved farmer income, or even rural income; and (c) increased stability - through improved and sustained competitive advantage of the member firms, which eventually contribute to sustainable industry including in agriculture.
In recent years, increasing numbers of smallholders in developing countries such as China have begun to sell agricultural products directly to consumers via online shops using a third-party trade platform. It is increasingly clear that e-commerce has become a new and effective way to help smallholders gain access to the market. The investigation of agricultural e-commerce practices has a significant role in helping to understand the development of the agri-food sector in China.
This paper contributes to the overall discussion on the relational resources then, in particular, attempts to recognize inter-firm investments in the agrifood industry. It is essentially grounded in an integrative approach which combines relational and resource-based views. Our goal in this paper is to find out if and how relational investment contributes to a sustainable relational advantage of business relationships in the agrifood industry. Producers, processors and traders who undertake investments in conjunction with their contractors were queried.
The purpose of the article is to reveal the peculiarities of functioning of micro and small agribusinesses in Ukraine, to identify the negative factors influencing the result of such enterprises and to formulate directions for the development of small agribusiness. The methodological basis of the research is a systematic approach to the study of economic phenomena.
La presente Tesis doctoral se planteó con cuatro objetivos específicos. El primero era "conocer el estado actual en el que se encuentra el sector agroalimentario incidiendo en aquellos aspectos que pueden influir en mayor medida en el desarrollo de su ecosistema emprendedor"; para su cumplimiento se han confirmado los principales problemas y enfoques para abordarlos con personal experto de los diferentes eslabones de la cadena agroalimentaria (método Delphi), y elaborado unas matrices DAFO y CAME.
The publication is a part of the FAO work to assist the member countries in reforming their national Extension and Advisory Services (EAS). It highlights the main elements and provides concrete guidelines for the policy makers to make EAS demand-driven, i.e. responsive to diverse needs and demands of rural producers, including the most vulnerable groups, women and youth etc.