Dissertationen zum Thema „Agricultural produce - fruits“

As organizações evoluíram desde o artesanato até as grandes corporações atuais, passando pela Revolução Industrial e Segunda Guerra Mundial. Essa evolução trouxe alterações expressivas na forma de administração, especialmente pelo surgimento do computador e pela globalização. As empresas tornaram-se obrigadas a captar as crescentes mudanças no ambiente e a substituir o empirismo e improvisação por uma administração baseada na tomada de decisão a partir da análise de dados, que foi facilitada pelo desenvolvimento de sistemas de informação. Na atividade agrícola, a utilização de sistemas de informação e adoção da gestão por processos, os quais permitem a gerência obtenção de melhores resultados no negócio ainda são incipientes. Assim, o objetivo do trabalho é a adaptação de um modelo voltado ao mapeamento de processos que permita a definição de indicadores para a avaliação de desempenho dos principais processos operacionais da produção citrícola. O sistema de produção foi mapeado a partir do modelo IDEF0 (Integrated Definition for Function Modelling), sendo dividido em quatro macroprocessos principais denominados A1 Plantio; A2 Tratos culturais I - estabelecimento das mudas; A3 Tratos culturais II - manutenção do pomar; A4 Colheita. As principais fases operacionais referentes a cada um dos macroprocessos foram definidas com base em um sistema de produção de uma empresa agrícola. Identificou-se 13 principais fases, que resultaram num total de 60 atividades e 248 indicadores operacionais, sendo que 28 indicadores foram classificados como relacionados ao sucesso das fases. Para os indicadores de produtividade, foi possível definir três classes: custo, tempo e quantidade, sendo \"tempo de manutenção das máquinas\", \"tempo de mão-de-obra utilizada\", e \"tempo de máquinas utilizado nas atividades\", os indicadores propostos de maior frequência para a avaliação do desempenho relacionado à utilização dos recursos. Os indicadores de qualidade relacionados ao sucesso com maior frequência nas fases foram os referentes à qualidade química do solo (ou substrato): saturação por bases, teores de macro e micronutrientes. A validação dos indicadores obtidos neste trabalho em uma empresa ou propriedade citrícola permitirá maior alcance para a utilização do modelo. Também a realização de novos trabalhos sobre indicadores de desempenho para a agricultura, como a análise do relacionamento causa-efeito entre estes, permitirá a definição de itens prioritários para a gestão do sistema produtivo.
Organizations evolved from handicraft to the current large corporations, passing through the Industrial Revolution and World War II. This evolution has brought expressive changes in the management style, especially due to informatics and globalization. Companies were forced to adapt to the increasing changes in the business environment, as well as to replace the empiricism and improvisations by the management based on decision-making from data analysis, which was eased by the development of information systems. In agriculture, the use of information systems and the adoption of processes management, which provide better results, are still incipient. Therefore, this study aimed to adapt a model dedicated to process mapping, allowing indicators definition for the performance analysis of the main operational processes of the citrus production. The production system was mapped using the IDEF model, divided into four main macroprocesses named A1 Planting; A2 Cultural treatments I - seedling establishment; A3 Cultural treatments II - orchard maintenance; A4 Harvesting. The main operational stages of each macroprocess were defined based on the production system of an agricultural company. Thirteen main stages were identified, resulting in a total of 60 activities and 248 operational indicators, out of which 28 of them were linked to the success of the stages. Among the productivity indicators, it was possible to set those which belong to cost, time and quantity classes, being \"work time\", \"machinery time\" and \"maintenance time\", the more frequently proposed indicators for the performance evaluation related to resource use. The most frequently proposed quality indicators regarding the success of the stages were those related to the soil (or substratum) chemical quality: base saturation, macro and micronutrients levels. The validation of these indicators in a citrus company would expand the model application. The validation of these indicators in a citrus company will allow larger range for the model application. Also new studies about agricultural performance indicators, as the cause-effect analysis of them, will allow priority items to be defined to the production system management.

Master of Science
Department of Agricultural Economics
Vincent R. Amanor-Boadu
This study focuses on determining what key differences predispose a consumer to regularly purchase and be willing to pay a premium for sustainably-produced fruits and vegetables. Organic, local, and small farm are the three cases used in the study. The research used a structured questionnaire to conduct an online survey of U.S. internet users with email addresses in the spring of 2011 with logit and ordered logit regression used as the analytical tools. Cost was the most important factor for consumers who did not purchase organic and local products more frequently while unavailability was the principal reason for not consuming produces from small farms. The study showed consumers of small farm products often (98.5 percent of the time) consume local fruits and vegetables also but not the other way around. The relevant socio-economic factors for determining organic purchasing frequency were gender, household size, and education. For small farm they were the ability to influence local change and the respondents’ frequency of purchase of local products. Socio-economic characteristics did not prove to be a factor in local purchasing decisions. Regular purchasers of organic fruits and vegetables provided a consistent perception of organic products with the USDA certified organic definition. Local consumers reported that taste and freshness are the most defining characteristics of local products while small farm consumers could not provide a clear picture of the definitional statements defining fruits and vegetables produced by a small farm. This implied that there is need for more work by small farm producers to differentiate themselves in the market. On the contrary, both local and organic producers have a clear point of differentiation to reach their customers. Industry marketing efforts can be greatly improved by focusing on the characteristics of the consumers they are trying to reach. Our results can be further investigated by completing the following recommendations. First, to conduct more targeted studies such as interviews or focus groups, second, to gain a deeper understanding of how consumers perceive these attributes and third to conduct a comprehensive study on the similarities and differences between small farm and local consumers.

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This study aims to analyze the changes in turnover in CEASA / PE with the deployment of service provided by Packaging Central. The central packaging design aims to meet the requirements of legislation such as Law No. 9,972, the Decree n ° 6268 and Joint Normative SARC / ANVISA / INMETRO No. .009, which determine the marketing of produce packaged appropriately in standard containers, cleaned and labeled. The implementation of the project brought a series of changes in marketing CEASA / PE sectors like breaking a habit transport of papaya and orange was done in bulk, ie, the product was shipped without any protective packaging, with the introduction of central packaging this situation changed. To meet the proposed goal of this work a comparative analysis of the current situation vis à vis the previous state of affairs, for it three products (tomato, papaya and orange) marketed CEASA with its stages of adoption of standardized packages were selected was performed completed the longest. With the development of research identified that some licensees demonstrated to be satisfied with the use of standardized boxes but when dealing with the service provided by Central Packaging satisfaction degree is great.
O presente trabalho tem como objetivo analisar as mudanças ocorridas no volume de negócios no CEASA/PE com a implantação do serviço prestado pela Central de Embalagens. O projeto central de embalagens teve como objetivo atender as exigências da legislação em vigor como a Lei n° 9.972, o Decreto n° 6.268 e a Instrução Normativa Conjunta SARC/ANVISA/INMETRO n°.009, que determinam a comercialização de produtos hortifruticolas devidamente acondicionados em embalagens padronizadas, higienizadas e rotuladas. A execução do projeto trouxe uma serie de mudanças nos setores de comercialização do CEASA/PE, como a quebra de um hábito o transporte do mamão e da laranja era feito a granel, ou seja, o produto era transportado sem qualquer tipo de embalagem protetora, com a introdução da central de embalagens esta situação modificou-se. Para atender ao objetivo proposto deste trabalho foi realizada uma análise comparativa da situação atual “vis à vis” a situação pregressa dos negócios, para isso foram selecionados três produtos (tomate, mamão e laranja) comercializados no CEASA com suas etapas de adoção das embalagens padronizadas concluídas há mais tempo. Com o desenvolvimento da pesquisa identificou-se que alguns permissionários demonstraram estar satisfeitos com a utilização das caixas padronizadas mas ao tratar-se do serviço prestado pela Central de Embalagens o grau de insatisfação é grande.

The demand for tropical fruit in the Czech Republic is rising, it´s a trend in the modern way of life. People in the Czech Republic, and all over the world, demand healthier ways of food consumption. We did research concerning a supply in the supermarkets and consumers. I found out, that a demand for tropical fruit was not very well covered and that people were demanding more variety of tropical fruit and were ready to up pay double prices for it. I compared data about consumption of tropical fruits in Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic. The comparison is drawn from net import of tropical fruit and net import it´s divided per capita. We proved that people in the Czech Republic were consuming fewer kilograms per capita per year than people in Germany and Austria. Annual consumption of tropical fruit in the Czech Republic grew by 7 % during the last five years, while in Germany it amounted to 0,3% and in Austria to 4,5%.

fair trade is a business model approach that pretends to enhance the access to progress opportunities for rural populations through an empowering framework that supports small producers’ organizations and encourages investment decisions that improve welfare and sustainable development in their own communities. The values and practices underlying fair-trading emphasize a greater sensitivity on the conditions of small growers. The model integrates good agricultural practices, environmental stewardship, organizational transparency, empowerment, participative democracy, economic incentives and technology transfer in an alternative trade framework with the specific purpose of improving the income of rural producers of agricultural goods in developing countries. The most distinctive mechanism fair trade models use to improve the income of these producers is the direct payment of a minimum sales price to the farmer, which is at least equal to the market price. In exchange for this price security, the farmer commits to environmentally sound and socially responsible production practices. The main objective of this document is to provide a model for a handbook for small producers and organizations in Colombia interested in fair trade certification schemes. The paper collects relevant information for producers and organizations starting from an introduction of the fair trade system and the different labeling alternatives available in the market. It also provides general information about the background of the rural population in Colombia, useful for other audiences like researchers, and project leaders. In addition to explaining how the world’s leading fair trade labeling organization works and the procedure to obtain a certificate from them, the paper suggests screening and organizational-fitness tests intended to help interested producers and organizations to identify the suitability of the system to their own needs and detect internal strengths and weaknesses in relation to the specific certification requirements. The core of the document is a detailed analysis and compilation of the relevant compliance criteria producers and organizations must meet in order to become certificate holders and retain the certificate successfully. The standards set by the labeling body chosen for this work are paired to the compliance requirements of the respective auditing organization, local legal demands and practical guidance for compliance. The analysis is based on fair trade certification case studies, literature review and interviews with fair trade certified producers and experienced certification consultants in Colombia. Relevant local legislation and further informative documents for applicants are included in the Annexes. Its productive and demographic structure makes of fair trade schemes a relevant model for Colombia, a net producer and exporter of agricultural products. Production and trade patterns in Colombia, in combination with relentless land ownership concentration and inequality call for the implementation of alternative strategies with the potential of improving income in the short term; and strengthening capacity building, enhancing negotiation power of small farmers’ organizations and developing their skills for agro-business management in the long term.

Thesis (MBA)--Stellenbosch University, 2015.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Pierre du Plooy co-founded Prophyta (Pty) Ltd, a company that provided technical consultation services in the fields of horticulture and soil science to the South African deciduous fruit industry. Initially, the founders employed goods-dominant logic, viewing their services as intangible products that needed to be sold to clients. Between the founding of Prophyta in September 2012 and November 2014, Pierre du Plooy’s value proposition, service offering and revenue model diverged from those of other consultants in Prophyta, to the extent that he resigned from Prophyta and became an independent horticultural consultant. The study focussed on Pierre du Plooy’s existing clients. The clients were surveyed to determine their satisfaction with the current service offering, their interest in additional services, their openness toward alternative revenue models and key success factors according to them. A questionnaire was designed and 29 clients were invited to participate in the survey. Six responded, resulting in a response rate of 21 percent. Client satisfaction with the current service was measured using SERVQUAL. Fifteen statements applicable to the horticulture advisory service were made and respondents’ expectations and perceptions measured on a five point Likert scale. The values obtained for the expectation and corresponding perception per statement were used to calculate a difference score. A negative value for the difference score meant the perception of the current service exceeds client expectations regarding the statement in question. In general, the clients were satisfied with the current service offering. Two main aspects needed focus. A horticulturist needs to stay up-to-date with new research and technologies, requiring him to stay abreast of relevant literature, as well as attending symposia and production areas abroad. A horticulturist also has to be very attentive to keep classified information shared by clients confidential. The first aspect relates to the creation of new knowledge, the second to strengthening and building of relationships based on trust. According to the literature, both these aspects form the bases of competition and are very important in obtaining and maintaining a competitive advantage. It is recommended that Pierre du Plooy focus on above-mentioned aspects in order to maintain a sustainable competitive advantage over competitors. It is also recommended to repeat the client survey every two years in order to monitor changing client expectations and make sure client needs are being met.

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The current context and perspectives of small rural production property have sparked scientific studies that reveal the profile and different ways of working the family farm. In Brazil, it has played an important role in economic and social spheres, being classified as an important factor of development, despite the difficulties she faced in regional contexts. Over the years, family farming has established itself as a heterogeneous sector, due to the income diversity, activities, size of property, among other factors. Consolidated its position in order to have as its main strategy, diversification of products and processes for economic survival and now has the challenge of contributing to food security as it produces 70% of the food consumed internally in the country. Thus, after observing that among the strategies and alternatives sought by family farmers are the actions of cooperation such as the formation of associations and cooperatives to economic and social representation, this research has as main objective to understand how the collective governance structure - APROCOR - has influence (social, economic, informational, cultural and political) on family farmers associated to it. For this, the qualitative research of explanatory character was used to display the results, with the object of study, South Corumbataí Producers Association - APROCOR, established in the city to meet the demands of producers of fruits in the region. It attempted to, through interviews, consider what the country gains and losses of producers associated with collective governance structure and identify which variables of Collective Action Theory interfere with the creation of value the people studied. The results of empirical research have shown that collective action results in higher proportion of benefits to members, compared with the difficulties in acting collectively. Among the numerous benefits generated to the family farmers, there is the role of APROCOR to provide economic and financial gains, informational, social, environmental and health to rural workers. Regarding the difficulties faced by family farmers, there is the existence of cognitive nature failures, behavioral, structural, institutional and political. Despite the existence of collective failure, there was the feasibility of collective action. Finally, it was concluded that the variables of Collective Action Theory "Group Size" (intermediate), "Group Size" (intermediate) combined with "trust", "Heterogeneity of the group" (strong ties), "Communication face face "," Leadership "and" partnerships "exert positive influence on the creation of value. Jas variables "Free riders" and "Trust" combined with "heterogeneity of interests" exert negative influence on the creation of value. There is the "individual rationality versus collective rationality" as a variable of the Theory of Collective Action that has the capacity to influence on all the other variables, as it reflects the way of understanding and hence the attitude of individuals in the joint action with other individuals.
O contexto atual e as perspectivas da pequena propriedade de produção rural têm suscitado estudos científicos que revelam o perfil e as diferentes formas de atuação da agricultura familiar. No Brasil, tem desempenhado importante papel nas esferas econômica e social, sendo classificada como importante fator de desenvolvimento, apesar das dificuldades por ela enfrentadas nos contextos regionais. Ao longo dos anos, a agricultura familiar se estabeleceu como um setor heterogêneo, em razão da diversidade de renda, atividades, tamanho da propriedade, dentre outros fatores. Consolidou-se de modo a ter como principal estratégia, a diversificação de produtos e processos para sobrevivência econômica e passou a ter o grande desafio de contribuir com a segurança alimentar, uma vez que produz 70% dos alimentos consumidos internamente no país. Assim, após observar que dentre as estratégias e alternativas buscadas pelos agricultores familiares estão as ações de cooperação, como a formação de associações e cooperativas para representação econômica e social, a presente pesquisa possui como principal objetivo analisar de que forma a estrutura de governança coletiva APROCOR apresenta influência (social, econômica, informacional, cultural e política) sobre os agricultores familiares à ela associados. Para isso, foi utilizada a pesquisa qualitativa, de caráter explicativo, para exposição dos resultados, tendo como objeto de estudo, a Associação de Produtores de Corumbataí do Sul APROCOR, constituída no município para atender as demandas dos produtores de frutas da região. Buscou-se, através de entrevistas, analisar quais os ganhos e perdas dos produtores rurais associados à estrutura de governança coletiva, bem como, identificar quais variáveis da Teoria da Ação Coletiva interferem na criação de valor dos atores deste estudo. Os resultados da pesquisa empírica demonstraram que a ação coletiva resulta em maior proporção de benefícios aos associados, se comparados com as dificuldades em atuar coletivamente. Dentre os inúmeros benefícios gerados aos produtores familiares, destaca-se o papel da APROCOR em proporcionar ganhos econômicos e financeiros, informacionais, sociais, ambientais e de saúde ao trabalhador rural. Em relação às dificuldades enfrentadas pelos produtores familiares, destaca-se a existência de falhas de natureza cognitiva, comportamental, estrutural, institucional e política. Apesar da existência de falhas coletivas, constatou-se a viabilidade da ação coletiva. Por fim, concluiu-se que as variáveis da Teoria da Ação Coletiva Tamanho do grupo (intermediário), Tamanho do grupo (intermediário) aliado à confiança , Heterogeneidade do grupo (laços fortes), Comunicação face a face , Liderança e Parcerias exercem influência positiva sobre a geração de valor. Jás as variáveis Free riders e Confiança aliada à Heterogeneidade de interesses exercem influência negativa para a criação de valor. Destaca-se a Racionalidade individual versus a racionalidade coletiva como uma variável da Teoria da Ação Coletiva que possui capacidade de influência em todas as demais variáveis, uma vez que reflete a forma de compreensão e, consequentemente, a atitude dos indivíduos na atuação conjunta com os demais indivíduos.

En 2009, le Grenelle de l’environnement a ouvert en France la possibilité d’intégrer des clauses environnementales au sein des cahiers des charges d’Indications Géographiques (IG). Cette opportunité nouvelle intéresse fortement les Agences de l’eau qui cherchent de plus en plus à agir en amont à la source des pollutions agricoles. Dans ce contexte, cette étude interroge la manière dont certaines démarches de qualité alimentaire intègrent dans leur dynamique des objectifs de préservation de l’eau. Pour y répondre, nous avons développé une approche globale permettant de resituer les enjeux de qualité de l’eau dans ceux plus larges d’environnement. Nous avons également dépassé la seule analyse des cahiers des charges des IG pour considérer l’ensemble des actions en faveur de l’environnement dans lesquelles elles s’impliquent. Le cadre d’analyse développé, celui de la résilience des Systèmes Alimentaires (SA) de qualité différenciée répond à ce besoin d’élargissement. Il nous permet d’étudier les dynamiques environnementales engagées pour faire face à des perturbations liées à la dégradation des ressources naturelles dont l’eau. Il s’agit autant de perturbations factuelles, mesurées, que de perturbations représentées lorsque les acteurs envisagent un risque potentiel. Ce cadre d’analyse a été appliqué à la viticulture et à l’arboriculture dans le Sud-Est de la France. Les résultats montrent la complexité des dynamiques environnementales engagées : elles reposent toutes sur plusieurs actions complémentaires et supposent la présence d’acteurs clés ayant la capacité à engager une dynamique collective et à envisager les SA à la fois dans leur dimension verticale les liant au marché et dans leur dimension horizontale les insérant dans le territoire
In 2009, The Grenelle de l'Environnement (French environmental pact) introduced environmental clauses within Geographical Indications (GI) specifications. French Water agencies (agences de l’eau) perceive it as a good opportunity to address the issue of agricultural pollution, by takings actions at the upstream level. In this context, this study examines how certainfood quality processes are proactively setting targets for conserving water. This question led to develop a global approach in order to look at the issues of water quality from the wider angle of environmental preservation. It requires not only to focus on regulation tools of food quality products but also to take into account a larger set of environmental actions. Along the same lines, the theoretical framework of the resilience of food system of differentiated quality has also been developed. It allows to study proactive environmental dynamics set up by stakeholders to deal with perturbations linked to natural resources degradation, such as water. Those perturbations can be factual (measured) or represented, when stakeholders consider a potential risk. This analytical framework has been applied on case studies in viticulture and fruit production in the South-East of France. The results underscore the complexity of environmental dynamics: they are based on a set of complementary actions and require the mobilization of key players, able to engage in a collective dynamics but also to have a wider vision of food systems, both by looking at the vertical dimension (market oriented) and horizontal dimension (link with the local territory)

