Thesis (M.S.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1991. / Vita. Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 69-72). Also available via the Internet.

Orientador: Ana Cláudia Fernandes Terence / Coorientador: Sergio Azevedo Fonseca / Banca: Lesley Carina do Lago Attadia Galli / Banca: Carina Lourenço Ubeda / Banca: Alexandre Tachibana / Resumo: A demanda das empresas por ferramentas que permitam gerenciar e controlar as suas ações estratégicas cresce cada vez mais no cenário atual. Assim, o presente estudo teve por objetivo compreender o alinhamento das estratégias organizacionais e as práticas da gestão de Recursos Humanos em uma empresa do agronegócio, a partir da utilização de ferramentas estratégicas, como o Balanced Scorecard e o Mapa Estratégico. Para tanto, desenvolveu-se uma pesquisa exploratória qualitativa, sistematizando-se a partir de um estudo de caso, o processo de gestão estratégica, o alinhamento de estratégias organizacionais, o BSC, o Mapa Estratégico e as práticas de RH. Identificou-se com o estudo, que as modalidades de estratégia empregadas na organização, antes predominantemente emergente, passou a deliberada com maior frequência. O BSC e o Mapa Estratégico irão contribuir para a gestão estratégica através da explicitação dos objetivos organizacionais para todos os níveis hierárquicos da empresa; dentro da organização, os gestores são os responsáveis por disseminar, monitorar e mensurar as estratégias e o seu alinhamento para suas respectivas equipes; observou-se ainda que, as práticas de RH, contemplam parcialmente as demandas da estratégia organizacional, sendo proposto ações de melhorias; e com o trabalho desenvolvido, conscientizou-se os gestores sobre a relevância e contribuições do alinhamento estratégico. / Abstract: The companies demand for tools that allow them to manage and control their strategic actions grows in the current scenario. Thus, the present study aimed to understand the alignment of organizational strategies and practices of human resources management in an agribusiness company, based on the use of strategic tools such as the Balanced Scorecard and the Strategic Map. For that, a qualitative exploratory research was developed, systematizing from a case study, the process of strategic management, the alignment of organizational strategies, the BSC, the Strategic Map and the RH practices. It was identified with the study, that the strategy modalities used in the organization, previously predominantly emergent, became more deliberate. The BSC and the Strategic Map will contribute to the strategic management through the explication of the organizational objectives for all the hierarchical levels of the company; within the organization, managers are responsible for disseminating, monitoring and measuring strategies and their alignment to their respective teams; It was also observed that, HR practices partially contemplate the demands of the organizational strategy, being proposed actions of improvements; And with the work developed, managers were made aware of the relevance and contributions of strategic alignment. / Mestre

Orientador: Sergio Azevedo Fonseca / Banca: Ricardo Augusto Bonotto Barboza / banca: Regina Aparecida Leite Camargo / Resumo: Esta pesquisa está vinculada à linha de pesquisa "Estratégia em Organizações Agroindustriais" do Programa de Pós-graduação - mestrado profissional em Administração da Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias (FCAV/UNESP), Campus de Jaboticabal-SP, e discute o tema dos sistemas participativos brasileiros em relação à avaliação de conformidade orgânica. A produção de alimentos orgânicos tem se expandido muito nos últimos anos, tanto no contexto brasileiro quanto no contexto globalizado. Esse crescimento deve-se, principalmente, pela crescente demanda por produtos que proporcionam uma alimentação mais saudável, bem como aspectos relacionados à preservação ambiental e à sustentabilidade. Esse crescimento traz um complicador: como o consumidor poderá diferenciar um produto orgânico de um produto convencional? Diante desse cenário, surgiu à necessidade de estabelecer formas para garantir a avaliação de Conformidade Orgânica, visando proteger consumidores e produtores de forma eficiente. No Brasil, existem três sistemas que garantem a Avaliação de Conformidade Orgânica, são eles: Certificação por Auditoria, Sistema Participativo de Garantia e Sistema de Controle Social na Venda Direta. A partir do exposto, o presente trabalho apresenta, como proposta de estudo, a avaliação comparativa dos sistemas participativos situados no interior de São Paulo levando em consideração a avaliação de conformidade orgânica na percepção de seus dirigentes, apontando vantagens e desvantagens em re... