Resilience of food companies to calamities - perceptions in the Netherlands

Calamities such as extreme droughts and trade or infrastructure breakdowns potentially hamper the continuity of individual food companies, as well as the continuity of food supply in Europe at large. There is a lack of insight into food companies’ resilience in case of cumulative calamities or calamities that did not happen before in recent history. In this context, an expert elicitation study among feed and food companies in the Netherlands was undertaken. Results show that lengthy or structural unavailability of electricity and a lengthy crisis of road transport are perceived as the most threatening calamities.Outcomes also show a relatively limited implementation of BCM (business continuity management) at company level. Complete BCM programs for top-3 calamities perceived to threaten the continuity of food supply in Europe are reported by 0% to 30% of the companies. For calamities perceived to be important for business continuity this is between 20% and 40%. In the field of risk management a leading role is attributed to the public sector for improving international governance and setting up a so-called masterplan with measures such as larger raw-materials stocks and broad sourcing. Findings suggest that further actions are needed, starting with prioritised calamities and the design of a masterplan. Yet, stakeholders are also urged to pro-actively “think the unthinkable

Livestock farmers' attitude towards manure separation technology as future strategy

In this paper, an ordered probit model is used to assess the factors that affect the probability of livestock farmers having plans to adopt manure separation technology in the future. A survey, based on a postal and computerized questionnaire of representative dairy and pig farms in the Netherlands was carried out in 2009. The results show that age of farmer and a variable which accounts for the interaction between size and location of the farm are important variables explaining the probability of farmers having plans to adopt manure separation technology. Furthermore, farmers who agreed that future application norms are the driving force for considering adoption of manure separation technology were more likely to consider manure separation as the right strategy for their farm. This outcome implies that farmers are considering manure separation as a strategy to survive the more stringent future application norms. Policy implications are that young farmers with bigger Dutch size unit located in manure regions where there is oversupply of manure are more likely to adopt manure separation technology in the futur

Insurance as a risk management tool for European agriculture

The risk environment of farmers is constantly changing; price and production risks, for instance, are increasing, and financial compensations from governments for catastrophic events, such as floods, are decreasing. In this context, the objective of this thesis is to study the appropriateness of insurance as a risk management tool for farmers to deal with the 'new' risks emerging in agriculture. The research includes a literature study of the principles, opportunities and problems of risk-sharing strategies in general. Secondly, an empirical study of farmers' perceptions of risk and risk management is carried out by a questionnaire survey among a large sample of livestock farmers in the Netherlands. Next, the feasibility of some form of income insurance for European crop and livestock farmers is studied. A Monte-Carlo simulation model is used to illustrate some key concepts in income insurance. Yield data used in the model originate from a large panel data set with individual farm yield data from 49 European regions. Then, the feasibility of a farm business interruption insurance for livestock epidemics is analysed. A Monte-Carlo simulation model is used to get insight into the size of risk.For the financial part of the risk, first a detailed model for calculating financial consequences of epidemics is developed. Based on the literature and the empirical study, it is concluded that insurance schemes provide good opportunities for farmers to deal with 'new' risks in agriculture: insurance schemes are in principle advantageous to individual farmers and to society as a whole. Moreover, farmers already perceive insurance as an important strategy to manage risks. Among various possible forms of income insurance, only revenue insurance is considered feasible because of asymmetric information. Furthermore, (also because of asymmetric information) revenue insurance is only considered applicable to field crops. A business interruption insurance for livestock epidemics is regarded as feasible if aspects such as farmers' and governments' influence on the size of risk are properly taken into account. Further research is required to actually develop and implement insurance schemes.</p

Analysis of Seed Potato Systems in Ethiopia

This study aimed to analyze the seed potato systems in Ethiopia, identify constraints and prioritize improvement options, combining desk research, rapid appraisal and formal surveys, expert elicitation, field observations and local knowledge. In Ethiopia, informal, alternative and formal seed systems co-exist. The informal system, with low quality seed, is dominant. The formal system is too small to contribute significantly to improve that situation. The informal seed system should prioritize improving seed quality by increasing awareness and skills of farmers, improving seed tuber quality of early generations and market access. The alternative and formal seed systems should prioritize improving the production capacity of quality seed by availing new varieties, designing quality control methods and improving farmer’s awareness. To improve overall seed potato supply in Ethiopia, experts postulated co-existence and linkage of the three seed systems and development of self-regulation and selfcertification in the informal, alternative and formal cooperative seed potato systems. Resumen Este estudio tuvo el propósito de analizar los sistemas de producción de papa en Etiopia, identificar limitantes, y priorizar opciones de mejorar, mediante la combinación de investigación de escritorio, apreciaciones rápidas y estudios formales, encuestas a expertos, observaciones de campo y conocimiento local. En Etiopia co-existen sistemas de semilla informal, alternativo y formal. Domina el sistema informal, con baja calidad de semilla. El sistema formal es muy pequeño como para contribuir significativamente al mejoramiento de esa situación. El sistema informal de semilla debería tener como prioridad el mejoramiento en la calidad de la semilla mediante el aumento en la atención y habilidades de los productores, mejorando la calidad de la semilla-tubérculo de las generaciones tempranas y el acceso al mercado. Los sistemas alternativo y formal de semilla deberían priorizar el mejoramiento en la capacidad de producción de semilla de calidad, mediante la validación de nuevas variedades, el diseño de métodos de control de calidad, y mejorando la atención del productor. Para mejorar el suministro general de semilla de papa en Etiopia, los expertos postularon la co-existencia y asociación de los tres sistemas de semillas y el desarrollo de autorregulación y autocertificación en los sistemas cooperativos de semilla de papa informal, alternativo y formal. Keywords Potato . Seed quality . Seed tuber . Seed system . Quality improvement . Expert elicitation . Solanum tuberosum Introductio

Scenario-onderzoek effectiviteit vaccinatie en impact op afzet producten

Dit rapport beschrijft een onderzoek naar de epidemiologie en economie van noodvaccinatie voor mond- en klauwzeer (MKZ). De economie heeft betrekking op bestrijdingskosten, gevolgschade in het getroffen compartiment en marktschade in gebieden daarbuiten. Het onderzoek richt zich op de rundveesector (vlees en zuivel), de varkenssector en de schapen- en geitensector. Waar mogelijk is niet alleen de schade van de primaire sector berekend maar ook de schade van de overige schakels in de productiekolo

Financial feasibility analysis of the Reuse of Human Waste Business Model in the Cape Coast metropolis in Ghana.

The financial viability of waste management schemes in Ghana have been reported to be rare. Hence prior to upscaling the pilot reuse of human waste business model to a commercial phase, analysis of the viability of the up scaled business model is essential. Thus this study seeks to analyse the financial feasibility of upscaling the reuse of human waste business model in Ghana. Data originate from the pilot project in Accra, extended with expert elicitation. The NPV and IRR were used as decision criteria for Public Private Partnership (PPP) and Private Scenarios. The Spearman rank correlation coefficient was used to identify input variable which had most impact on NPV. Economic and simulation results reveal higher probability of financial feasibility in the PPP Scenario. Outcomes are useful for policy makers to jointly steer urban waste management and farmers’ needs in the area of sustainable soil management