Thesis (MSc Food Sc)--Stellenbosch University, 2012.
ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The agricultural sector of South Africa is currently facing a serious water crisis. The decreased availability of water as a result of climate change and the constantly growing population has left many farmers increasingly dependant on surface water as primary source of irrigation. Urbanisation along with out-dated and insufficient wastewater treatment works have all contributed to polluting large volumes of these resources. Consequently, many farmers have been forced to use irrigation water, not only of poor quality, but often water which has been polluted with untreated sewage. As a result, this project aimed at investigating the link between the quality of irrigation water and the impact on the safety of fresh produce. A base-line of the microbial load at three sites along the Plankenburg and Eerste Rivers was established using standard microbial methods for the detection of indicator organisms such as total and faecal coliforms, Escherichia coli and Enterococci as well as potential pathogens that included Salmonella, Listeria, Staphylococcus, endosporeformers and aerobic colony counts. Chemical parameters such as pH, alkalinity, conductivity and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were also monitored, but were not correlated to microbial pollution levels in the rivers. High faecal coliform and E. coli concentrations, ranging from 310 to 7 x 106 cfu.100 mL-1 and 230 to 7 x 106 cfu.100 mL-1, respectively, were detected. The recommended irrigation water guidelines of ≤1 000 (WHO, 1989) and ≤4 000 cfu.100 mL-1 (DWAF, 2008) for faecal coliforms and E. coli were exceeded, indicating faecal pollution and thus a high health risk. This health risk was confirmed when potential pathogens such as Aerococcus viridans, Klebsiella, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella typhimurium were detected at all three sites. The carryover of organisms from rivers to produce (green beans and grapes) was investigated by comparing the microbial population of the Plankenburg and Eerste Rivers to the population recovered from irrigation water and the surface of fresh produce. Faecal coliforms, E. coli, Aerococcus viridans, Enterobacter aerogenes, Klebsiella, L. innocua, L. grayi, L. monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus were detected in all three sample types, indicating a similarity between the microbial populations found in the river, the irrigation water and produce. Thus, the transfer of potential pathogens from the rivers to produce is a strong possibility. The build-up of organisms on the surface of green beans as a result of multiple irrigations was also confirmed by an increase in faecal coliform concentrations from initial concentrations of none detected to 44 000 cfu.100 mL-1 over a 10 day irrigation period. Finally, microbial source-tracking techniques including multi-antibiotic resistance (MAR) profiling, and the API 20E classification system were used to determine genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of 92 faecal isolates (from irrigation water and produce) and 13 reference strains. Numerical classification systems was used to classify the 105 faecal isolates according to the degree of similarity between the genotypic and phenotypic characteristics of the 105 isolates. A high degree of similarity indicates a high probability that isolates originate from the same strain and therefore from the same source, thereby confirming the transfer of organisms Faecal isolates (93 and 98%, respectively) were found to be resistant to Vancomycin at both the 5 and 30 μg concentrations. The majority of isolates presented some resistance to Erythromycin (15 μg) and Ampicillin (25 μg), with 82% of isolates presenting an inhibition zone ≤4 mm. Isolates were sensitive towards Ciprofloxacin (1 and 5 μg), Ofloxacin (15 μg), Ceftriaxone (30 μg) and Cefotaxime (5 μg), which were able to inhibit the growth of 79.8, 93.3, 79.8, 88.5 and 71.2% of the isolates, respectively. The 13 medical reference strains all presented different genotypic and phenotypic characteristics and thereby indicated a high degree of variability between isolates from the same species. Finally, 35% of the isolates could be grouped together based on similar genotypic and phenotypic characteristics, therefore, more than a third of the faecal isolates obtained from the surface of the fresh produce was as a result of faecal contaminants in the irrigation water. It could therefore be concluded that a health risk is associated with the water from the Plankenburg and to a lesser extent, Eerste River when used as source of irrigation, thereby risking the transfer of potentially harmful organisms, present in the rivers as result of faecal pollution, to the surface of fresh produce.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Suid-Afrika stuur tans af op 'n dreigende water krisis. Klimaatsverandering tesame met 'n spoedig groeiende bevolking het gelei tot 'n aansienlike vermindering in die land se varswaterbronne terwyl veranderende reënvalpatrone daartoe bygedra het dat talle boere al hoe meer afhanklik geword het van oppervlakvarswaterbronne as hul hoof-besproeïngsbron. Verstedeliking, armoede asook verouderde en onvoldoende infrastrukture het egter bygedra tot die besoedeling van baie van hierdie oppervlakvarswaterbronne. Gevolglik is meeste boere genoodsaak om klaar te kom met besproeïngswater van, nie net onaanvaarbare mikrobiese kwaliteit nie, maar dikwels water wat gekontamineer is met onbehandelde riool. Hierdie studie was gevolglik daarop gemik om die impak van die mikrobiologiese kwaliteit van besproeïngswater op die veiligheid van vars groente en vrugte te bepaal. Standaard mikrobiologiese metodes vir die bepaling van indikator organismes soos totale en fekale kolivorms, E. coli en enterococci asook potensiële patogene wat Salmonella, Listeria en Staphylococcus insluit, was gebruik om die mikrobiese lading by drie verskillende punte (P1, P2 en P3) in die Plankenburg en Eerste Rivier te bepaal. Chemiese parameters soos pH, alkaliniteit, konduktiwiteit en Chemiese Suurstof Behoefte was ook bepaal maar geen korrelasie kon tussen hierdie eienskappe en die mikrobiese besoedelingsvlakke getref word nie. Hoë konsentrasies fekale kolivorms en E. coli wat onderskeidelik vanaf 3.1 x 102 tot 7 x 106 kve.100 mL-1 en 2.3 x 102 tot 7 x 106 kve.100 mL-1 gestrek het en gereeld die voorgeskrewe riglyne van onderskeidelik ≤1 000 (WHO, 1989) en ≤4 000 kve.100 mL-1 (DWAF, 2008) oorskry het, was by al drie punte gevind. Hierdie resultate het gedui op fekale besoedeling wat gevolglik met 'n hoë gesondheidsrisiko geassosieer kon word. Hierdie risiko was bevestig deur die teenwoordigheid van talle potensiële patogene, soos Aerococcus viridans, Klebsiella, Listeria monocytogenes en Salmonella typhimurium, wat vanaf al drie punte geïsoleer was. Die oordrag van organismes vanaf die besoedelde riviere na vars vrugte en groente (groen bone en druiwe) was bepaal deur die mikrobiese lading in die Plankenburg en Eerste Rivier te vergelyk met dié verkry vanuit die besproeïngswater en vanaf groen bone wat besproei was met hierdie water. Fekale kolivorms, E. coli, Aerococcus viridans, Enterobacter aerogenes, Klebsiella, L. innocua, L. grayi, L. monocytogenes en Staphylococcus aureus was vanaf al drie die monster tipes geïsoleer. Hierdie resultate het gedui op eenderse mikrobiese populasies in al drie bronne en het daarom die moontlike oordrag van patogene bevestig. Die opbou van organismes as gevolg van veelvuldige besproeïngsessies aan die oppervlak van groen bone was bevestig deur die toename in fekale kolivorm konsentrasie vanaf 'n begin telling van nul tot 'n maksimum konsentrasie van 44 000 kve.100 mL-1. Laastens was mikrobiologiese bron naspeurbaarheidstegnieke soos multi-antibiotika weerstandbiedende profiele en die API 20E klassifikasie sisteem gebruik om individuele genotipe en fenotipe profiele van die 105 fekale isolate saam te stel. Numeriese klassifikasie sisteme was gebruik om die isolate op grond van ooreenkomste tussen hul individuele fenotipiese en genotipiese karaktereienskappe te groeppeer. 'n Hoë mate van ooreenkomstigheid sal dan daarop dui dat isolate van dieselfde besoedlingsbron afkomstig is en gevolglik die oordrag van organismes vanaf besproeïngswater na vrugte en groente bevestig. Onderskeidelik 93 en 98% van die fekale isolate het daarop gedui om weerstandbiedend te wees teen beide 5 en 30 μg Vancomycin. Die meerderheid isolate (82%) het ook 'n mate van weerstand teenoor Erythromycin (15 μg) en Ampicillin (25 μg) getoon met inhibisie sones ≤4 mm. Isolate was ook sensitief teenoor Ciprofloxacin (1 en 5 μg), Ofloxacin (15 μg), Ceftriaxone (30 μg) en Cefotaxime (5 μg). Hierdie antibiotikums was in staat om die groei van onderskeidelik 79.8, 93.3, 79.8, 88.5 en 71.2 % van die isolate te inhibeer. Alhoewel resultate 'n hoë mate van variasie tussen isolate van dieselfde spesie getoon het was dit nogtans moontlik om 35% van die isolate saam te groeppeer op grond van ooreenstemmende genotipe en fenotipe profiele. Meer as 'n derde van die fekale isolate wat vanaf die oppervlakte van die groente en vrugte geïsoleer was, was afkomstig vanaf fekale besmetting in die besproeïngswater. Die oordrag van potensieël patogene organismes vanaf besoedelde riviere na vars vrugte en groente tydens besproeïng was sodoende bevestig. 'n Hoë gesondheidsrisiko was gevolglik gekoppel aan die gebruik van water vanaf die Plankenburg Rivier, en in 'n minder mate die Eerste Rivier, as bron van besproeïngswater.
Water Research Commission
National Research Foundation

