1. 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
- 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
- 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.