Characterisation framework of key policy, regulatory and governance dynamics and impacts upon European food value chains: Fairer trading practices, food integrity, and sustainability collaborations. : VALUMICS project “Understanding Food Value Chains and Network Dynamics” funded by EU Horizon 2020 G.A. No 727243. Deliverable D3.3

The report provides a framework that categorises the different European Union (EU) policies, laws and governance actions identified as impacting upon food value chains in the defined areas of: fairer trading practices, food integrity (food safety and authenticity), and sustainability collaborations along food value chains. A four-stage framework is presented and illustrated with examples. The evidence shows that European Union policy activity impacting upon food value chain dynamics is increasing, both in terms of the impacts of policies upon the chains, and, in terms of addressing some of the more contentious outcomes of these dynamics. A number of policy priorities are at play in addressing the outcomes of food value chain dynamics. unevenness of the distribution of profit within food value chains, notably to farmers. Regulation of food safety and aspects of authenticity has been a key focus for two decades to ensure a functioning single market while ensuring consumer health and wellbeing. A food chain length perspective has been attempted, notably through regulations such as the General Food Law, and the rationalisation of the Official Controls on food and feed safety. However, there are still gaps in the effective monitoring and transparency of food safety and of food integrity along value chains, as exemplified by misleading claims and criminal fraud. This has led to renewed policy actions over food fraud, in particular. EU regulations, policies and related governance initiatives provide an important framework for national-level actions for EU member states and for EEA members. The more tightly EU-regulated areas, such as food safety, see fewer extra initiatives, but where there is a more general strategic policy and governance push, such as food waste reduction or food fraud, there is greater independent state-level activity. Likewise, there is much more variation in the application of both national and European (Competition) law to govern unfair trading practices impacting upon food value chains. This report presents the findings of a survey of members from the VALUMICS stakeholder platform, that were policy facing food value chain stakeholders across selected European countries, including both EU and EEA Member States. The survey was conducted to check the significance of the main policies identified in the mapping exercise at EU and national levels and so to incorporate the views of stakeholders in the research. The responses suggest the policy concerns identified in EU and national-level research resonate with food value chain stakeholders in participating nations. The report concludes by exploring in more detail how the themes of fairness and of transparency are being handled in the policy activities presented. Highlighted are the ways that both fairness and transparency can be extended within the existing frameworks of EU policy activity. The findings in this report provide an important context for further and detailed research analysis of the workings and dynamics of European food value chains under the VALUMICS project

To make the world smarter and safer

Матеріали ХІ всеукраїнської науково-практичної конференції студентів, аспірантів та викладачів лінгвістичного навчально-методичного центру кафедри іноземних мов 23 березня 2017 р. м. Суми

To make the world smarter and safer

Матеріали ХІ всеукраїнської науково-практичної конференції студентів, аспірантів та викладачів лінгвістичного навчально-методичного центру кафедри іноземних мов 23 березня 2017 р. м. Суми

Strategies for Achieving Entrepreneurial Success in the Food Industry in Nigeria

Small and medium enterprise (SME) food owners’ ineffective entrepreneurship strategies lead to their business failure within the first 5 years of establishment. SME food owners who fail to implement appropriate entrepreneurship strategies can experience poor business performance, low staff morale, reduced productivity, and potential for business failure. Grounded in Schumpeter’s economic theory of entrepreneurship, the purpose of this qualitative multiple-case study was to explore the entrepreneurship strategies SME food owners use to survive in business beyond 5 years of establishment. The participants were three SME food owners from three SMEs in FCT Nigeria who successfully used entrepreneurship strategies to survive in business beyond 5 years of establishment. Data were collected from semistructured interviews, company archival documents, and field notes and were analyzed using thematic analysis. Four themes emerged: people management and training, financial support, government policy and trade union, and quality of service. A key recommendation for SME food owners is to identify their customers’ wants and provide services that meet their expectations. The implications for positive social change include the potential to improve the entrepreneurial success of small business owners, thereby creating job opportunities, providing social amenities and welfare, and supporting the economic development of the regional communities