[EN] The main objectives of this research were to analyze the role of the fruit and vegetables producer organizations (FVPOs), the recent developments in the fruit and vegetables sector, and the performance of these organizations in achieving one of the main objectives in the F&V Common Market Organizations (CMO) framework (i.e., to concentrate supply or marketed turnovers in the F&V sector), with special emphasis in the Valencian Community, in Spain. A set of indicators and variables were examined in order to study FVPOs dynamics and performance through operational programs (OP) aimed to increase the organization level as a necessary condition to balance the market power within the horticultural value chain. The study has been divided into six chapters, as follows: Chapter 1 summarizes the background research (referring specifically to the evaluations of operational programs by the EU Court of Auditors in 1996 and 2001, research on producer organizations of fruits and vegetables in Spain and / or some specific autonomous community, as well as DEA models to evaluate efficiency). Chapter 2 provides the frame of reference and methodological aspects of the thesis. Chapter 3 develops the theoretical framework widely referred to as the CMO (as instruments of the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Union), the nature of producer organizations, the value chain and the role of producer organizations under EU legislation to rebalance the power within value chain, and also the chronology of judicial-legal framework governing the fruit and vegetables sector. Chapter 4 briefly presents and discusses recent facts and the main trends of horticulture (referred to agricultural areas, production, prices, value of production and trade variables), within the EU, Spain, and the Valencian Community. Chapter 5 examines the dynamics of producer organizations (and organization or concentration of supply behavior) in the three regions mentioned above, with an emphasis on producers integrated to associations under the legal form of cooperatives and agricultural processing companies (SAT, is Spanish). Finally, in Chapter 6, a model was estimated by using deterministic parametric technique of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), to evaluate the efficiency of a FVPOs sample from the Valencian Community. The research uses a comprehensive epistemic approach, by combining elements of rationalism and empiricism; the first two phases (Chapters 1 to 5) are predominantly descriptive, while the last phase (Chapter 6) is mainly empirical. Secondary sources of information were used, including bibliographic, periodical, and economic-financial (accounting). The main findings point out that at the EU level there is still a strong concentration of power in the retail sector, although it has increased the turnovers marketed by FVPOs. Meanwhile, for the case of Spain there is a slight downward trend in the number of recognized POs although they have increased their importance in their turnovers. Finally, in the Valencian Community the number of FVPOs has increased (7% more than in 2006, although it tends to stabilize) and some of it in their dimension, while they had consolidated their export orientation, and also with signs of a slight trend towards concentration in the F&V sector. The envelopment analysis model and the estimated production function for the FVPOs sample of the Valencian Community concluded that it is possible to improve their performance if FVPOs use more efficiently their inputs, among them, operating funds.
[ES] El objetivo principal de esta investigación fue analizar el papel de las organizaciones de productores de frutas y hortalizas (OPFH), la evolución reciente del sector hortofrutícola y el desempeño de las OPFH en la consecución de uno de los objetivos fundamentales (concentrar la oferta comercializada a través de ellas), previsto por la Organización Común de Mercados del sector, con especial énfasis en la Comunidad Valenciana, España. Con ese fin se examinaron indicadores y variables para estudiar su dinámica su y desempeño a través de los programas operativos (PO), dirigidos particularmente a aumentar la organización como condición necesaria para equilibrar el poder de mercado dentro de la cadena de valor hortofrutícola. El trabajo ha sido estructurado en seis capítulos: en el primero se sintetizan los antecedentes de la investigación (referidos específicamente a las evaluaciones de los Programas Operativos a nivel comunitario Tribunal de Cuentas de la UE en 1996 y 2001, a estudios sobre organizaciones de productores de frutas y hortalizas en España y/o algunas CC.AA. específicas, así como a la aplicación de modelos DEA para evaluar eficiencia). En el segundo se presentan el marco referencial y los aspectos metodológicos de la investigación. En el tercero se desarrolla ampliamente el marco teórico referido a las Organizaciones Comunes de Mercados (en tanto instrumentos de la Política Agraria Común de la Unión Europea), la naturaleza de las organizaciones de productores, la cadena de valor y el papel de las OPFH en el marco de la legislación comunitaria para reequilibrar el poder dentro de ella, así como la cronología del marco jurídico-legal que regula el funcionamiento del sector de las frutas y hortalizas. El capítulo 4 caracteriza y analiza sucintamente el comportamiento reciente y las principales tendencias del sector hortofrutícola (superficie agraria, producción, precios, valor de la producción y comercio), en los ámbitos geográficos de la UE, de España y de la Comunidad Valenciana. El capítulo 5 examina la dinámica de las organizaciones de productores (organización o concentración de la oferta) en los tres ámbitos antes señalados, con énfasis en los productores integrados en entidades asociativas bajo la forma jurídica de cooperativas y sociedades agrarias de transformación. Finalmente, en el 6 se estima un modelo utilizando la técnica paramétrica no determinística del Análisis Envolvente de Datos (DEA), con la finalidad de evaluar la eficiencia de una muestra de OPFH de la Comunidad Valenciana. La investigación utiliza un enfoque epistémico integral, combinando elementos del racionalismo y del empirismo: las dos primeras fases (capítulos 1 al 5) son predominantemente descriptivas, en tanto la tercera (capítulo 6) es de carácter empírico. Para ello se utilizaron fuentes secundarias de información, tanto bibliográficas y hemerográficas, como económico-financieras (contables). Los principales hallazgos dan cuenta que a nivel comunitario, si bien ha aumentado el volumen de oferta comercializado por las OPFH, aún persiste una fuerte concentración de poder en el sector de la distribución. En España ¿por su parte¿ hay una leve tendencia decreciente en el Nº de entidades asociativas, si bien estas han aumentado su importancia en el volumen de negocios facturado. Finalmente, en la Comunidad Valenciana ha aumentado el Nº OPFH (7% más que en 2006, aunque tiende a estabilizarse) y algunas de ella en su dimensión, al tiempo que han consolidado su orientación exportadora, con indicios de una leve tendencia a la concentración del sector. Del modelo de análisis envolvente y de la función de producción estimada para una muestra de OPFH de la CV se concluye que es posible mejorar su eficiencia si se emplean más eficientemente sus insumos productivos, entre ellos, los fondos operativos.
[CAT] L'objectiu principal d'aquesta investigació va ser analitzar el paper de les organitzacions de productors de fruites i hortalisses (OPFH), l'evolució recent del sector hortofructícola i l'acompliment de les OPFH en la consecució de l'objectiu fonamental de concentrar l'oferta comercialitzada a través d'elles -previst per l'Organització Comuna de Mercats del sector, OCM-, amb especial èmfasi en la Comunitat Valenciana (CV), Espanya. Amb aquesta finalitat es van examinar indicadors i variables per estudiar la seva dinàmica i el seu acompliment a través dels programes operatius (PO), dirigits particularment a augmentar l'organització com a condició necessària per a equilibrar el poder de mercat dins de la cadena de valor hortofructícola. El treball ha estat estructurat en sis capítols: en el primer es sintetitzen els antecedents de la recerca (referits específicament a les avaluacions dels Programes Operatius a nivell comunitari Tribunal de Comptes de la UE en 1996 i 2001, a estudis sobre organitzacions de productors de fruites i hortalisses a Espanya i / o algunes CCAA específiques, així com a l'aplicació de models DEA per avaluar eficiència). En el segon es presenten el marc referencial i els aspectes metodològics de la investigació. En el tercer es desenvolupa àmpliament el marc teòric referit a les Organitzacions Comunes de Mercats (en tant instruments de la Política Agrària Comuna de la Unió Europea), la naturalesa de les organitzacions de productors, la cadena de valor i el paper de les OPFH en el marc de la legislació comunitària per reequilibrar el poder dins d'ella, així com la cronologia del marc jurídic-legal que regula el funcionament del sector de les fruites i hortalisses. El capítol 4 caracteritza i analitza succintament el comportament recent i les principals tendències del sector hortofructícola (superfície agrària, producció, preus, valor de la producció i comerç), en els àmbits geogràfics de la UE, d'Espanya i de la Comunitat Valenciana. El capítol 5 examina la dinàmica de les organitzacions de productors (organització o concentració de l'oferta) en els tres àmbits abans assenyalats, amb èmfasi en els productors integrats en entitats associatives sota la forma jurídica de cooperatives i societats agràries de transformació. Finalment, en el 6 s'estima un model utilitzant la tècnica paramètrica no determinística de l'Anàlisi Envoltant de Dades (DEA), amb la finalitat d'avaluar l'eficiència d'una mostra d'OPFH de la Comunitat Valenciana. La investigació utilitza un enfocament epistèmic integral, combinant elements del racionalisme i de l'empirisme: les dues primeres fases (capítols 1 al 5) són predominantment descriptives, en tant la tercera (capítol 6) és de caràcter empíric. Per a això es van utilitzar fonts secundàries d'informació, tant bibliogràfiques i hemerogràfiques, com econòmic-financeres (comptables). Els principals resultats donen compte que a nivell comunitari, si bé ha augmentat el volum d'oferta comercialitzada per les OPFH, encara persisteix una forta concentració de poder en el sector de la distribució. A Espanya, d'altra banda, hi ha una lleu tendència decreixent al N º d'entitats associatives, si bé aquestes han augmentat la seva importància en el volum de facturació. Finalment, a la Comunitat Valenciana ha augmentat el N º d'OPFH (7% més que el 2006, encara que tendeix a estabilitzar) i algunes d'ella en la seva dimensió, alhora que han consolidat la seva orientació exportadora, amb indicis d'una lleu tendència a la concentració del sector. Del model d'anàlisi DEA i de la funció de producció estimada per a una mostra d'OPFH de la CV es conclou que és possible millorar la seva eficiència si utilitzen més eficientment els seus insums productius, entre ells, els fons operatius.
Anido Rivas, JD. (2015). Evaluación de las organizaciones de productores de frutas y hortalizas en el marco de la Organización Común de Mercados. El caso de la Comunidad Valenciana [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/58046
TESIS

