WHY ADOPT INTEGRATED CROP PRODUCTION? A PERSPECTIVE FROM THE FRENCH FRUIT SECTOR

Are changes in consumer demand and concentration in food retail altering market structures so that integrated production practices like IPM and ICM will become not only widely adopted but essential if growers want to maintain access to markets? Data on the European fresh produce sector are analyzed, applying Randall Bartlett's economic theory of power. The authors conclude that if current trends continue, then the answer to the question posed could soon be, "yes."Crop Production/Industries,

Social and Environmental Attributes of Food Products in an Emerging Mass Market : Challenges of Signaling and Consumer Perception, With European Illustrations

This paper focuses on the environmental and ethical attributes of food products and their production processes. These two aspects have been recently recognized and are becoming increasingly important, in terms of signaling and of consumer perception. There are two thematic domains: environmental and social. Within each domain there are two movements. Hence the paper first presents the four movements that have brought to the fore new aspects of food product quality, to wit: (1) aspects of environmental ethics (organic agriculture and integrated agriculture) and (2)social ethics (fair trade and ethical trade). Then it describes how the actors in the movements producers, retailers, NGOs, and governments) are organized and how consumers perceive each of the movements. From the perspective of the actors in the movements themselves, the movements are grouped into two 'actors' philosophies' : a “radical” philosophy (the organic production and fair trade movements that arose in radical opposition to conventional agriculture or unfair trade relations) and a “reformist” philosophy (the integrated agriculture and ethical trade movements that arose as efforts to modify but not radically change conventional agriculture). From the point of view of consumers, the classification of the movements is based on perceptions of the 'domain' of the movements. That is, consumers tend to perceive as a grouping the organic production movement and the integrated agricultural movement, as they both deal with the environment. By contrast, consumers tend to group the fair trade movement and the ethical trade movement, as they both deal essentially with social ethics. Recently, key players such as large retailers and agribusinesses have adopted as part of their overall quality assurance programs both the environmental and the ethical attributes. Their involvement in and adoption of the goals of the movements have, however, generated tensions and conflicts, in particular within the radical movements, because of concerns of cooptation. The paper identifies challenges for those promoting food products with environmental and social/ethical attributes to communicate coherent signals to consumers at this crucial moment of an emerging mass market for these products.Consumer perception, Ethical trade, Fair trade, Integrated agriculture, Organic agriculture, Organization, Quality signals

STRATEGIC CHOICES IN PRODUCE MARKETING: ISSUES OF COMPATIBLE USE AND EXCLUSION COSTS

Fresh produce suppliers in Europe and the United States use a mix of price and non-price marketing strategies. This paper shows that these strategies create, using Mancur Olson's terms, two collective goods: overall consumer confidence in the market's ability to deliver credence attributes, and overall consumer satisfaction with the experience attributes of fresh produce. The characteristics of these two collective goods, i.e., their compatible use and high costs of exclusion, influence the costs, effectiveness, and nature of the marketing strategies of firms. This paper presents examples from the fresh produce industries of Europe and the U.S. to show how compatible-use and high-exclusion costs influence firm strategies. It concludes that there are unavoidable interdependencies that create a need for collective action -- a need that will increase as consumer and retailer demand for quality attributes in fresh produce increases.Demand and Price Analysis, Marketing,

QUALITY AND QUALITY ASSURANCE IN THE FRESH PRODUCE SECTOR: A CASE STUDY OF EUROPEAN RETAILERS

Quality and quality assurance are among the most critical issues facing the fresh produce industry. This paper shows that while quality is widely noted to be an important concept, it is not clearly defined in the literature. Several definitions of quality are presented. The terminology associated with quality assurance is analyzed. An array of quality assurance systems used in the European fresh product sector are presented. Conclusions are drawn that while fresh produce quality will always be a factor retailers use to compete for consumers, there is evidence of industry consensus on some quality attributes, particularly, safety, environmental, and social attributes.Marketing,

Innovations organisationnelles et contrôle de la qualité sanitaire dans la filière fruits et légumes

Si la maîtrise de la qualité organoleptique et de la fraîcheur reste la cause principale de l'insatisfaction du consommateur, les distributeurs anticipent d'ores et déjà les effets que pourrait avoir une crise de confiance des consommateurs vis-à-vis de la qualité sanitaire des fruits et légumes frais. Des démarches de filière pour la mise en place de bonnes pratiques agricoles (BPA) et des dispositifs de contrôle des résidus de pesticides émergent. Dans le cas britannique, le rôle des distributeurs qui assument la totalité du risque sanitaire (pénal et commercial) est central. Dans le cas français, le risque sanitaire est partagé entre le premier metteur en marché (risque pénal) et le distributeur (risque commercial). Des dispositifs plus complexes sont à l'oeuvre. C'est le cas notamment des conventions collectives de contrôle négociées entre importateurs et pouvoirs publics.

