Strengthening The Resilience Of Agricultural Supply Chains

Fresh fruits and vegetables constitute important commodities in world agricultural production, trade and consumption. Their typically high nutritional value makes fresh fruits and vegetables a critical component in ensuring global food security and nutrition. Since a large share of fruits and vegetables are produced in low income countries, concerns regarding equitable smallholder incomes and foreign exchange generation also play a special role. Over the past decade, global trade in fresh fruits and vegetables more than doubled in response to rising demand, placing this commodity group among the most valuable food commodities in terms of export value. As such, fresh fruits and vegetables constitute telling examples of high value and sometimes delicate export crops with challenging transport needs, with supply chain disruptions negatively impacting on producers, exporters and end users. The need to keep supply chains functioning and to facilitate the availability and affordability of fresh fruits and vegetables, is of eminent importance in times of crises, whether these are linked to economic difficulties, disease outbreaks, conflict, natural disasters or other factors. This paper lays out some of the salient features of global trade in fresh fruits and vegetables and the special characteristics pertaining to their supply chain needs. It presents an investigation of market developments observed in 2020/2021 and investigates the potential implications of shocks to supply chains, in order to highlight bottlenecks to be addressed to strengthen the resilience and preparedness of supply chains in times of crises.

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on food and agriculture have been felt all over the world. As the pandemic unfolded, considerable attention began to be paid to the resilience of agricultural supply chains to COVID-19-related shocks, as well as to natural and human-induced shocks more generally. These "Guidelines to increase the resilience of agricultural supply chains" are intended for policymakers and other stakeholders who need a broad grasp of the concepts, issues and possible approaches involved. Efforts to strengthen resilience to risks need to be based on a thorough analysis of the exposure and vulnerability of supply chains to them, and on a cost–benefit assessment of damages versus interventions. In addition, not all decisions can be based on commercial and economic considerations, as political priorities will also play a role. Governments may take the lead in setting policy priorities based on assessments of risk and resilience capacities, but it is actors throughout the supply chain who are directly affected and who need to consider business strategies and interventions to be able to adapt and transform for the future. Governments play an essential role by supporting the efforts of supply chain businesses and by building general resilience through establishing an appropriate policy and institutional environment, and through the investments they make in physical infrastructure, in putting social protection in place, and in facilitating and promoting collaboration and cooperation. Enhancing general resilience against future risks is important as new risks emerge, and the frequency and intensity of known risks grow with climate change and increasing pressure on natural resources.

This report explores how countries can strengthen the resilience of their agricultural sectors to multiple risks. A shifting risk landscape in agriculture – due to increasing weather variability, natural hazards, pests and diseases, and market shocks – will require public and private actors to consider the risk landscape over the long term, place a greater emphasis on what can be done ex ante to reduce risk exposure and increase preparedness, and prioritise investments that build resilience capacities both on-farm and for the sector as a whole.

The success of the entire food supply chain depends on the prosperity of farms and local communities. The direct climate change risks faced by the agricultural sector are therefore also risks to businesses and food supply chains. Hence the importance of resilience at farm level, community level and business level when looking at food supply chain policy and management. Climate Change Adaptation and Food Supply Chain Management highlights the issue of adaptation to climate change in food supply chains, the management and policy implications and the importance of supply chain resilience. Attention is given to each phase of the supply chain: input production, agriculture, food processing, retailing, consumption and post-consumption. European case studies demonstrate the vulnerabilities of contemporary food supply chains, the opportunities and competitive advantages related to climate change, and the trans-disciplinary challenges related to successful climate adaptation. The authors argue for a redefinition of the way food supply chains are operated, located and coordinated and propose a novel approach enhancing climate-resilient food supply chain policy and management. This book will be of interest to students, researchers, practitioners and policymakers in the field of climate adaptation and food supply chain management and policy.

An essential guide to the role of microeconomic incentives, macro policies, and technological change in enhancing agriculture resilience. Climate change and the recent COVID-19 pandemic have exposed the vulnerability of global agricultural supply and value chains. There is a growing awareness of the importance of interactions within and between these supply chains for understanding the performance of agricultural markets. This book presents a collection of research studies that develop conceptual models and empirical analyses of risk resilience and vulnerability in supply chains. The chapters emphasize the roles played by microeconomic incentives, macroeconomic policies, and technological change in contributing to supply chain performance. The studies range widely, considering for example how agent-based modeling and remote sensing data can be used to assess the impact of shocks, and how recent shocks such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the African Swine fever in China affected agricultural labor markets, the supply chain for meat products, and the food retailing sector. A recurring theme is the transformation of agricultural supply chains and the volatility of food systems in response to microeconomic shocks. The chapters not only present new findings but also point to important directions for future research.

This study provides a quantitative assessment of the Indian dairy sector and aims to determine the underlying factors of the observed price movements. We analyse producer prices over time, differentiated by milk-producing ‘zones,’ and identify the underlying factors that might explain the observed discontinuities or interruptions in producer prices. The findings show no statistically significant change in wholesale milk prices immediately after the sudden lockdown was imposed in the five milk zones. However, retail prices increased in the East zone, while dairy product sales plummeted in all milk production zones. The study found disruption in milk marketing channels, logistics and transportation in the East milk zone, where the cooperative institutional structure is less widespread and active than in other zones. The East zone also has a thinly spread dairy infrastructure such as cold chains, exposing producers to market vagaries. The analysis confirms that the decision of the dairy cooperatives to continue to pay milk producers even when sales plummeted played a critical role in strengthening the resilience of India’s dairy sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings show that building strong institutional infrastructure such as dairy cooperatives is necessary but insufficient for sustaining market resilience. Dairy processors need resources for assuming higher risks while relaxing certain regulations such as labour movements and enhancing access to essential inputs for maintaining production. It is crucial to provide government assistance for those who fail to use market channels for reasons beyond their control.

Through the integration of gender analysis into resilience thinking, this book shares field-based research insights from a collaborative, integrated project aimed at improving food security in subsistence and smallholder agricultural systems. The scope of the book is both local and multi-scalar. The gendered resilience framework, illustrated here with detailed case studies from semi-arid Kenya, is shown to be suitable for use in analysis in other geographic regions and across disciplines. The book examines the importance of gender equity to the strengthening of socio-ecological resilience. Case studies reflect multidisciplinary perspectives and focus on a range of issues, from microfinance to informal seed systems. The book’s gender perspective also incorporates consideration of age or generational relations and cultural dimensions in order to embrace the complexity of existing socio-economic realities in rural farming communities. The issue of succession of farmland has become a general concern, both to farmers and to researchers focused on building resilient farming systems. Building resilience here is shown to involve strengthening households’ and communities’ overall livelihood capabilities in the face of ongoing climate change, global market volatility and political instability.

Key Messages • Yemen is experiencing one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises resulting from prolonged conflict, with about half the population suffering from food insecurity. • Food availability and affordability in Yemen is extremely vulnerable to external shocks because of the fragility of the national food system and its heavy dependence on food imports by the private sector and international humanitarian agencies. • A recent workshop jointly organized by IFPRI and HSA Group reviewed the state of collaboration between key actors in Yemen’s food system and discussed avenues to building strong cross-sector partnerships for ending the current food crisis and strengthening food system resilience. • Limited collaboration among the public, private, and third sectors (for example, in the form of collective action, multistakeholder partnerships) contributes to inefficiencies in food supply chains and food aid delivery. • Currently, collaborations are often ad hoc, limited to peer-to-peer partnerships, and constrained by a siloed mentality. • With a potential peace agreement, new opportunities for cross sector collaboration and strategic partnerships between food system actors are emerging. • Enhanced communication among the public, private, and third sectors is an important first step toward improving mutual understanding, building trust, exchanging critical information and ideas, and realizing opportunities for effective collective action.