Guidelines for Sustainability Assessment in Food and Agriculture

The ecological, economic and social principles of sustainable development (WCED, 1987) received nearly universal agreement during and following the 1992 Earth Summit. One of the summit‘s major outcomes, Agenda 21, includes a whole chapter (Chapter 14) on sustainable agriculture and rural development. Much progress has been made in the past two decades. For most social and economic Millennium Development Goals, improvements have been substantial (UN, 2011). Global per capita Gross National Income has more than doubled between 1992 and 2010 (from 5,035 current interna-tional USD at PPP to 11,058; World Bank, 2011). Yet, reaching the poorest, all over the world, re-mains a challenge (UN, 2011) and it is today generally recognised that GDP growth alone is not a sufficient indicator of development progress. The number of undernourished people was estimated by FAO to be 925 million in 2010. This figure has increased by 75 million people since 1990-92 (FAO, 2010a). Rockström et al. (2009) estimate that humanity has transgressed three of the environmental planetary boundaries within which we can operate safely, namely for climate change, biodiversity loss and changes to the global nitrogen cycle. Boundaries for ocean acidification and possibly the global phosphorus cycle might also be close to being crossed.global phosphorus cycle might also be close to being crossed. As agricultural land and forests occupy more than 60% of terrestrial surface, and fishery activities can be found on virtually any water body, agriculture, forestry and fisheries are major contributors to the ecological footprint of humanity. For example, 31% of global greenhouse gas emissions have been attributed to agriculture and forestry (IPCC, 2007). Agriculture alone accounts for 70% of global freshwater withdrawals (FAO, 2011). On the other hand, farming, animal husbandry, forestry and fisheries produce the food and renewable materials basis of humanity’s existence and provide liveli-hoods to more than 2.6 billion people (FAOSTAT, 2011), including many of the world’s poor. One approach to tackle the risk of the human economy’s overstraining the capacities of Earth’s eco-systems is the concept of a “Green Economy”5 that respects planetary boundaries and adopts eco-efficiency as a guiding principle. This concept brings about major challenges in relation with freedom and distributional equity (UNDP, 2011). The translation of the green economy concept for the food and agriculture sector is reflected through the GEA concept that recognises the need to take an eco-system- and rights-based approach to development, according to specific country circumstances (FAO, 2012a). The challenge of delivering sustainability lies in an effective integration of the envi-ronmental, economic and social dimensions of development. This can be only achieved through good governance. Need for a common language Recent years have seen the development of frameworks, initiatives, standards and indicators for assessing and improving the environmental and social impacts of human activities. More than one hundred countries have established national strategies for sustainable development, as well as sets of sustainability targets and indicators (UN, 2007). Thousands of companies have adopted concepts such as corporate social responsibility, creating shared value, responsible supply chain management and the triple bottom line6. These concepts are put into practice through internal management, B2B and B2C communication. Systems for independent, third-party verification, certification and accredi-tation have been put in place.Of the many verification systems, tools, databases and other approaches for measuring, communi-cating and improving sustainability, environmental impact or social impact, respectively, few cover the whole value chain and all dimensions of sustainability at the same time (Appendix A). In the de-velopment and application of sustainability systems and frameworks, SME and stakeholders from developing and emerging countries are less represented than large companies and stakeholders from industrialised countries, in spite of many systems’ building on transparent, participative mechanisms. Despite the valuable efforts for making sustainability assessments in the food and agriculture sector accurate and easy to manage, no internationally accepted benchmark unambiguously defines what sustainable food production entails. There also is no widely accepted definition of the minimum re-quirements that would allow a company to qualify as sustainable. FAO and the SAFA Guidelines.In order to offer a fair playing field, FAO has built on existing efforts and developed the present Guidelines for Sustainability Assessment of Food and Agriculture systems (SAFA) as part of its efforts for the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD). In line with the FAO mandate, the vision of the SAFA Guidelines is to contribute to a sustainable development of the food and agriculture sector. This shall be achieved by enhancing the measurability of sustainability per-formance and the accessibility and transparency of sustainability measurements. The SAFA Guide-lines provide a benchmark that defines what sustainable production is, and a template for agriculture and food sustainability assessment, for the use by primary producers, food manufacturers and retail-ers who wish to substantiate sustainability claims. Existing sustainability indicator systems and as-sessment tools can be related to the content of the SAFA Guidelines

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN ROMANIA

The purpose of this paper is to identify the main opportunities and limitations of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The survey was defined with the aim to involve the highest possible number of relevant CSR topics and give the issue a more wholesome perspective. It provides a basis for further comprehension and deeper analyses of specific CSR areas. The conditions determining the success of CSR in Romania have been defined in the paper on the basis of the previously cumulative knowledge as well as the results of various researches. This paper provides knowledge which may be useful in the programs promoting CSR.Corporate social responsibility, Supportive policies, Romania

Understanding blockchain technology for future supply chains: a systematic literature review and research agenda

Purpose: This paper investigates the way in which blockchain technology is likely to influence future supply chain practices and policies. Design/methodology/approach: A systematic review of both academic and practitioner literature was conducted. Multiple accounts of blockchain adoption within industry were also consulted to gain further insight. Findings: While blockchain technologies remain in their infancy, they are gaining momentum within supply chains, trust being the predominant factor driving their adoption. The value of such technologies for supply chain management lies in four areas: extended visibility and traceability, supply chain digitalisation and disintermediation, improved data security and smart contracts. Several challenges and gaps in understanding and opportunities for further research are identified by our research. How a blockchain enabled supply chain should be configured has also been explored from a design perspective. Research limitations/implications: Our systematic review focuses on the diffusion of blockchain technology within supply chains and great care was taken in selecting search terms. However, we acknowledge that our choice of terms may have excluded certain blockchain articles from this review. Practical implications: This paper offers valuable insight for supply-chain practitioners into how blockchain technology has the potential to disrupt existing supply chain provisions as well as a number of challenges to its successful diffusion. Originality/value: Ours is one of the first studies to examine the current state of blockchain diffusion within supply chains. It lays a firm foundation for future research. Keywords: blockchain, distributed ledger technology, supply chain management, peer-to-peer communication, systematic literature revie

Scientific, Health and Social Aspects of the Food Industry

This book presents the wisdom, knowledge and expertise of the food industry that ensures the supply of food to maintain the health, comfort, and wellbeing of humankind. The global food industry has the largest market: the world population of seven billion people. The book pioneers life-saving innovations and assists in the fight against world hunger and food shortages that threaten human essentials such as water and energy supply. Floods, droughts, fires, storms, climate change, global warming and greenhouse gas emissions can be devastating, altering the environment and, ultimately, the production of foods. Experts from industry and academia, as well as food producers, designers of food processing equipment, and corrosion practitioners have written special chapters for this rich compendium based on their encyclopedic knowledge and practical experience. This is a multi-authored book. The writers, who come from diverse areas of food science and technology, enrich this volume by presenting different approaches and orientations

The relationship between servitization and circular economy in the industry 4.0 scenario

In a world that is changing, this thesis aims to analyze the relationship between the servitization and the circular economy demonstrating how the implementation of service-oriented business models could be a successful strategy also to achieve the circular principles. All this in the background of the industry 4.0 and its new digital technologies that represent the enablers for an economic growth that is also sustainable

Advancing Traceability in the Seafood Industry: Assessing Challenges and Opportunities

This white paper aims to serve as a resource for businesses, NGOs, and other seafood stakeholders as they plan and implement traceability and anti-IUU fishing protocols within supply chains. It summarizes the seafood traceability landscape, key international and regional policies and regulations, and steps that seafood businesses can take to improve the traceability of seafood within their supply chains. It also provides information about some of the conservation organizations, for-profit companies, certifications, and other players currently working to support the adoption of end-to-end, electronic, interoperable traceability in the North American market