PhD Oral Defence: Consumer-food security nexus framework for understanding agri-food value chains
PhD Oral Defence of Emmanuella Ellis, Bioresource Engineering
Optimizing agri-food value chains is essential for addressing food security issues since they are closely linked to satisfying human needs. Although the output of value chain activities is targeted towards the consumer, their satisfaction is largely ignored in value chain analysis. The study presents a methodological approach for the development of consumer-focused indicators for assessing a value chain and its correlation to food security. The framework and a multidimensional index were applied to understanding consumer preferences, the performance of the common beans value chain in meeting those preferences and the economic viability of improving activities to meet those preferences within the context of food security. The findings showed that affordability (price), accessibility (desired varieties), acceptability (convenience, quality, low flatulence) were important factors to consumers. However, consumers' preferences and needs were not found to be adequately met because the performance assessment revealed low scores of food security indicators. The common beans value chain scored below average for all indicators, 36% for availability, 48% for accessibility, 46% for affordability, 41% for acceptability and 39.48% for utilization. This can be attributed to low stakeholder involvement, lack of financial and technical capacity and lack of value creation opportunities. The results show that investment in meeting consumer preferences will be financially worth it. However, profit margins (11% to 90% decrease) are likely to be affected due to the impact of current value chain practices on consumer preferred bean attributes. Application of product and process quality improvement mechanisms will strengthen the capacity of value chain actors to produce optimum amounts of quality beans that meet consumer preferences.