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Agricultural Applied Economic and Rural Development for International Food and Agribusiness Marketing

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Agriculture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (1 August 2023) | Viewed by 10927

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, Viale Fanin, 50, 40127 Bologna, Italy
Interests: international trade of agrifood products; agribusiness; market analysis for agricultural and fishery products

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Guest Editor
Department of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Alma Mater Studiorum – University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy
Interests: consumer behaviour; food marketing; sustainable consumption; functional food; novel food

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

International food and agribusiness marketing has become one of the most important fields of work for many researchers and academicians. Value chains are getting more and more globalized and the connections among markets are more intense and diversified. In this framework, the marketing strategies for food and agricultural products should be carefully studied.

However, in the last three years, the food system is facing three important obstacles: health crisis, food security and climate change, which are pressing stakeholders to think of new ways in which the future food supply chain should develop.

Therefore, this special issue aims to understand how different marketing strategies can be employed for overcoming the three above-mentioned obstacles by considering different stakeholders of agricultural products and food value chain, from farmers to the final consumers. It is necessary to highlight the fact that also the instability of the political framework and the war conditions involving many countries, cause chain disruption and changes in the global supply chains. Therefore, marketing plans should carefully take into consideration this framework.

However, it is necessary to understand the background and factors that affected the crisis we are facing today. In recent years, global agriculture markets faced an increased volatility, directly impacting stakeholders of the food chain. Price volatility makes planning for farmers and buyers extremely difficult and may result in political unrest.

In addition, the EU agriculture and food supply chain is getting more and more complex and sees the development of specific chains for higher value added or specific products, in order to fulfil specific consumers’ demands. The proliferation of these initiatives requires an assessment in terms of benefits and costs from part of producers/farmers and other stakeholders of the food supply chain.

Therefore, the dynamic development of agricultural markets and political instability requires permanent monitoring and prospective analysis through economic models that have become indispensable tools in preparing and negotiating policy decisions like trade multi- or bilateral negotiations. In addition, these events create opportunities for rural development, especially necessary for the overpopulated areas of the cities. Sustainable food chain organization, strictly linked to the original territory, and an efficient use of natural resources are two fundamental issues of the rural development pillar.

The focus of this special issue is certainly vast and could be investigated from many points of view, adopting both a theoretical and an empirical approach.

Dr. Alessandra Castellini
Dr. Vilma Xhakollari
Guest Editors

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 submissions that pass pre-check are 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. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly 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 2400 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

  • rural food systems
  • entry strategies into developed and developing markets
  • rural dimension in international agrifood marketing
  • rural development – biodiversity – sustainable marketing
  • applied economics and rural markets
  • sustainable marketing strategies
  • new frameworks for the international marketing of agrifood products
  • global food marketing
  • applied models for agrifood international marketing
  • rural areas contribution to GVCs (global value chains)