Commercialisation d'un produit agricole dans un contexte économique "de transition" : la filière viande porcine de Nam Thanh à Hai Phong

En 1988, le gouvernement vietnamien a opté pour une politique de " rénovation " qui a conduit le pays d'une économie centralisée socialiste à une économie libérale. Les fermes d'Etat et la collectivisation se sont effacées pour laisser place à un paysage agricole où les terres sont attribuées aux paysans et où l'exploitation individuelle est reconnue à part entière. L'élevage traditionnel des porcs a subsisté mais les modalités de sa commercialisation sont devenues différentes et sont en pleine recomposition. Nous montrons comment, sans aucune politique sectorielle spécifique incitant à une forme particulière d'échange, les acteurs s'organisent pour que le porc, puis la viande porcine, soient acheminés du producteur jusqu'au consommateur. Cet article met en évidence l'importance de l'accès à l'information et au crédit dans un environnement incertain où la consommation dans les grandes villes tend de plus en plus vers une viande maigre. Il montre aussi comment certains acteurs utilisent ces paramètres pour devenir les agents-clés de cette filière. Dans un contexte " libéral " (sans intervention directe de l'Etat), le marché parfait ne s'impose pas naturellement. Les modalités de l'évolution de l'organisation précédemment décrite sont analysées en fin d'article. (Résumé d'auteur

Gestion des risques sanitaire et phytosanitaire dans la filière pomme

National audienceIn France, apples are the first most consumed and exported fruits. The industry is under intense scrutiny from a sanitary and phytosanitary point of view due to national and European reglementation, private standards on pesticide residues, phytosanitary barriers in certain emerging countries and consumer perceptions that are sometimes critical. The Sustain’Apple project aims to shed light on the organizational and institutional solutions (studied less than technical solutions) to maintain and enforce the sustainability of the apple (sanitary quality of the fruit, competitiveness of firms, environmental performance). Research is carried out at different levels of the industry (production areas, distribution on the national market, international trade, public sphere of negociating phytosanitary protocols). Local supply chains and French competitors in exports (Italy and Chili) are also taken into account.La pomme est en France, le premier fruit consommé et exporté. La filière est sous haute surveillance d'un point de vue sanitaire et phytosanitaire du fait d'une réglementation nationale et européenne, de normes privées de résidus, de barrières phytosanitaires de certains pays émergents et de perceptions parfois critiques des consommateurs. Le projet Sustain'Apple vise à éclairer les solutions organisationnelles et institutionnelles (moins étudiées que les solutions techniques) pour maintenir et renforcer la durabilité de la pomme (qualité sanitaire du fruit, compétitivité des firmes, bilan environnemental). Les recherches sont faites à différents niveaux de la filière (bassin de production, distribution marché national, commerce international, sphère publique de la négociation des protocoles phytosanitaires). Sont également pris en compte les circuits courts et les concurrents de la France à l'exportation (Italie et Chili)

Food safety management through the lens of hybrids: the case of fresh fruit and vegetable shippers

International audienceManaging the pesticide safety risk to provide end markets with safe fruit and vegetables raises complex issues due to the diversity and high level of public and private safety requirements and the high cost of control over the product and the production process. This most often leads to the development of diversified and more integrated relationships between growers and their buyers. Our paper is a case study of the hybrid forms underlying such relationships. It first develops the analytical framework by drawing on Transaction Cost, Organization and Property Right Theories with a special focus on the model by Menard (2013) positing the hybrid forms along the two dimensions of decision rights and strategic resources. It then presents some quantitative and qualitative findings obtained from data collected through face-to-face interviews of managers of fresh produce shipping firms in France and Chile

Le contexte économique de la filière légumes

Document provisoire présenté le 23 octobre 1996 à l'INRA Diffusion du document : INRA Unité d'Economie et Sociologie rurales ENSA 9 place Viala 34060 Montpellier Cedex (FRA)National audienceMalgré leur importance économique, les légumes constituent, comme la plupart des produits frais, un système complexe. La consommation, les échanges et l'étude de la filière donnent des éléments d'analyse qui permettent d'éclairer les perspectives d'évolution de l'offre et de la demande de ce secteur