Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies

Shanoyan, Aleksan ; Brent Ross, R. ; R. Gow, Hamish ; Christopher Peterson, H.

2014 Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies

doi: 10.1108/JADEE-01-2014-0003

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to assess the role of a third-party market facilitation strategy in creating sustainable market linkages and revitalizing an important agri-food sector in a developing country setting. More specifically, this study evaluates a third-party facilitator’s ability to assist producers and processors in developing internal private enforcement mechanisms through stimulating investments in relationship-specific assets. Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses mixed methods approach. The research is grounded by a case study of the USDA Marketing Assistance Program (MAP) in the Armenian dairy industry. Qualitative evidence from the case study is combined with data from a survey of 745 Armenian dairy farmers to examine the impact of participation in the USDA MAP-facilitated marketing channel on farm-level investments. Findings – The main results indicate that over the four-year period of the USDA MAP facilitation of dairy supply chain, farms linked to the formal milk marketing channel have invested in approximately twice as many assets specific to milk production compared to farms in the informal channel. This finding supports the hypothesis that third-party market facilitation strategy pursued by the USDA MAP has stimulated investments in private enforcement capital between dairy producers and processors and implies that an external third-party market facilitator can play an important role in enhancing performance of supply chain linkages. Originality/value – These findings and the lessons from the case of USDA MAP contribute to better understanding of third-party market linkage facilitation strategies and will be useful for the development community and agribusiness decision makers.

Botti Abbade, Eduardo ; Dewes, Homero

2014 Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies

doi: 10.1108/JADEE-06-2012-0015

Purpose – Considering Brazil as a food producer with global prominence and the urgency for food security in some developing countries, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the exports of Brazilian dry-beans against food security of its buyers. Design/methodology/approach – The investigation was conducted through analysis of data from official databases as FAO and WHO. This study elaborated dispersion maps crossing characteristics of the international buyers of Brazilian dry-beans considering their food security situations. Findings – Brazil has a high domestic consumption of dry-beans, and exports are seen as a secondary activity. However, its production is superior to their domestic needs. Exports of Brazilian dry-beans are generally volatile and unstable. Evidence suggests that countries with serious problems of child and population’s malnutrition (e.g. India and Angola) buy more Brazilian dry-beans. However, their domestic consumptions are still low. Research limitations/implications – This research based only on exports of dry-bean is faced as a significant limitation. Future studies adding other staple foods commonly consumed by economically disadvantaged populations may contribute to the investigation of the role of Brazil against the need for food security in developing countries and emerging economies. Social implications – Social implications are focussed in the pursuit of malnutrition decrease in the populations of developing countries through the consumption of nutritionally rich and economically viable food, such as dry-beans. Originality/value – The original value is based on the analysis of Brazilian dry-beans production and trades and its potential to contribute to nutritional safety and food security in developing countries.

Poole, Nigel; Donovan, Jason

2014 Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies

doi: 10.1108/JADEE-01-2013-0002

Purpose– Within the context of widespread donor support for producer organizations, the purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of interventions aimed at rescuing a failed cooperative and improving performance and business linkages between grower-suppliers and international markets through enterprise development. Design/methodology/approach– The paper reports a case study of a Nicaraguan coffee cooperative, Soppexcca, which received substantial donor support at the time of the international coffee crisis between 1999 and 2004. The study used a framework of organizational structure, strategy, empowerment, and performance to assess business performance and sustainability. Quantitative and qualitative data collection focussed on asset building and changes during the period 2005-2009. Findings– Soppexcca achieved major advances in asset building. External interventions played a pivotal role in building organizational capacity to respond to buyers’ demands and market-related shocks. Support was received not only from donors but also from supply chain partners and third-sector organizations. However, important gaps remain, and addressing these gaps requires changes in Soppexcca and sustained support. Research limitations/implications– As a case study, findings cannot be readily generalized but the implications will be of significance beyond the coffee sector in Nicaragua, wherever and in whatever sector building cooperative capacity is an important development objective. Social implications– Experience with Soppexcca shows that the creation of sustainable collective organizations is a long-term process, particularly in respect of building human capital. Originality/value– The paper examines enterprise development using concepts of capital asset formation and cooperative performance, and argues the significance of effective links between value chain stakeholders as well as internal cooperative performance.

Kumar Soni, Tarun

2014 Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies

doi: 10.1108/JADEE-07-2012-0019

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the market efficiency, unbiasedness and the direction of causality among four agricultural commodity futures contracts for a forecasting horizon of 28 days, 56 days and 84 days which are traded at National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Ltd. Design/methodology/approach – To analyse the efficiency of futures market in Indian scenario, we focus on maize, chickpea, soybean and wheat which are among the most important agricultural commodities traded in India. In the first step, Augmented Dickey-Fuller test and nonparametric Phillips-Perron approaches have been used to examine the stationarity of all futures and spot price series. After testing the presence of cointegration in futures and spot series using Johansen’s Cointegration approach, the joint restrictions of β 0 =0, β 1 =1 and β 1 =1 on the cointegrating vectors were imposed to test whether the futures price is an unbiased predictor of spot at contract maturity. In the next step, linear Toda and Yamamoto (1995) and the nonparametric Diks and Panchenko (2006) causality tests were applied to examine the direction of causality. Finally, nonlinear test were applied on the vector error correction model (VECM) residuals to investigate whether any remaining causality is strictly nonlinear in nature. Findings – The results of cointegration tests between futures and spot prices of the selected agricultural commodities indicated a long term relationship do exist in three out of four futures contracts. However, the Wald tests results on the cointegrating vectors indicate markets as inefficient and biased. Further, analysis of short-term relationship using alternate tests of causality do not give consistent results for same commodity series indicating that results may vary due to alternate measures and specifications. Finally, if we consider the results of Diks-Panchenko test on the filtered VECM-residuals, results provide evidence that if cointegration is taken into account; neither spot nor future leads or lags the other consistently. Research limitations/implications – The results are based on the sample of four agricultural futures commodity contracts. The study can be extended to a larger sample of contracts and relative efficiency of each contract can be explored. Originality/value – There are very few studies that have explored the efficiency, unbiasedness and direction of causality using both linear and nonlinear techniques for Indian agriculture commodity futures market for different forecasting horizons.

Margaretha Rietveld, Anne ; Jogo, Wellington ; Mpiira, Samuel ; Staver, Charles

2014 Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies

doi: 10.1108/JADEE-08-2012-0021

Purpose – Beer-bananas in Central Uganda are important for smallholder farmers’ livelihoods, especially for those that process the banana into beer and spirits. The purpose of this paper is to understand how actors in the beer-banana value chain are affected and how they are managing disease has become an important issue since the outbreak of the bacterial banana disease Xanthomonas Wilt. Design/methodology/approach – The authors conducted an exploratory study focusing on producers of beer-bananas; brewers and non-brewers, and on retailers in Central Uganda and in Kampala. The authors conducted surveys with these value chain actors and we used baseline data, collected through a household survey in the project sites. Findings – Results showed that Banana Xanthomonas Wilt (BXW) has drastically reduced productivity of beer-banana systems, resulting in reduced sales volumes of beer-bananas and processed products and consequently reduced incomes. Application of disease control measures was generally higher among those farmers that brew. Research limitations/implications – This being an exploratory study, the samples for the different value chain actors were rather small. Future research should address: product quality and opportunities for differentiation; effects of beer-banana processing on rural communities; adoption of BXW control measures. Originality/value – Beer-bananas are often neglected in research; this paper shows that is unfounded since beer-banana production and processing are important for many people’s livelihood. More insight into what motivates farmers to control the disease is essential to protect these people’s livelihoods.