Farmer-buyer relationships and sustainable agricultural practices in the food supply chain : The case of vegetables in Chile
Benitez-Altuna, Francisco Javier (Wageningen University and Research. Department of Social Science)
Materia, Valentina C. (Wageningen University and Research. Department of Social Science)
Bijman, Jos (Wageningen University and Research. Department of Social Science)
Gaitán-Cremaschi, Daniel (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals)
Trienekens, Jacques (Wageningen University and Research. Department of Social Science)

Date:	2023
Abstract:	This study investigates how the relationship between farmers and buyers affects the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices (SAPs) in the vegetable sector in Chile. Specifically, we focus on the dyadic relationships between farmers and different types of buyers, including besides lead firms, intermediaries, and wholesalers, which have received little attention in the scientific literature. Our analysis focuses on formal and informal contracts as governance forms between farmers and buyers, and explores the correlation between contract provisions (e. g. , quality, quantity, and the provision of services), relationship attributes (i. e. , satisfaction, trust, and opportunism) and adoption of SAPs. We gathered survey data from 352 vegetable farmers in Chile and employed analysis of variance and logit modeling for our analysis. Our findings indicate that small-scale farmers primarily engage with intermediaries using informal contracts, while medium-scale farmers trade with wholesalers through spot markets, andlarge-scale farmers with lead firms using formal contracts. We also found that farmers who traded through informal contracts, mainly with intermediaries, reported greater satisfaction in the farmer-buyer relationship than farmers trading through formal contracts. However, farmers engaging in informal contracts were less likely to adopt SAPs than farmers trading through formal contracts. Our results suggest that the governance form (contracts or spot market) adopted for the relationship between farmers and buyers influences the adoption of SAPs, while the impact of relationship attributes on SAP adoption is less clear. A deeper understanding of buyers and their relationship with farmers is essential to enhance policies encouraging SAP adoption in regional and local fresh food supply chains. [EconLit Citations: Q13, Q15, Q56].
Note:	Unidad de excelencia María de Maeztu CEX2019-000940-M
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Subject:	Chile ; Contract elements ; Governance forms ; Relationship attributes ; Sustainable agricultural practices ; Vegetable supply chain
Published in:	Agribusiness, Vol. 40, Núm. 1 (Winter 2023) , p. 3-30, ISSN 1520-6297

DOI: 10.1002/agr.21829

28 p, 1.8 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles