Public Facilitation of Small Farmer Access to International Food Marketing Channels: An Empirical Analysis of the USDA Market Assistance Program in Armenia

With the continued globalization, rapid channel consolidation, increasing technology, capital, food safety and private grades and standards requirements, many small scale agricultural and horticultural producers from transitional and developing countries are rapidly becoming excluded from international agri-food marketing system. Consequently, governments and international agencies alike are reevaluating the structure, form, and delivery of their assistance programs as they search to identify new delivery mechanisms that can overcome the weaknesses that their traditional programs face within this new business environment. Their challenge is to design programs that facilitate the establishment of economically viable and sustainable market relationships and business models between small-scale producers and the international food marketing system that provide these financially distress producers access to the technological know-how, market knowledge and access, and financial and productive resources required to successively compete. Recent Central and Eastern European (CEE) experiences indicate that foreign direct investment and the entry of multinational firms have successfully facilitated small farmers access to international marketing channels. By entering markets with sufficient capital to ensure contract enforcement and support investment, multinational firms can overcome the pervasive hold-up and underinvestment problems plaguing the sector thereby stimulating investment and growth in agricultural production (Gow & Swinnen, 1998; 2001; Walkenhorst, 2000; Dries & Swinnen, 2004). For numerous reasons access to sufficient foreign direct investment or multinational firms may not be an option for many countries. The obvious question therefore becomes, can an alternative third-party facilitation mechanism for stimulating agriculture be identified apart from the private solutions found in Central and East Europe? Glover and Kusterer (1990), Porter and Philips-Howard (1997), Coulter et al (1999), Eaton and Shepherd (2001), and Simmons (2001) allude to the benefits of public agencies in facilitating firm farmer relationships. However as of now the literature has not identified nor extracted the critical processes and factors required in the design, development and establishment of long-run economically viable and sustainable business models that facilitate small producers' access to international food markets. In this research we develop a theoretical model explaining the critical processes and factors involved in the public facilitation of the establishment of economically sustainable marketing relationships between small producers and agroprocessors in the presence of financial distress and absence of effective enforcement mechanisms. The USDA Market Assistance Program (MAP) in Armenia is used to empirically test the theoretical model as it provides a natural experiment. Aremina's recovery is similar to those observed in other CEE countries; however Armenia's agricultural sector has not experienced the recovery found elsewhere. A key constraining factor has been the lack of foreign direct investment initiated solutions so successfully employed elsewhere (World Bank, 1999; 2002). Without the presence of private solutions that can create self-enforcing relationships and encourage relationship specific investment, the Armenian agricultural sector has remained in a sub optimal equilibrium characterized by deep financial distress and a general lack of investment. The only sub-sectors that have seen growth any growth have had MAP facilitation support. Thus what is unique is that the MAP project appears to provide a public solution rather than a private solution to the problem, as in all the previous research (Gow & Swinnen, 1998; 2001; Foster, 1999; Gow et al, 2000; Walkenhorst, 2000; Dries & Swinnen, 2004; Cocks & Gow, 2003). In order to examine the phenomena of establishment and development of sustainable inter-organizational marketing relationships within the context of Armenian agriculture, the USDA MAP project, and the goat industry, we have used mixed methodological approach combining qualitative and quantitative data collection. Approximately 100 semi-structured interviews were conducted with farmers, industry representatives, local experts, and USDA MAP personnel. In additional, an extensive enumerated survey was implemented questioning 2000 farmers in five sectors over 2003 and 2004. Based upon the extensive interviews 12 different business models and facilitation processes used by the USDA MAP were identified and a suitable stratified survey frame was designed to test the differences between these models. The theoretical model and empirical results indicate that the third party public facilitator, USDA MAP, is critical in facilitating the initial development of the channel and identifying a value proposition in a downstream market. However, economic sustainability requires that the public agency remain an arms-length third party facilitator, rather than being the leader in the development of the channel and thus an integral cog in the channel. The actual development of the marketing channel should be led by an entrepreneur who possesses both the ability to develop the marketing channel and who is trusted by the local community. By leading the development of the channel the private enforcement capital that is created through the development of the channel is created between the entrepreneur and the farmers. Over time this widens the self enforcing range of the relationship, therefore allowing greater shifts in market conditions and decreasing the risk of opportunistic behavior (Gow et al, 2000). By holding the trust and respect of the community the entrepreneur inherently holds private enforcement capital with the rest of the community equivalent to the present value of their reputation or trust individually and collectively with the community (Oliver & Gow, 2002). Additionally, the expectation of a value proposition of a downstream market creates the expectation of private enforcement capital between farmers the entrepreneur through the present value of future returns that the entrepreneur could earn from the value proposition (Gow et al, 2000). Thus the combination of the present value of the entrepreneur's reputation with the farmers in the short term combined with the longer term expectation of future returns through the value proposition and creates sufficient private enforcement capital for the immediate development of a self-enforcing relationship with the farmers.International Relations/Trade,

Rapid prenatal diagnosis using targeted exome sequencing: a cohort study to assess feasibility and potential impact on prenatal counseling and pregnancy management.

Purpose Unexpected fetal abnormalities occur in 2-5% of pregnancies. While traditional cytogenetic and microarray approaches achieve diagnosis in around 40% of cases, lack of diagnosis in others impedes parental counseling, informed decision making, and pregnancy management. Postnatally exome sequencing yields high diagnostic rates, but relies on careful phenotyping to interpret genotype results. Here we used a multidisciplinary approach to explore the utility of rapid fetal exome sequencing for prenatal diagnosis using skeletal dysplasias as an exemplar. Methods Parents in pregnancies undergoing invasive testing because of sonographic fetal abnormalities, where multidisciplinary review considered skeletal dysplasia a likely etiology, were consented for exome trio sequencing (both parents and fetus). Variant interpretation focused on a virtual panel of 240 genes known to cause skeletal dysplasias. Results Definitive molecular diagnosis was made in 13/16 (81%) cases. In some cases, fetal ultrasound findings alone were of sufficient severity for parents to opt for termination. In others, molecular diagnosis informed accurate prediction of outcome, improved parental counseling, and enabled parents to terminate or continue the pregnancy with certainty. Conclusion Trio sequencing with expert multidisciplinary review for case selection and data interpretation yields timely, high diagnostic rates in fetuses presenting with unexpected skeletal abnormalities. This improves parental counseling and pregnancy management.Genetics in Medicine advance online publication, 29 March 2018; doi:10.1038/gim.2018.30

Views and Experiences of Sex, Sexuality and Relationships Following Spinal Cord Injury: A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis of the Qualitative Literature

Research examining the effects of spinal cord injury on sexuality has largely focused on physiological functioning and quantification of dysfunction following injury. This paper reports a systematic review of qualitative research that focused on the views and experiences of people with spinal cord injury on sex and relationships. The review addressed the following research question: What are the views and experiences of people with spinal cord injury of sex, sexuality and relationships following injury? Five databases were relevant and employed in the review: CINAHL (1989-2016 only), PsychInfo, PubMed, Scopus and Web of Science, for research published between 1 January 1980 and 30 November 2019. After removing duplicates, 257 records remained and were screened using a two-stage approach to inclusion and quality appraisal. Following screening, 27 met the criteria for inclusion and are reported in the paper. The review includes studies from fifteen countries across five continents. Two main approaches to data analysis summary and thematic synthesis were undertaken to analyze the qualitative data reported in the papers. The analysis revealed four main themes: sexual identity; significant and generalized others, sexual embodiment; and; sexual rehabilitation and education

Economic Returns to Entrepreneurial Behavior

Highly turbulent environments require firms to act entrepreneurially. The returns to entrepreneurial activities are known as entrepreneurial rents. Following the payments perspective, these rents are allocated to the entrepreneurial resources of the firm as factor payments. However, unlike other factor payments, little is known about how to value these types of rents. An analysis of the economics and management literature reveals that entrepreneurial rents are a return to alertness, subjective judgment, asset control, and uncertainty bearing. Furthermore, entrepreneurial rents are noncontractible and temporary. This paper introduces two complementary valuation models that capture these characteristics and that explicitly impute value to various entrepreneurial activities

Economic Returns to Entrepreneurial Behavior

Highly turbulent environments require firms to act entrepreneurially. The returns to entrepreneurial activities are known as entrepreneurial rents. Following the payments perspective, these rents are allocated to the entrepreneurial resources of the firm as factor payments. However, unlike other factor payments, little is known about how to value these types of rents. An analysis of the economics and management literature reveals that entrepreneurial rents are a return to alertness, subjective judgment, asset control, and uncertainty bearing. Furthermore, entrepreneurial rents are noncontractible and temporary. This paper introduces two complementary valuation models that capture these characteristics and that explicitly impute value to various entrepreneurial activities.entrepreneurship, factor payments, subjective judgment, uncertainty, Agribusiness, Risk and Uncertainty, M13, B12, B25, P23, Q13,

An Agent-Based Model of Entrepreneurial Behavior in Agri-Food Markets

"Rapid technological innovation and globalization have led to increasingly complex agri-food supply chains and networks, and uncertain agri-food markets. Given this type of competitive environment, management scholars have argued that agri-food firms that adopt capabilities for entrepreneurship will outperform firms that do not. We use agent-based simulation methods to explore this hypothesis. Agent-based models are particularly relevant in this study as they allow for the explicit simulation of the entrepreneurial behaviors and firm interactions that lead to wealth creation. In our analysis, we find that entrepreneurial capabilities of alertness, risk-taking, and efficiency vary in their effect on firm performance given alternative agri-food strategic landscape configurations." Copyright (c) 2009 Canadian Agricultural Economics Society.

Public Facilitation of Small Farmer Access to International Food Marketing Channels: An Empirical Analysis of the USDA Market Assistance Program in Armenia

With the continued globalization, rapid channel consolidation, increasing technology, capital, food safety and private grades and standards requirements, many small scale agricultural and horticultural producers from transitional and developing countries are rapidly becoming excluded from international agri-food marketing system. Consequently, governments and international agencies alike are reevaluating the structure, form, and delivery of their assistance programs as they search to identify new delivery mechanisms that can overcome the weaknesses that their traditional programs face within this new business environment. Their challenge is to design programs that facilitate the establishment of economically viable and sustainable market relationships and business models between small-scale producers and the international food marketing system that provide these financially distress producers access to the technological know-how, market knowledge and access, and financial and productive resources required to successively compete. Recent Central and Eastern European (CEE) experiences indicate that foreign direct investment and the entry of multinational firms have successfully facilitated small farmers access to international marketing channels. By entering markets with sufficient capital to ensure contract enforcement and support investment, multinational firms can overcome the pervasive hold-up and underinvestment problems plaguing the sector thereby stimulating investment and growth in agricultural production (Gow & Swinnen, 1998; 2001; Walkenhorst, 2000; Dries & Swinnen, 2004). For numerous reasons access to sufficient foreign direct investment or multinational firms may not be an option for many countries. The obvious question therefore becomes, can an alternative third-party facilitation mechanism for stimulating agriculture be identified apart from the private solutions found in Central and East Europe? Glover and Kusterer (1990), Porter and Philips-Howard (1997), Coulter et al (1999), Eaton and Shepherd (2001), and Simmons (2001) allude to the benefits of public agencies in facilitating firm farmer relationships. However as of now the literature has not identified nor extracted the critical processes and factors required in the design, development and establishment of long-run economically viable and sustainable business models that facilitate small producers' access to international food markets. In this research we develop a theoretical model explaining the critical processes and factors involved in the public facilitation of the establishment of economically sustainable marketing relationships between small producers and agroprocessors in the presence of financial distress and absence of effective enforcement mechanisms. The USDA Market Assistance Program (MAP) in Armenia is used to empirically test the theoretical model as it provides a natural experiment. Aremina's recovery is similar to those observed in other CEE countries; however Armenia's agricultural sector has not experienced the recovery found elsewhere. A key constraining factor has been the lack of foreign direct investment initiated solutions so successfully employed elsewhere (World Bank, 1999; 2002). Without the presence of private solutions that can create self-enforcing relationships and encourage relationship specific investment, the Armenian agricultural sector has remained in a sub optimal equilibrium characterized by deep financial distress and a general lack of investment. The only sub-sectors that have seen growth any growth have had MAP facilitation support. Thus what is unique is that the MAP project appears to provide a public solution rather than a private solution to the problem, as in all the previous research (Gow & Swinnen, 1998; 2001; Foster, 1999; Gow et al, 2000; Walkenhorst, 2000; Dries & Swinnen, 2004; Cocks & Gow, 2003). In order to examine the phenomena of establishment and development of sustainable inter-organizational marketing relationships within the context of Armenian agriculture, the USDA MAP project, and the goat industry, we have used mixed methodological approach combining qualitative and quantitative data collection. Approximately 100 semi-structured interviews were conducted with farmers, industry representatives, local experts, and USDA MAP personnel. In additional, an extensive enumerated survey was implemented questioning 2000 farmers in five sectors over 2003 and 2004. Based upon the extensive interviews 12 different business models and facilitation processes used by the USDA MAP were identified and a suitable stratified survey frame was designed to test the differences between these models. The theoretical model and empirical results indicate that the third party public facilitator, USDA MAP, is critical in facilitating the initial development of the channel and identifying a value proposition in a downstream market. However, economic sustainability requires that the public agency remain an arms-length third party facilitator, rather than being the leader in the development of the channel and thus an integral cog in the channel. The actual development of the marketing channel should be led by an entrepreneur who possesses both the ability to develop the marketing channel and who is trusted by the local community. By leading the development of the channel the private enforcement capital that is created through the development of the channel is created between the entrepreneur and the farmers. Over time this widens the self enforcing range of the relationship, therefore allowing greater shifts in market conditions and decreasing the risk of opportunistic behavior (Gow et al, 2000). By holding the trust and respect of the community the entrepreneur inherently holds private enforcement capital with the rest of the community equivalent to the present value of their reputation or trust individually and collectively with the community (Oliver & Gow, 2002). Additionally, the expectation of a value proposition of a downstream market creates the expectation of private enforcement capital between farmers the entrepreneur through the present value of future returns that the entrepreneur could earn from the value proposition (Gow et al, 2000). Thus the combination of the present value of the entrepreneur's reputation with the farmers in the short term combined with the longer term expectation of future returns through the value proposition and creates sufficient private enforcement capital for the immediate development of a self-enforcing relationship with the farmers