碩士
中國文化大學
生活應用科學研究所
92
Abstract The main focus of this research was maximized the profit margin of farmers׳ groups. Via alliance related groups to sell their fruits directly to international tourist hotels. Taiwan had joined WTO in the recent years. Government has to abide by its rules and regulations then to enjoy the benefits WTO supply. International Tourist Hotels and farmers׳ organization were sampled to be the research objects. The research was conducted by questionnaires and focused groups. The major findings of the research were as followings： 1. Current fruits market and international hotels: The present sales of the International Tourist Hotel׳s fresh fruits, in order of volume, are: watermelon, citrus, honeydew, banana, papaya, guava, pineapple, mango, tomato, and grapes. The first priority in choosing fruits is its freshness. When selecting a supplier the quality of products is the first consideration. Upon receiving fruits, the appearance of the fruits is the most important element followed by its content and brand names. The specifications of fruits are mostly gathered by suppliers. 2. Farmers׳ group׳s ability to cope with hotels׳ purchasing procedure and their willingness toward alliance: Half of the farmers׳ groups agree to accept periodical payment arrangement. However, these groups are unwillingly to deal with the “fixed price” policy and long term account receivable under cash flow consideration. Providing enough fruits is never a problem to farmers׳ groups. Packing by grades is also executed wonderfully. The weakness of these groups is the ability to do the pre-preparation processes. They also can easily reach the demand on quality, sanitation, and safety of their products. Again, they are lacking of the ability to process the edible parts of fruits. In the same time, most farmers show a high degree of willingness to alliance with other groups. 3. Strategies and targets for international tourist hotels fruits purchasing principles: A. Design strict rules on grading system. B. Establishing sales and promotion plans. C. Taking the advantages from the alliance. D. Build up sales channel system. 4. Various alliance formats between farmers groups and international tourist hotels: Basically, there are three types of alliances. A. Alliance based on territory — combining groups in the same area and producing same fruits. B. Horizontal alliance — coalition with related industries and dividing Taiwan into four segments, north, central, south, and east regions. C. Cooperation with the government — the government should set up rules in funding, training, and promoting fruits to supporting farmers׳ groups.

碩士
明新科技大學
管理研究所碩士班
106
This study adopts qualitative research method to analyze the production, distribution channel and policy of organic non-toxic product promotion of Lishan delicate agricultural products. In this study, researcher reviews Lishan delicate agricultural products’ specific features, advantages, grading standard, packaging and various problems faced by current farmers. Researcher interviewed experienced farm owners and farmer’s association staff who are engaging in delicate agriculture. According to the interview results, this research falls on some specific suggestions. Because of the impact of fake organic product events, farmers should enhance in promoting the policy of traceability, improving product classification and promoting self-brand. Also, they should establish consumers’ awareness toward agricultural product brands so as to enhance consumers' trust in organic non-toxic agricultural products. The government should assist organic agriculture to get safety certification and strengthen consumers' knowledge of organic, non-toxic products. To solve the current promotion of organic, non-toxic agricultural products, farmers have been able to traceability in sustained operation. This study uses SWOT to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the fruit industry's internal and external environment. According to BMG (Business Model Generation) put forward by Alexander Osterwalder, the results of the study show that small-scale farmers should develop direct sales and door to door delivery services in the market, and strengthen direct sales of their products, implement product quality checks to ensure the consumer's food safety, and enhance the image of agricultural products. On the other hand, in the distribution channel, government should participate in promoting the policy activities to their products. To get more profit, the most important strategy resulted from BMG analysis proposed high mountain delicate agricultural products should apply direct marketing The results of this study provide a reference for agricultural administrators, related companies, and policy makers to make non-toxic agriculture sustainable operation under environmental changes in Taiwan.

碩士
國立中興大學
食品安全研究所
107
Diet is an indispensable part of daily life. Except for tasty, food safety is the chief consideration for dietary. High percentage of vegetables and fruits (an average of 30%) consumption in the total food intake every day. Vegetables and fruits may contain harmful substances such as pesticides that could lead to several complications such as skin irritation, endocrine disorders, brain and nervous system poisoning, cancer, cardiovascular disease, neurological disorders, birth defects, and fertility problems. Okara and camellia seed cake, the by-product of agricultural products, contain many ingredients such as saponins. Saponins compose of a lipid-soluble aglycone and water soluble sugar that can be used as surfactant. The current research proves that saponins have antimicrobial, antifungal, antiparasitic and molluscicidal activities. However, the effect of removing pesticide residues from fruits and vegetables remains unclear. In this study, we investigated the ability of removing pesticide residues, as well as their effects on indicator bacteria and color appearance in fruits and vegetables by using soybean by-product extracts (SBE) and camellia seed cake extracts (CSE). Our results showed that the total saponin content of okara and camellia seed cake was 40.32 ± 1.50 mg/g and 216.49 ± 0.79 mg/g, respectively. The pesticide residues sprayed on fruits and vegetables (bok choy, sweet potato leaves, spoon cabbage, Chinese kale, spinach, Fushan lettuce, jujube, wax apple and lemon) were effectively dislodged by 0.1 mg/mL SBE or CSE washing and better than general tap water washing or commercial detergents. Besides, the total plate count of bacteria and coliform was reduced by SBE and CSE washing. Moreover, the color appearance analysis of fruits and vegetables was not affected by the treatment. In accordance with the calculation of the food intake of the Nutrition And Health Survey in Taiwan, the acute and chronic hazard quotients (HQ) were reduced in a safe range after SBE and CSE washing for both adults and children. Taken together, SBE and CSE washing showed excellent ability in reducing pesticide residues and inhibiting indicator bacteria than general tap water washing and commercial detergents, indicating the potential of SBE and CSE for further development.

A mathematical model of natural convection in three-dimensional enclosures containing respiring fruits or vegetables is presented. The agricultural produce is treated media exhibiting transversely orthotropic permeability in which local temperature dependent respiration heat generation occurs. In the numerical investigations conducted, both adiabatic and isothermal boundary conditions are considered for the cooling and storage process. The influence of size, respiration rate and permeability on natural convection is discussed. Numerical experimental results for temperature distribution, velocity distribution, true and storage process are presented. It was found that the style of packaging of the agricultural produce and the size container were likely to have significant effects on the storage characteristics.

碩士
國立臺灣師範大學
大眾傳播研究所
103
Most of farmlands in Taiwan are fragmentized and widespread, agricultural produce need to be centralized and then transported to the consumer market to sell. Wholesalers become a hub of the transportations and sales of agricultural produce. However, there are many problems with the traditional agricultural production and transportation operating system, making both farmers and consumers face a lose-lose situation. Farmers are subjected to wholesalers, also become the passive acceptance of the price in the traditional agricultural production and transportation system. To solve this problem, some farmers try to use Internet or the small-scale fair to replace the traditional channels. 　　The present study adopted action research as its principal approach, taking home-grown dragon fruit from the researcher as an example. To study how farmers construct the network channels via social media also the effect, furthermore, compare the advantages and disadvantages of the four different channels from the researcher. The research shows that the profit from directly marketing which farmers proceed via Internet, is about 55% higher than the traditional channel sales mode. 　　Yet the output and order are hard to match, so Internet channels are difficult to completely replace the traditional channels. If farmers can bear the additional workload, Internet channel is an agricultural transportations and sell channel which very worthwhile to develop. 　　Moreover, in the traditional channels, fruits and vegetables wholesale market is one of the most important standards of the agricultural selling price, but farmers don’t have the ability to bargain the price, so it normally leads to the unexpected revenue to the farmers. Therefore, do recommend to gradually transfer the fruit and vegetable wholesale market into the assistant channels, taking agricultural transportations and sales company as the main selling channels. Also adopting the small number of principles as sales strategy to raise the purchase price and obtain more profits.

碩士
元智大學
管理研究所
97
Traditionally, agricultural products were primarily sold in physical store; hence, customer only could buy product via physical distribution. Due to the popularization of informational technology and the internet, customer can buy the product via e-commerce channel. Business model is the important mechanism that enables the firm to make and sustain profit continually. Under diversified competition, how the firms timely based on the customer need to revise their operational model of developing service process and create customer value is the critical issue for business to gain sustained and competitive advantage. This study mainly adopted the Hamel (2000) definition of business model. In addition, the methodology of this research is qualitative research to interview with four agricultural firms. From the result of analysis, the research found the four common points of operational model, as follows: Firstly, when firms focus on the quality of product, they can set up trust in the customer relationship; furthermore, that customer will be the loyalty customer. Secondly, firms can increase the willingness that customers purchase the product by using the mass media to connect with them. Thirdly, when firms pay much attention to post-service, they can increase the willingness that customers repurchase the product. Finally, when firm the strengthen relationship of supplier and collaborative partner, that can enable them to acquire cost competitive advantage. Based on the result of analysis, we make the conclusion of the research, as follows: Firstly, when firms establish the well relationship with customer, they can gain the superior competitive advantage. Moreover, to set up the differentiation strategy of service innovation in the field of selling agricultural products is the first consideration for the firm. Besides, when firms set up the brand, they can increase the willingness that customers buy the product. Eventually, our research brings forth the new framework of business model in the field of selling agricultural products; therefore, that can provide the reference to the existing fruit retailer and the firms who want to enter agricultural industry in the future.

碩士
國立屏東科技大學
農企業管理系所
105
With the advantage of using information technologies, electronic commerce allows business activities to go beyond the common boundaries of traditional business. The trading behavior through the Internet, so-called "online shopping," for example, is a part of e-commerce and has been widely adopted by the modern society. E-commerce is similar to operating a real store; having the information about the social-demographic characteristics of consumers would help generate revenues. The data recorded in the e-commerce database may provide valuable information to reveal the preferences of different types of consumers. The information may also help predict consumer behavior and improve strategies of the website operation. Therefore, there is a new challenge for companies to transform big data into substantial information for business decision making. This study was conducted based on the data mining technology. The members’ information and their transaction data between 2010 and 2015 were obtained from the database of the case company. The variables included several demographic characteristics, such as gender, age, location, and annual income. The products purchased were categorized into fruits and dried products. After coding the data, the study analyzed the seasonal variations of consumer behavior and the connection between characteristics of consumers and the types of agricultural products purchased. Based on the findings, the case company was suggested to develop marketing strategies according to the age and annual income of the members.

The modern disconnect between agricultural producers and consumers in Canada is a result of an increasingly smaller percentage of society taking part in the ‘making’ of food. Fruit breeding —the practice of selectively breeding two fruit varieties to create a genetically superior offspring— is a scientific process found at the Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre in Summerland, B.C. Canada that orchardists use to produce more while investing less. This thesis attempts to reveal the fruit breeding process by establishing an architectural procession through the agricultural landscape in order to reconnect consumer and producer. Further, the design of this thesis explores the development of an architecture of place in order to establish a deeper connection with the fruit breeding process for the visitor.

碩士
高苑科技大學
經營管理研究所
103
Abstract This study investigated the Dragon Fruit in cooperative marketing in Manjou Township. We would discuss the development and achievement in Taiwan locally produced special products. We hoped the result would be useful for the farmer’s association managers in cooperative marketing. The study found that different farmer’s associations’ adoptions were not the same. However, their main purpose was according with the demands of the market. So, it was important for every farmer’s association to share information. The study suggested that each department should work in coordination, understand what farmers’ needing and see their needs and benefits as priorities. We suggested that farmer’s associations should make performance assessment, and the managers should attach importance tocooperative marketing. Then, they should keep serving farmers and expanding market shares. Because of that, the study could state that farmer’s associations should promotefarmers’ satisfactions and immediately correct their performance assessment to let Dragon Fruit cooperative marketing be sustainable operation.