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 328 KiB  
Article
Determinants of Smallholder Rice Farmers’ Willingness-to-Pay for Private Extension Services in Liberia: The Case of Gibi District
by Togba V. Sumo, Cecilia Ritho and Patrick Irungu
Sustainability 2023, 15(19), 14300; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914300 - 27 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1616
Abstract
Globally, many policymakers and extension professionals have advocated for the privatization of extension services in order to reduce the burden of funding faced by the state as well as to adequately respond to the low productivity problem of farmers as they endeavor to [...] Read more.
Globally, many policymakers and extension professionals have advocated for the privatization of extension services in order to reduce the burden of funding faced by the state as well as to adequately respond to the low productivity problem of farmers as they endeavor to tackle productivity problems. This study assessed willingness-to-pay (WTP) for private extension services by farmers and identified the determinants of their WTP using Gibi District of Liberia as a case study. A multistage sampling technique was used in selecting 296 smallholder rice farmers in the district while the double-bounded dichotomous choice contingent valuation method was used to elicit maximum WTP value for farmers. Descriptive statistics were computed and the double-bounded logit model used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that 78.7% of the rice farmers were willing to pay for privatized extension services and on average, a farmer was willing to pay US$11.21 per farm visit, almost twice the average daily wage rate of a skilled worker in Liberia. The results from the model showed that WTP was significantly positively influenced by the household head’s age, years of schooling, household size, annual income, and distance to extension service provider. The study recommends that the Liberian government and its development partners should encourage the private sector to invest more in extension services to take advantage of the relatively high farmers’ WTP and effective demand. In addition, the government should design and implement programs that reduce transaction costs in addition to increasing farmers’ income in order to enhance their capacity to pay for privatized extension services. Full article
17 pages, 443 KiB  
Article
Research on Online Sales of Low-Carbon Agricultural Products by New Urban Agricultural Business Entities: Evidence from Shanghai, China
by Fan Xu, Fangke Xu, Pu Xu, Min Liu and Yufeng Li
Sustainability 2023, 15(18), 13477; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151813477 - 8 Sep 2023
Viewed by 863
Abstract
Traditional agricultural business entities present environmental problems such as high energy consumption and high pollution. To achieve goals such as carbon capping and carbon neutrality, governments should encourage urban agricultural operators to sell low-carbon agricultural products online. This could play an important role [...] Read more.
Traditional agricultural business entities present environmental problems such as high energy consumption and high pollution. To achieve goals such as carbon capping and carbon neutrality, governments should encourage urban agricultural operators to sell low-carbon agricultural products online. This could play an important role in smoothing the connection between production and marketing, achieving industrial prosperity and promoting low-carbon agricultural development. This paper explores the formation and behavioral transformation of online sales intention by combining the theory of planned behavior, the Motivation–Opportunity–Ability (MOA) model, and the binary Probit regression model using data from 106 questionnaires. The study found that economic expectations and social norms can significantly improve online sales intention during the formation stage of online sales intention. Behavior control is not conducive to improving online sales intention. In addition, we found a gap between the willingness of urban agricultural operators to sell online and their behavior. This gap requires activation and adjustment of the opportunity and capability factors in the behavior transformation phase. Finally, we found that the strengthening of policy conditions and management capacity facilitated the transformation of urban agricultural operators’ willingness to sell online into behavior. This paper provides recommendations for the online sales of low-carbon agricultural products. While we continue to deepen urban agricultural operators’ knowledge of online sales, we should also pay attention to the creation of external opportunities that are suitable for the development of online sales, and identify differences in capacity among operators. This will provide precise services. Full article
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22 pages, 944 KiB  
Article
The Future of Agriculture: Obstacles and Improvement Measures for Chinese Cooperatives to Achieve Sustainable Development
by Yi Qu, Jing Zhang, Zhenning Wang, Xinning Ma, Guangcheng Wei and Xiangzhi Kong
Sustainability 2023, 15(2), 974; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15020974 - 5 Jan 2023
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1467
Abstract
The Chinese government pays close attention to sustainable development and takes an active approach to strengthening and standardizing such development. As the organizational vehicle for China’s large population, cooperatives can organize 230 million small farmers to promote sustainable development. However, some scholars have [...] Read more.
The Chinese government pays close attention to sustainable development and takes an active approach to strengthening and standardizing such development. As the organizational vehicle for China’s large population, cooperatives can organize 230 million small farmers to promote sustainable development. However, some scholars have raised concerns about Chinese cooperatives and questioned their role in promoting sustainable development. Based on a review of China’s government support policy, this study summarizes the development characteristics of nine cooperatives and summarizes issues from opposite aspects. Furthermore, this study also analyzes the basic situation of the Chinese government’s quality improvement pilot county initiative and draws conclusions about the best ways to achieve sustainable development. We also make some policy proposals on achieving the sustainable development of Chinese cooperatives. Full article
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22 pages, 1832 KiB  
Article
Entrepreneurial Potential and Agribusiness Desirability among Youths in South Kivu, Democratic Republic of the Congo
by Guy Simbeko, Paul-Martin Dontsop Nguezet, Haruna Sekabira, Mastewal Yami, Serge Amato Masirika, Krishan Bheenick, Deogratias Bugandwa, Dieu-Merci Akonkwa Nyamuhirwa, Jacob Mignouna, Zoumana Bamba and Victor Manyong
Sustainability 2023, 15(1), 873; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010873 - 3 Jan 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3928
Abstract
In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), entrepreneurship in the agriculture sector remains for youth a key pillar for income creation. However, few are attracted by agribusiness despite stakeholders’ efforts toward engaging youth in agriculture. Therefore, this study examines the relationship between entrepreneurial [...] Read more.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), entrepreneurship in the agriculture sector remains for youth a key pillar for income creation. However, few are attracted by agribusiness despite stakeholders’ efforts toward engaging youth in agriculture. Therefore, this study examines the relationship between entrepreneurial potential characteristics and youth desirability to start an enterprise in agriculture among 514 young people in Eastern DRC. This study revealed that youth in South Kivu have different entrepreneurship potential features and agribusiness desirability levels according to their gender and living area. Hence, the youth’s agribusiness desirability is motivated by an awareness of emerging agripreneurial activities, land ownership, parent involvement in farming activities as a role model, perceived agribusiness as an employment source, management-organizing and opportunistic competencies, market analysis, negotiating, and planning skills. Therefore, efforts to attract youth into agribusiness should focus on the use of media, the creation of awareness of available agribusiness initiatives in their area, and the setup of land policy. This is in addition to putting in place capacity-building programs on entrepreneurial and business skills through incubators, and the formalization of youth agribusiness groups that foster capitalizing experiences between new and accelerated agripreneurial enterprises, with the support of parents and financial institutions, focusing on gender sensitivity, in both rural and urban areas. Full article
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16 pages, 1144 KiB  
Article
Can E-Commerce Adoption Improve Agricultural Productivity? Evidence from Apple Growers in China
by Beibei Yan and Tianjun Liu
Sustainability 2023, 15(1), 150; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15010150 - 22 Dec 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2268
Abstract
E-commerce is not only a new channel through which farmers can sell agricultural products, but also an important engine for transforming agricultural development and modernizing agriculture in the era of the digital economy. Analyzing the adoption of e-commerce from the micro level to [...] Read more.
E-commerce is not only a new channel through which farmers can sell agricultural products, but also an important engine for transforming agricultural development and modernizing agriculture in the era of the digital economy. Analyzing the adoption of e-commerce from the micro level to improve farmers’ production efficiency has practical value. On the basis of theoretical discussion and analysis and on the survey data of 827 apple farmers in Shaanxi Province, China, we used propensity score matching (PSM) and stepwise regression to test the effects of e-commerce adoption on agricultural production efficiency and the mechanism through which these effects occur. The results showed that e-commerce adoption has a significant positive impact on agricultural production efficiency. The allocation of agricultural factors plays a mediating role in the impact of e-commerce adoption on agricultural production efficiency. Specifically, e-commerce adoption can effectively encourage farmers to rationally allocate agricultural labor, land, and capital production factors, promote the sustainable development of the environment and contribute to creating a harmonious community atmosphere. Therefore, we propose strengthening rural e-commerce support and the publicity and guidance regarding e-commerce adoption by farmers, holding e-commerce training, and promoting the popularization of rural e-commerce to help promote the modernization of agriculture. Full article
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