Farmer Identification and Commitment Responses to Institutional Change in Marketing Channel Structures

The structure of the New Zealand merino industry has been through a period of rapid organizational change and marketing innovation over the past decade. This has seen it move away from a publicly regulated spot auction market structure characterised by undifferentiated product receiving pooled equilibrium commodity prices often at a discount to the international market price to a market structure composed of both privately controlled strongly vertically integrated marketing initiatives characterised by tight contractual relationships gaining substantial premiums over the international market place operating concurrently along side the traditional spot auction markets. The emergence of these new marketing structures has thus forced farmers to seriously re-evaluate the manner in which they identify with and commit to market channel partners. In the mid 1990's, the merino sector made an initial effort to move out from under the umbrella of the 'public' statutory control of the New Zealand Wool Board (NZWB) to grower control by establishing a merino-specific 'industry good' organization, Merino New Zealand Incorporated (MNZ Inc). MNZ Inc was established to focus on promotion and management of the merino sectors special characteristics and to maximise opportunities for improving returns to merino growers. MNZ Inc acted as a facilitator in the market, working along-side traditional merino grower servicing and broking companies. The new organization successfully undertook increased commercial responsibility under the NZWB, leading to the formation of Merino New Zealand Limited (MNZ Ltd) in 1998, which took over the majority of MNZ Inc's functions. Finally in 2001, MNZ Ltd and Wrightson Ltd's fine wool business entered into a commercial joint venture, which led to the privatization of the activities of MNZ Ltd. This merger established the New Zealand Merino Company (TNZMC), a privately held joint venture that leveraged MNZ Ltd's marketing expertise and supply chain knowledge, with Wrightson's grower relationships and selling expertise, and the NZWB owned New Zealand Merino brand. As a result of these changes, merino growers presently face a very different marketing landscape in which both traditional and new innovative firms offer a variety of marketing arrangements, ranging from direct auction (spot market) to highly vertically-integrated and relationship-intensive contractual arrangements that link growers to final retail brand partners. The evolving market landscape has forced growers to make a conscious decision about their merino wool marketing practices. They must decide whether to continue marketing their clip through their traditional wool brokers and channels, or to switch allegiances and market their clips through an alternative servicing company or broker. Complicating the growers' dilemma even further, successful initiatives and programs initially developed as an industry public good under MNZ Ltd were transferred to TNZMC, where they are now exclusively available to growers who market their clips through TNZMC. As a result, increased dissent and voice can be heard among some members of the New Zealand merino industry who are disgruntled with the organizational changes. These organizational changes have confronted growers with a number of challenges and questions about how closely they identify with and commit to their chosen servicing company and marketing channel. Merino growers responded to the changes in a number of ways: some have exited their usual servicing company and switched the marketing of their clip to an alternative, some have stayed with their usual servicing company but are unhappy, and some others have stayed with their usual servicing company and are happy. The purpose of this research was to determine how growers now identify with and commit to their respective merino wool servicing and broking companies. A mixed methods approach was implemented to effectively analyze large quantities of qualitative and quantitative data. Qualitative data collected in 16 unstructured and semi- structured interviews were synthesized into a case study analyzing changes that took place in the industry and the motivations for those changes. This was followed by an analysis of data collected in an enumerated and stratified survey of 131 New Zealand merino growers conducted in January and February 2004 designed specifically how growers identify with and commit to their merino wool servicing and broking company. Using structural equation modelling techniques, the initial results indicate strongly statistically different structures in the ways in which farmers identify and commit to their respective marketing channels. Farmers who remain within the traditional marketing channels do not identify or commit with the channel from a business stand point, only they only identify and commit on personal relationship basis with their broker/trader who markets their wool. They view all business services provided and market outcomes as equivalent and fair as they are operating in a highly competitive spot auction market and therefore neither their broker or themselves can affect outcomes. Alternatively, farmers whom have switch to the highly integrated and contract controlled channels strongly identify and commit to their marketing channel partners on both a business and personal relationship basis. Interestingly, these results show strong positive business commitment when things are going well, but the reverse when perceptions do not meet expectations. Thus these farmers expect their marketing channels out perform expectations and if they do not they become vocal and begin looking for alternatives. Similar, the way in which the commit differs, the new marketing channels provide a mechanism to learn about the marketing opportunities available but also provide the farmers an opportunity by pass the marketing channel if expectations not meet. This places the marketing channel in a precarious catch 22 position of being required to continuously provide up to date information about the market to ensure farmers maintain realistic expectations and thus ensure that they remain but at the same time not give away too much information thereby allowing them to operate by themselves