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: This research is linked to the research line "Strategy in Agro-industrial Organizations" of the Postgraduate Program - Professional Master's Degree in Administration (FCAV/UNESP), Campus de Jaboticabal-SP, and discusses the subject of Brazilian participatory systems in relation to the organic compliance assessment. The production of organic foods has expanded greatly in recent years, both in the Brazilian and in the globalized context. This growth is mainly due to the growing demand for products that provide a healthier diet, as well as aspects related to environmental preservation and sustainability. The growth of this market is accompanied by a complicating factor: how can the consumer differentiate an organic product from a conventional one? Given this scenario, there was the need to establish ways to guarantee the evaluation of Organic Conformity, aiming to protect consumers and producers in an efficient way. In Brazil there are three systems that guarantee the Organic Conformity Assessment, they are: Certification by audit, Participative System of Guarantee and System of Social Control in Direct Selling. From the foregoing, this paper presents, as a study proposal, the comparative evaluation of participatory systems located in the countryside of the State of São Paulo, taking into account the evaluation of organic compliance in the perception of its managers, pointing out advantages and disadvantages in relation to the small producer marketing of organic products. To ach... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Agronomia e Medicina Veterinária, Programa de Pós-graduação em Agronegócios, 2008. / Submitted by Jaqueline Oliveira (jaqueoliveiram@gmail.com) on 2008-11-11T16:36:09Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTACAO_2008_DoraIsabelMHernadez.pdf: 629010 bytes, checksum: 5a42a22d34918643d7fbeb740d74939f (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Georgia Fernandes(georgia@bce.unb.br) on 2008-12-16T12:16:54Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTACAO_2008_DoraIsabelMHernadez.pdf: 629010 bytes, checksum: 5a42a22d34918643d7fbeb740d74939f (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2008-12-16T12:16:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTACAO_2008_DoraIsabelMHernadez.pdf: 629010 bytes, checksum: 5a42a22d34918643d7fbeb740d74939f (MD5) / A produção de etanol e biodiesel concorre com a produção de alimentos? Para responder esta questão, três aspectos assumem importância: o tamanho da demanda por estes produtos e a existência de um mercado internacional; as formas de organização dos sistemas de agribusiness da cana-de-açúcar e da soja e da velocidade de resposta dos componentes agroindustriais destes sistemas frente aos choques de demanda por etanol e biodiesel; e finalmente, os impactos da demanda por matérias-primas de origem vegetal (cana-de-açúcar e soja) sobre a agricultura. Para tal efeito, o escopo do trabalho está orientado para se conhecer as dimensões e os efeitos da demanda internacional de etanol e de biodiesel e seus efeitos sobre a produção agropecuária do Brasil nos próximos dez anos. Fundamentado em uma pesquisa exploratória baseada em uma revisão bibliográfica e documental, de ordem quantitativa da demanda por biocombustíveis, e qualitativa centrada na análise dos sistemas de agribusiness da cana-de-açúcar e da soja, o estudo foi organizado em três etapas: a quantificação da demanda internacional para os próximos 10 anos, feitos com base em projeções da USDA, FAPRI, OCDE-FAO e MAPA; a análise da capacidade e da velocidade de resposta dos sistemas de agribusiness da cana-de-açúcar e da soja frente ao incremento na demanda, considerando os atuais níveis de tecnologia de processamento industrial; e os efeitos da expansão da produção de cana-de-açúcar e de soja, sobre a produção de alimentos básicos como milho, arroz e feijão. O estudo mostrou os seguintes resultados: (i) a demanda internacional de etanol e biodiesel para o ano de 2016 deve se situar em torno de 18,7 bilhões de galões para o etanol, e de 1,75 bilhões de galões para o biodiesel (ceteris paribus), considerando somente os mercados de Estados Unidos e do Brasil; (ii) a existência de um mercado institucional onde a determinação da mistura compulsória e as compras do governo são os principais fatores movimentando a oferta e a demanda de etanol e biodiesel; (iii) que as respostas da organização da produção de cana-de-açúcar e soja como matérias-primas para a produção de agroenergia, apresentam capacidades e velocidades diferentes em suas respostas ante os choques de demanda, significando que o sistema de agribusiness da cana-de-açúcar é um sistema hierarquizado, pelo que reagirá mais rapidamente que o sistema de agribusiness da soja que apresenta estruturas mistas, ou seja, de mercado e hierárquicas; e (iv) que a expansão da área de produção de cana-de-açúcar e de soja nos níveis estimados, não gerará efeitos perversos de deslocamento invasivo nas áreas de produção de alimentos, principalmente por que as culturas alimentares liberam áreas porquanto seus incrementos na produção estão baseados em melhoras de produtividade, sobretudo melhorias de produtividade por unidade do fator terra. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT / Does the production of ethanol and biodiesel compete for the production of food? To answer this question, three aspects are of importance- the size of these products and the existence of a international market, the forms and the quick response of the agroindustrial component before this demand, and the impact of demand for the rawmaterials of vegetal origin (sugar cane and soybean) on agriculture. To this effect, the scope of work is oriented to know the dimensions and the effects of international demand for ethanol and for biodiesel in the next 10 years, and its effects on Brazil`s cattle rearing production. Based on an exploratory research, which is based on a bibliographic and documental revision, of a quantitative order of demand for biofuels, and qualitatively centered on the system analyses of international demand for the next 10 years, and done based on projections from USDA, FAPRI, OCDE, FAO, AND MAPA, the analyses of response capacity to agribusiness systems considering the effective projected demand, and the corresponding demand for raw-materials considering the present levels of industrial processing technology, and based on demand for sugar cane and soybean, the effects of expansion on the production of food (corn, rice and beans), taking into consideration the advancement of production following the competitive advantages form the actual localizations of agro-industrial fields of soybeans and sugar cane. Researches showed the following results (1) the international demand for ethanol and biodiesel till 2016 will be around 18,7 billion gallons of ethanol, and 1,75 billion gallons of biodiesel (ceteris paribus), considering the United States and Brazil, (2) the existence of an institutional market where the obligatory mixes and the government purchases will be the principal determinant moving the demand and supply of ethanol and biodiesel, (3) that the answers of organizations for the production of raw materials for agro-energy, that is sugar cane and soybean, present different capabilities and velocities in giving productive responses to the shock in demand; the sugar cane agribusiness for being hierarchical organization system should react quicker than the soybean agribusiness system, since the mixed structures are predominant (market and hierarchy), (4) that the expansion of the areas of production for sugar cane and soybeans to the calculated levels must not show adverse effects of invasive movement into areas of food production (like corn, rice and beans), being that a reduction in the cultivated areas in the respective zones of production, will not influence in quantitatively in production, due to improved productivity per unit land square.

Submitted by Nathália Faria da Silva (nathaliafsilva.ufv@gmail.com) on 2017-07-17T14:11:57Z No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.PDF: 738066 bytes, checksum: c78fd368fb14c57f9462b7c10942bd4c (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-07-17T14:11:57Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 texto completo.PDF: 738066 bytes, checksum: c78fd368fb14c57f9462b7c10942bd4c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2001-07-27 / Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / O desempenho do setor agrícola tem sido reconhecido como componente crítico no processo de desenvolvimento econômico. Com vistas em entender os padrões de crescimentos do complexo agroindustrial brasileiro no período de 1985 a 1995, este trabalho objetivou mensurar este complexo em termos nominais e reais, a custo de fatores e a preços de mercado, com o fim de avaliar e identificar as trajetórias de crescimento que vem apresentando no processo de abertura comercial, bem como buscar quantificar as fontes de crescimento da economia brasileira. Constatou-se que houve tendência crescente e persistente do crescimento do Produto Interno Bruto (PIB) da agropecuária em todo o período analisado, tanto a custo de fatores quanto a preços de mercado. A participação do complexo agroindustrial no PIB brasileiro, a custo de fatores, considerando o período inicial e final, manteve-se praticamente a mesma, resistindo ao padrão histórico de economias mais avançadas. A custo de fatores, o valor adicionado da agricultura foi maior que o da agroindústria. A preços de mercado, houve reversão de posição entre agropecuária e agroindústria. A principal fonte de crescimento da economia brasileira foi e continua sendo a demanda doméstica, composta de consumo das famílias e do governo e de investimentos líquidos. No entanto, constatou-se mudança de padrão, já que o crescimento da demanda interna, no período 1990/96, foi 50% maior que o do período 1985/90. Este nível de consumo só foi possível com o novo padrão de importações de bens finais, padrão este não observado em nenhum outro país. Pela decomposição do valor bruto da produção e pela análise dos desvios do crescimento proporcional, verificou-se que o complexo agroindustrial ganhou participação no produto