TY - JOUR
T1 - Use of supply chain planning tools for efficiently placing small farmers into high-value, vegetable markets
AU - Flores, Hector
AU - Villalobos, Jesus
AU - Ahumada, Omar
AU - Uchanski, Mark
AU - Meneses, Cesar
AU - Sanchez, Octavio
N1 - Funding Information:
We gratefully acknowledge the support provided by the Mexican governmental agencies , SAGARPA and COFUPRO for the realization of this research.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2018 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2019/2
Y1 - 2019/2
N2 - The availability of new information technologies, as well as changes in agricultural markets and their underlying distribution and logistics channels, present new challenges and opportunities to small and medium size farmers. This is particularly true for farmers in emerging economies that very often grow traditional crops whose profits, as observed by small farmers, seem to continuously shrink. The availability of protected agriculture and information technologies promise to open new opportunities, particularly in the fresh produce supply chain. In this paper, we introduce an integrated supply chain planning tool for fresh vegetables that takes into consideration the characteristics and resources of three specific states in Mexico, to make recommendations in terms of the crops to be planted, the timing of planting and harvesting, and what markets to target such that the farmers’ profits are maximized. Also relevant is the selection of the appropriate agriculture technology level (e.g. open field, shade structures, or greenhouse) within each region analyzed. A case study based on fresh produce exporting regions of Mexico is presented. The results of the case study show that the judicious use of protected agriculture technology can render significant additional profits for farmers.
AB - The availability of new information technologies, as well as changes in agricultural markets and their underlying distribution and logistics channels, present new challenges and opportunities to small and medium size farmers. This is particularly true for farmers in emerging economies that very often grow traditional crops whose profits, as observed by small farmers, seem to continuously shrink. The availability of protected agriculture and information technologies promise to open new opportunities, particularly in the fresh produce supply chain. In this paper, we introduce an integrated supply chain planning tool for fresh vegetables that takes into consideration the characteristics and resources of three specific states in Mexico, to make recommendations in terms of the crops to be planted, the timing of planting and harvesting, and what markets to target such that the farmers’ profits are maximized. Also relevant is the selection of the appropriate agriculture technology level (e.g. open field, shade structures, or greenhouse) within each region analyzed. A case study based on fresh produce exporting regions of Mexico is presented. The results of the case study show that the judicious use of protected agriculture technology can render significant additional profits for farmers.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85059302870&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85059302870&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.compag.2018.12.050
DO - 10.1016/j.compag.2018.12.050
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85059302870
SN - 0168-1699
VL - 157
SP - 205
EP - 217
JO - Computers and Electronics in Agriculture
JF - Computers and Electronics in Agriculture
ER -