Online from publication. 4 pages., Report about a panel presentation at a meeting of the Produce Marketing Association. Panelist moderator reported that food delivery services such as Grubhub, DoorDash and Postmates can charge restaurants 20-35 percent commission per order, in addition to the monthly fee for the service. Customers typically pay a delivery fee, a driver tip, and sales tax. The moderator urged restaurants, "Be smart about where your money is spent, and be firm, and try and make it a good experience for yourself and your customers."
UI Library subscription., Report about a National AgriMarketing Association award-winning docudrama, "30 Harvests." It was produced for the U.S. Farmers and Ranchers in Action (USFRA) organization to encourage food companies to join with agriculture in the battle against climate change. Describes the origin and production of this film, as well as the planning for a paid media budget by USFRA and the CLUTCH consultancy/agency, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
14 Pages, iZindaba Zokudla (IZ) is a multistakeholder engagement project that aims to create opportunities for urban agriculture in a sustainable food system in Johannesburg. IZ implements the Farmers’ Lab, a social lab used as a transitional mechanism in a larger transition to sustainability. To move the South African urban food system to an ecologically sound, economically productive, and socially equitable system, significant stakeholder integration is needed, and the iZindaba Zokudla Farmers’ Lab provides that. This reflective essay presents a history of the project (2013 until now) detailing the project’s creation of an ecosystem based on social labs that facilitate innovation in the food system. Emergent entrepreneurs and others use the social labs and their activities, as well as stakeholder engagement in their enterprise development, and these Labs have created opportunities for applied and other research in the university. This has brought innovation and change to agroecological practice in Johannesburg. This reflective essay article situates IZ within the broader evolutionary change in South Africa and considers how conversations about food lead to the creation of sustainable food systems.
10 pages, Abstract— Smart agriculture involves the use of technology such as drones, GPS, robotics, IoT, AI, big data, and solar energy to improve farming practices. As with any disruptive innovation, however, stakeholder expectations can be misaligned from what the innovation can actually deliver. There can also be varying perspectives on what the innovation entails, related topics of interest, and impediments to large scale adoption. This study examines public perception of smart agriculture and its perceived drivers and challenges as present in social media discourse. We collected online posts from Twitter, Reddit, forums, online news and blogs between January 2010 and December 2018 for analysis. Results show that 38% of social media posts contained emotion with 52% joy, 21% anger and 12% sadness. Through topic analysis, we discovered seven key drivers and challenges for smart agriculture which included: enabling technologies, data ownership and privacy, accountability and trust, energy and infrastructure, investment, job security, and climate change.
11pgs, Taylor and Francis Online, The field of research on agricultural and rural extension and education, also referred to as advisory services and intermediaries, has always engaged with different aspects of the spaces in which agricultural producers (farmers, growers, ranchers) are situated and operate. In this editorial, I will reflect on the elements and environments which jointly constitute and shape the farm (Darnhofer 2020) and their connection with extension and advisory services in the digital age, opening up new digital and virtual spaces. Extension and advisory services receive ample consideration in current debates on digitalization and digital transformation of the agrifood sector, and are an important focus of attention for agriculture and food systems research, practice and policy (Ehlers, Huber, and Finger 2021; Ingram and Maye 2020; Klerkx 2020). In what follows, I will elaborate on some digital and virtual spaces as sites of extension and advisory services research, to progress the field of study for which The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension serves as a publication outlet.
8 pages., Extension materials that are sensitive to changing demographics and culture increase relevance and compliance with food safety practices. Produce safety extension materials were developed for U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) produce growers to help with compliance with a new food safety rule. We developed employee training materials based on a needs assessment and behavioral change was evaluated six months after dissemination. The original materials were not seen as culturally appropriate but after modifications, improvements in food safety practices and behavior changes were observed. These results suggest that extension educators should seek feedback from target populations about potential interventions before implementation.
22 pages, The UK exited the EU on 31 January 2020, with a transition period agreed as part of the Withdrawal Agreement. During this transition period the UK and the EU will decide on their future trading relationship. No matter what form this relationship takes, there will be disturbances to agri-food markets. This study analyses four different scenarios with increasing barriers to trade, ranging from a very close relationship similar to the European Economic Area to a distant relationship in which the UK and EU trade on Most Favoured Nation terms, using the EU focused global agricultural sector model CAPRI. In the UK, food prices will increase in all scenarios, making consumers in the UK the biggest losers. Only in a free trade agreement scenario does the UK show an unambiguous positive net welfare gain in just the agri-food sector. In the case of the European Economic Area scenario, which assumes continued access to the single market, the net welfare impact would depend on the size of the UK’s continued contribution to the EU. In the EU, declining food prices would benefit consumers but the sum of the loss in farmers’ incomes and the UK’s EU CAP contribution would be much greater than the consumer’s gain. These impacts in agricultural markets under different future trade arrangements will also be influenced by the UK’s agricultural policy changes in direct payments as well as by possible further UK trade liberalisation after the end of the transition period.
18pgs, This analysis investigates the potential mechanisms and the practical significance of agricultural value chain development in a geographically challenging rural area of a developing country. Using data from a carefully designed primary survey administered in a hill and mountainous region in Western Nepal, we show that linking small-scale producers to regional and local traders can help increase income. Analysis of impact pathways shows that the positive impact on household income emerges through higher agricultural income, driven by higher sale volume at lower prices. Focusing on high value commodities in rural areas, where arable land is not always fully exploited or utilized, appears to lead to acreage expansion and some crop switching, contributing to higher supply albeit at lower prices. The positive impact on household income is practically significant; it helps improve household food security and asset accumulation. These findings are robust to alternative specifications. Targeted value chain interventions that strengthen and stabilize small-scale producers’ access to markets can contribute to rural poverty reduction via increase in agricultural income.
7pgs, Community Food Assessments (CFAs) can be used to identify resources and gaps in how food is grown and distributed in a community, and develop action plans for improvement. This article shares the process for conducting these assessments and draws lessons from CFAs conducted across Oregon. Key themes and innovative projects are highlighted to share potential programming ideas. Extension can play a role in partnership development and networking that helps create sustainable projects that improve local food systems.
