What they know and why they do it: preliminary findings of farmer focus group discussion on value added agriculture in North Carolina

    Collection:
    Agricultural Communications Documentation Center (ACDC)
    Contributers:
    Quaicoe, Obed (author), Vorsah, Roger (author), Jefferson-Moore, Kenrett (author), Bynum, Jarvetta (author), and Owens, John (author)
    Format:
    Research report
    Publication Date:
    2022-09
    URL:
    https://www.fdrsinc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/JFDR53.1_7_Quaicoe.pdf
    Published:
    USA: Food Distribution Research Society
    Location:
    Agricultural Communications Documentation Center, Funk Library, University of Illinois Box: 205 Document Number: D12634
    Journal Title:
    Journal of Food Distribution Research
    Journal Title Details:
    V. 53, Iss.1
    Subject Term:
    focus groups, North Carolina, USA, small farmers, small farms, value added, farm profitability, value-added agriculture, market growth, group interviews, farm sustainability, North Carolina farmers, farm resources, and market failure
    Notes:
    4 pages, Sustaining farm profitability has been challenging for North Carolina smallholder farmers facing market failure. Small farms earning between $10,000 or less and $50,000 annually in net farm income need alternative practices that will make them more profitable. This study assesses North Carolina small farmers’ understanding and attitudes towards value-added agriculture. We conducted farmer focus group interviews and analyzed the data using Qualitative Data Analysis Miner Lite. We found that the main drivers of value-added agriculture include improving on-farm profitability, product expansion, and market growth. High production costs and lack of government assistance are some of the factors limiting value-added participation.

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