碩士
長榮大學
經營管理研究所
93
Abstract With Taiwan joining World Trade Organization, Taiwan’s agrilture industry faces a more and more competitive international environment. It is an important topic for Taiwan to introduce agritural products to the foreign markets. The establishment of international marketing companies should be one of the ways to international market for Taiwan’s agritural products. Therefore, this study, from the views of farmers and farmers’ associations, investigates the functions that an international marketing company for agricultural products should possess, which can be used to overcome the obstacles to exporting Taiwan’s agricultural products. In order to study the influences of farmers’ characteristics, products’ characteristics and farmers’ associations’ characteristics on the functions of international marketing companies, this paper took farmers’ associations located in Tainan, Kaohsiung and Ping Tung, and farmers planting, respectively, pineapples, banana, guavas and wax apples as research objectives, and methods of descriptive statistics, analysis of variance, t-test, and regression analysis are employed to analyze the respondent questionnaires. This paper divides the functions of international marketing companies into market analysis, product management and technical abilities; the first function consists of market segmenting, competition analysis and profitability analysis, the second consists of brand development, product quality management and understanding product characteristics, and the third consists of international marketing experience, crisis handling abilities, specialized equipments and information collection. Based on the research results, it is found that farmers’ and products’ characteristics will influence the functions, but there is no diffence between farmers and farmers’ associations in the perception of functions. This paper proposes some suggestions for the governemt and the private sector about the establishment of international marketing companies for agricultural products as well. Key words：farmer’s characteristics, products’ characteristics, farmers’ association, international marketing, international marketing companies

碩士
健行科技大學
企業管理系碩士班
103
The dissertation starts with general examination of current operation and changes on the wholesale market of vegetables and fruits in Taiwan. According to the research methods in previous researches and background literature, the background studies are divided into three main aspects: Intermediary, competition, and the market structure-conduct-performance theory. Based on the literature review, the supply and sales relations of the wholesale market of vegetables and fruits in Taiwan has changed dramatically after year of 2000. Three main points can be concluded from this study. First, the market share of the two biggest wholesale markets in Taiwan (Taipei City and Kaohsiung City) has been increasing every year. Second, the market share of the TAOYUAN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS MARKETING CO. wholesale market and other large-scale wholesale markets has grown significantly year by year. Third, the market share of other middle-scale wholesale markets has been decreasing due to the oppression of large-scale wholesale markets. Moreover, some middle-scale wholesale markets were unable to make ends meet because of the low volume of trade. This study focuses on the significant growth of the market share of other large-scale wholesale markets. Take the TAOYUAN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS MARKETING CO. Wholesale market for example; the possible reasons of the growth of market share are analyzed according to the changes of supply and sale relations. Based on the secondary data and the interviews with the entrepreneurs, the possible reasons of the increase of market share might be: 1. The supply source and amount of large-scale wholesale markets headed by TAOYUAN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS MARKETING CO. Wholesale Market have increased. 2. The supply capacity has strengthened and the supply territory has expanded. 3. The growth of population has led to the expansion of urbanization, and the distribution capacity for wholesale market is also advanced. In accordance with this research, the other similar large-scale wholesale markets are likely to follow through and develop towards an “distant-area of wholesale market.”

碩士
立德大學
城鄉與資產計劃學系
97
This study is designed to explore the Key Influence Factors for the production and sale resume of agricultural products, using survey research and statistical analysis, taking production and marketing classes in Changhua which carry out production and sale resume certification, and plant fruit trees mainly as study references. This study explores individual varieties, such as gender, age, and education level, using different brands. It also explores the influences on the success, such as law management, organizational development, industrial properties, domestic situations, and the overall environment. 112 questionnaires were issued to 92 classmates from 24 production and marketing classes and 20 professionals in the fruit tree industry, 86 effective questionnaires were returned. The information from the survey will be sorted out by means of descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, factor analysis, and variance analysis. The main content of this study includes: 1. By taking fruit production and marketing classes in Changhua as example, by means of interviews and surveys，to understand how much the class members know about the production and sale resume and how they use it; 2. Sort the influence factors of production and sale resume by collecting literature on this subject. Then summarize the factors that conform to the situation by means of surveys and analysis; 3. Use variance analysis to explore the different influences, such as gender, age, education level,and so on.

Fruit and vegetables are often spoilt during storage, handling and transportation due to microorganisms. The common spoilage causes are fungi within the order Mucorales, the largest order of the class Zygomycetes. Such spoilage can result in reduced food supplies, poor quality and severe losses to producers and traders. The study was to investigate the type of Mucorales prevalent in various commodities and in a particular market than others. Fifty infected papaya, peaches and strawberries were collected at five occasions from large, medium and small markets. Isolation was done aseptically in a biosafety cabinet. Mucorales were identified morphologically, through culture based tests and molecular techniques. Mucorales isolated are Rhizopus stolonifer, Mucor circinelloides and Mucor racemosus. Mucorales were isolated at a higher rate in samples collected from the small market than other two markets. Spoilage in all three markets is assumed to be influenced by lack of modified temperatures in the storage room.
Life and Consumer Sciences
M. Sc. (Life Sciences)

Broad-based black economic empowerment (BBEE) is a policy objective in South Africa. Farmworker equity-share schemes (FWES) satisfy several of the empowerment goals specified by the proposed AgriBEE Scorecard. Information about the costs and benefits of subscribing to an empowerment label will help managers to make more informed decisions about empowerment and could therefore promote BBEE. The Thandi label is an initiative to market fruit and wines originating from FWES and farms operated by previously disadvantaged farmers. A case study of the Thandi label was undertaken to determine whether or not the accredited empowerment attribute adds value to Thandi products. An exploratory-explanatory case study was adopted basing questions largely on the theoretical propositions of asymmetric information, the benefits of product labelling and the preconditions for a successful label. Primary data were collected via in-depth interviews with managers of Capespan, The Company of Wine People and empowerment farms participating in the Thandi label. The study made use of in-depth interviews with key informants to investigate issues considered (on theoretical grounds) to be critical in establishing a successful label. Responses were subsequently tabulated and compared, where relevant, across respondents in order to check for consensus views. Results indicate that the Thandi label had not succeeded in differentiating fruit, whereas the Thandi wine label had increased sales revenue and was covering accreditation costs incurred by farms as well as the recurring costs of maintaining and marketing the label. Thandi fruit had not grown its share of the domestic or export markets and did not command a price premium, Capespan subsequently discontinued the Thandi fruit label. Thandi wine, on the other hand, had grown its export market and consumers were prepared to pay a premium for Thandi wine products. The data indicate that empowerment attributes were useful in finding shelf space for products, but that quality is essential to grow market share and to earn price premiums. In short, accredited empowerment attributes can add value to quality products sold to discerning consumers who lack information about empowerment and quality attributes at the point of sale. Empowerment labels must include quality attributes. Government should at least absorb some of the transaction costs confronting producers and marketing agencies in negotiating standards for farms and firms participating in generic empowerment labels. It could also offer auditing services to local accreditation agencies to improve their credibility. Further research estimating consumers' willingness-to-pay for products branded with empowerment labels is necessary to estimate the size of premiums that different products may command.
Thesis (M.Ag.Man.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2007.