A multi-level cost benefit approach for regulatory decision support in food safety and quality assurance scenarios

In complex policy decision situations where policy objectives can only be reached through appropriate activities of individual actors with own decision authority and individual objectives, the classical approaches for measuring the effects of regulatory initiatives through cost-benefit or related types of analysis do not provide the appropriate information for decision support. This paper discusses a framework for a multi-level analysis approach that could provide decision support in multi-level policy decision situations.cost-benefit analysis, multi-level analysis, policy decision support, impact assessment, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Editorial: Food System Dynamics

The food system involves all actors, activities, resources, and environments that produce and provide food to people wherever they are. It serves basic human needs and is as such of core relevance for human survival. It is global in production, consumption, and environmental impacts. But it is also deeply rooted in the social, cultural, natural, political, and legal environments of society. It needs to serve a diversity of consumer needs and lifestyles and has to cope with an organizational complexity where, a.o. small scale farms or enterprises interact with globally active industry or retail groups and where rural sites of production are remote from the urban and ever growing centers of consumption.Editorial, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

Costs and Benefits of Quality Systems: Case Study

The variety of quality systems is a very important and an actual theme in the agri-food sector. These quality systems are only partly acknowledged by different quality standard organizations, but customers within the supply chain demand them. Enterprises, which supply different customers and export abroad this, face the problem that they have to deal with several standards and implement them within the enterprise as well as take part in several systems audits and certifications. The economic problem consists of determining the most efficient introduction of a quality system or a combination of quality systems in the enterprise. The emphasis of the work lies in the development of a framework for the benchmarking of quality systems at all stages of the agri-food production and an allocation and operationalisation of cost and benefit categories. A concept including the database “QualintSys” was developed during a PhD-thesis to estimate the costs and benefits of quality systems.Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Industrial Organization,

Decision Support Model for the Optimization of Quality Systems in the Agri-Food Industry

Quality management is of paramount importance in all stages of the Agri-Food production and process chain. The approach of quality management has been changed in the past years due to the effects of globalization, numerous deficits in food safety and the legislative such as the new European regulation 178/2002 concerning food safeties. A trend, which can be shown, is the development of several quality systems and norms in response to this challenge. Therefore programmes will be developed and improved in the Agri-Food-industry further on. There are general quality systems, which are applied in different countries and sectors, country and product specific standards and programmes, which were developed by retail initiatives. This paper will give an insight into the variety of quality standards in the agribusiness and food industry in Europe and beyond. The main aspect will be a cost/benefit analysis for the implementation of different quality systems in firms and supply chains.quality management systems, cost, benefit, transaction costs, economic of scales, Agribusiness,

The International Quality Systems Environment

Enterprises in the agri-food sector are increasingly confronted with the need to adjust their production processes and operations to the requirements of quality systems and to integrate these requirements into their own individual integrated process management system. Integra- tion efforts are further aggravated by correlations of quality system requirements with other process related requirements. First initiatives have started to benchmark the requirements of different quality systems to have an analyse about the level of the same requirements. Output of this article will be a description of an advisory model (database model with computerized support), which presents a support tool for the implementation of quality, environ- mental and occupational health systems into the individual integrated (process) management system of enterprises. This tool includes at the moment two main parts: a benchmark of quality standards and a cost and benefit analysis approach.quality standards, benchmark, harmonisation, advisory model, Agribusiness, International Relations/Trade,

The Challenge of Reaching Transparency: ‘T-readiness’ of Enterprises and Sector Networks

Discussions on the safety and quality of food as well as growing interest in the sustainability of the production, distribution and consumption of food have contributed to the emergence of ‘transparency’ as a critical success factor for the food sector. However, reaching transparency for different stakeholders from different backgrounds and cultural identities is a dynamic process which depends on certain capabilities of enterprises and organizations along the food value chain but also on the realization of a fitting communication scheme within the sector. This discussion asks for the identification and utilization of an indicator that could identify deficiencies and support enterprises and the sector in reaching a level of transparency that could serve specified transparency needsAgribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Risk and Uncertainty,

Transparency in Food: A Challenge for Research and Sector Initiatives

Transparency in the Food Sector and especially towards consumers is an issue which receives increasingly attention in public and research. There is widespread agreement that the present state of transparency is not sufficient and needs engagement by research and the sector to move forward. A Strategic Research Agenda on Transparency (SRA) identifies opportunities and challenges for research to contribute to improvements in transparency supporting consumers’ trust in food and the society’s interest in food that is safe and considers the evolving environmental and social concerns

Anticipated Futures for Modern Rural Economies ‐ a Request for Guidance by Research, Policy and the Business Community

This paper builds on a review of literature and EU policies for rural development, innovation, entrepreneurship and the bio‐based economy. It provides a basis for conceptualizing modern rural economies dealing with food, biobased value chains, and valorization of ecosystem services regarding future conditions for rural entrepreneurship (including agriculture), remote areas (including those in coastal areas), and urban‐rural integration. It will outline emerging opportunities to promote diversification, shared values, innovation, and resource conservation, and toreach a common understanding of the solutions to set up a “Modern Rural Economy” in different conditions. In general, there are many opportunities for rural development, many of them linked to emerging technologies which reduce the relevance of distance in marketing, sales and many other activity domains and to business opportunities evolving within the bio‐economy and ecosystem services. However, it becomes obvious that the realization of opportunities needs to build on the simultaneous engagement of various stakeholders in business development, research, and public administration. Successful developments require an integrated development approach which combines opportunities into a comprehensive development program

Case Study Analysis for Sector Research and Teaching Support

The use of case studies in dealing with problems of the food sector is gaining increasingly attention in the scientific community. Case-based reasoning supports as a scientific approach the analysis of problems, relationships, behavior, and development directions of the sector and may contribute to understanding the sector’s opportunities and abilities in meeting the challenges of the future. This editorial provides a short introduction into the case study approach and links it to the publications in the special issue which cover case studies from the US, Canada, South America, Europe, and Africa

Developments and Development Directions of Electronic Trade Platforms in US and European Agri-Food Markets: Impact on Sector Organization

Electronic trade platforms support trading transactions between enterprises. They have entered the business landscape including the agri-food sector only a few years ago. However, there already have been dramatic changes in the agri-food sectorÂ’s platform infrastructures. This paper analyzes developments in electronic trade platform infrastructures in the agri-food sector of the US and Europe between 2000 and 2002 and identifies development strategies of successful platforms. Of 85 platforms in existence in the year 2000, only 25 remained active in 2002. But there are still market entries of new platforms and existing platforms form various types of partnerships. The analysis could identify a range of strategic development lines of successful platforms. Initiating cooperation with other platforms on the use of specific features and the development and use of standards, gaining support by major market participants, the improvement of trading functionalities and the expansion of value-added services are the primary lines of development and evolvement of platforms. Platform evolvement tendencies and the present occurrence of the trade platform infrastructure allow for projecting the emergence of an agri-food sector with embedded, interconnected e-commerce infrastructure or mega-hub leading towards a more networked agri-food industry.Electronic commerce, Electronic trade platforms, Agri-food markets, Agribusiness, Marketing,