Special Issue "Managing Agricultural Value Chains in a Rapidly Urbanizing World"

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Farming Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 November 2021.

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Peter J. Batt
E-Mail Website1 Website2
Guest Editor
Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, 6009 Perth, Australia
Interests: sustainability; food systems; value chains
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

For the first time in history, the majority of mankind now resides in an urban environment, with that figure expected to reach two-thirds by 2050. Increasing rates of urbanisation are putting more pressure on water and land resources; influencing what foods we eat and where and when we eat them; the way our food is grown, processed, and delivered to consumers; and impacting on our health and nutrition.

While increasing urbanisation presents abundant opportunities for food producers, it also presents a number of significant challenges. Cities occupy only 3% of the land area and, yet, are responsible for 70% of global GDP, 60% of the energy consumed, 70% of greenhouse gas emissions, and 70% of global waste. With the demand for food generally exceeding the capacity of the adjacent agricultural region, cities are largely dependent on external food sources. With increasing imports, and while the diversity and range of food available to consumers increases, food chains become longer and, with that, cities become more susceptible to climate-induced food shortages, food price hikes, breakdowns in logistics, and failures in food safety management systems.

Furthermore, with increasing urbanisation, both as a result of urban migration and natural population increase, poverty, food insecurity, and malnutrition are shifting from being a rural problem to an urban problem. Today, more than one billion people reside in informal, low-income settlements, where diets are often deficient in terms of calories, diversity, and nutrients. As poor households spend scarce resources to buy more affordable, calorie-dense, micronutrient-poor food with high levels of fat, sugar, and salt, the incidence of malnutrition and obesity are increasing, often within the same household.

It is also well understood that urban growth directly impacts on the increasing demand for natural resources. Urbanisation contributes to climatic change, modifying hydrologic and biogeochemical cycles, changing precipitation patterns, increasing pollution, and reducing biodiversity. Regrettably, the increasing demand for food is not climate neutral, with an estimated 20 percent of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions being generated by agriculture, forestry, and land use change. Agriculture and food production, while contributing directly to climate change, are also directly impacted by a changing climate, with yields projected to fall by as much as 7% as a consequence of global warming. Post production, the food system is thought to be responsible for another 6% of GHG emissions, arising from both the need for refrigeration to preserve food and the mounting cost of food waste.

Collectively, these issues have led to a renewed focus on food systems, their sustainability and resilience, the potential to create viable employment and livelihoods, and the ability to provide access to affordable, safe, and nutritious food. While a more systematic consideration of urban food systems will naturally focus attention on the downstream portions of food value chains, helping to enhance their productivity and competitiveness to improve both the efficiency and sustainability of urban food systems, significantly greater investments in wholesale marketing and distribution systems, food quality and safety, transport and logistics, and improved food waste management must occur in parallel.

This Special Issue of Agronomy invites manuscripts that holistically address the various challenges associated with: 

  • enhancing productivity while minimizing environmental impact
  • facilitating the adoption of biodiversity and alternative food production systems
  • facilitating the inclusion for smallholder farmers
  • minimising food waste

Prof. Dr. Peter J. Batt
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • food marketing and infrastructure
  • food safety
  • food packaging, transport, and logistics
  • regional or local food systems
  • environmental sustainability
  • fair trade and equity
  • animal welfare
  • social inclusiveness
  • food security, nutrition, and health

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

Article
The Effect of Geographical Indications (GIs) on the Koerintji Cinnamon Sales Price and Information of Origin
Agronomy 2021, 11(7), 1410; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11071410 - 14 Jul 2021
Viewed by 354
Abstract
This paper focuses on the impact of the geographical indications (GIs) of Koerintji cinnamon on its value chain. The study was performed from September 2017 to November 2017 in Talang Kemuning, Kerinci regency, Indonesia. A village farmers’ group was surveyed using a semi-structured [...] Read more.
This paper focuses on the impact of the geographical indications (GIs) of Koerintji cinnamon on its value chain. The study was performed from September 2017 to November 2017 in Talang Kemuning, Kerinci regency, Indonesia. A village farmers’ group was surveyed using a semi-structured questionnaire, roundtable discussions, interviews, and direct observations to understand whether the GIs improve income, source of production, and promote product quality. Using a descriptive method, the literature on the topic was analyzed, and a value chain study was structured from the review’s findings. This helped us to better understand how GIs’ effects are dispersed among the chain actors and eventually enter the areas from which GI commodities originate. GIs generate added value, especially for farmers and buyers. Specifically, by using the GI Koerintji cinnamon’s handbook of requirements, the efficiency of farmers and buyers has improved. The studied population included farmers from Koerintji Cinnamon Jambi Geographical Indication Protection Society (MPIG-K2J) and Tani Saktik Alam Kerinci (TAKTIK), a farmer group. To obtain a GI, TAKTIK had to implement good agriculture practices and good manufacturing practices based on the handbook. Results show that farmers developed a system to monitor post-harvest handling in assuring a safe and high-quality supply to the global spices market. Following the book requirements, TAKTIK members follow specific procedures, including selecting raw materials, grading, origin verification, and quality control. Furthermore, GIs enable farmers to claim a price premium. As a result, GI Koerintji cinnamon’s presence has added value and credibility to TAKTIK farmers, leading to price improvement. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Managing Agricultural Value Chains in a Rapidly Urbanizing World)
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: The Effect of Geographical Indications (GIs) on The Korintji Cinnamon Value Chain
Authors: Sidi Rana Menggala; Wouter Vanhove; Dimas Rahadian Aji Muhammad; Abdur Rahman; Stijn Speelman; Patrick Van Damme
Affiliation: Laboratory of Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture and Ethnobotany, Department of Plant Production, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, 9000 Gent, Belgium
Abstract: This paper focuses on the impact of geographical indications (GIs) of Korintje cinnamon on its value chain. The study was performed from September 2017 – November 2017 in Talang Kemuning, Kerinci regency, Indonesia. A village farmers' group was surveyed using a semi-structured questionnaire, roundtable discussions, interviews, and direct observations to understand whether the GIs improves income, source of production, and promote product quality. Using a descriptive method, the literature on the topic was analysed and a value chain study structured from the review's findings. This helped understand better how GIs' effects are dispersed among the chain actors and eventually enter the areas from which GI commodities originate. GIs generates added value, especially for farmers and buyers. Specifically, GI Korintji cinnamon's handbook of requirements effects has improved the efficiency of farmers and buyers. The studied population included farmers from Korintje Cinnamon Jambi Geographical Indication Protection Society (MPIG-K2J) and Tani Saktik Alam Kerinci (TAKTIK), a farmer group. TAKTIK had to implement Good Agriculture Practices and Good Manufacturing Practices based on the handbook. The results show that in assuring a safe and high-quality supply to the global spices market, farmers developed a system to monitor post-harvest handling. The members of TAKTIK follow specific requirements, including selecting raw materials, grading, origin verification, and quality control based on the book of requirements. Furthermore, the GI enables farmers to claim a price premium. GI Korintji cinnamon's presence had added value and credibility to TAKTIK, leading to price improvement.

Title: An exploratory study of the sustainable practices used at each level of the Bordeaux wine value chain
Authors: Caroline Tahon; Peter J Batt
Affiliation: Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Highway, 6009 Perth, Australia

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