total; de um lado, este agregado não perdeu receita, contribuindo para a manutenção de sua participação no valor adicionado da economia brasileira, e, de outro, foi o que menos contribuiu para a entrada de produtos estrangeiros, tanto para demanda final quanto para a intermediária. O crescimento da produtividade dos trabalhadores foi um fenômeno geral em todos os setores da economia brasileira, embora o setor de serviços tenha puxado para baixo a média nacional. Na década de 90, as magnitudes dos ganhos de produtividade dos trabalhadores do complexo agroindustrial e do complexo industrial justificaram os ganhos de participação desses complexos. Na segunda metade da década de 80, observou-se pequeno aumento de produtividade dos trabalhadores para a economia brasileira, sendo o complexo agroindustrial o único a melhorar a produtividade da mão-de- obra. Ao analisar a Produtividade Total dos Fatores, verificou-se que, no período analisado, em termos agregados, não houve ganhos relevantes de produtividade total de fatores na economia brasileira. No final da década de 80, houve estagnação tecnológica. O período 1990/96 pode ser caracterizado por ganhos positivos de produtividade total de fatores para o complexo agroindustrial, industrial e de serviços, com resultado positivo para o Brasil. Por fim, constatou- se que as importações totais diminuíram a importância relativa do complexo agroindustrial. complexo Sem os agroindustrial insumos foi o importados, único setor numa hipotética econômico que autarquia, aumentou o sua influência na economia. No complexo industrial, verificou-se diminuição tanto dos multiplicadores de requerimentos totais quanto doméstico. Mediante a utilização de insumos importados, os setores industriais de crescimento rápido mantiveram suas parcelas de mercado praticamente estáveis. / The performance of the agricultural sector has been recognized as a critical component in the economic development process. To understand the growth patterns of the Brazilian agroindustry complex over the period from 1985 to 1995, a study was carried out aiming at measuring this complex in nominal and real terms, at factor costs and market prices, in order to evaluate and identify the growth trajectories it has been presenting in the commercial opening process, as well as to look for quantifying the growth sources in Brazilian economy. It was verified that a persistent and growing tendency occurred in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in agricultural and livestock during the analyzed period, either at factor costs and at market prices. Considering the initial and final period, the participation of the agroindustry complex in Brazilian GDP at factor costs maintained practically the same, so resisting to the historical pattern of more advanced economies. At factor costs, the agriculture-added value was greater than the agroindustry one. At market prices, the positions between agriculture and livestock and the agroindustry were reversed. The main source of the Brazilian economy growth was and continues to be the domestic demand, composed by both family and government consumption as well as the net investments. However, a pattern change was verified, since the growth of the domestic demand over the period 1990/96 was 50% higher than the one over the period 1985/90. This consumption level was only possible with the new import pattern of the final goods, a pattern not observed in any other country. By decomposition of the gross production value, as well as by deviation analysis of the proportional growth, it was verified that the agroindustry complex gained some participation into total product; by one hand, this complex did not loose any revenue, so contributing to the maintenance of its participation into the added value from Brazilian economy, and by the other hand it showed the less contribution to the entrance of the foreign products, either for final demand and the intermediate one. The growth of the workers' productivity was a general phenomenon throughout all sectors of the Brazilian economy, although the service sector had impelled the national average downwards. In the 90-ies, the productivity-gain magnitudes of the workers in both agroindustry and industry complexes justified the participation gains of these complexes. During the second half of the 80-ies, a low increase in the workers' productivity was observed for Brazilian economy, and the agroindustry complex was the only one to improving the labor productivity. When analyzing the Total Factor Productivity, it was verified that, in terms of aggregates, no relevant gains in the total factor productivity in Brazilian economy over the analyzed period. At the end of the 80- ies, a technological characterized by stagnation positive gains occurred. The period 1990/96 in total factor productivity the might be for the agroindustry, industrial and service complexes, with positive results for Brazil. Finally, the total imports were shown to decrease the relative importance of the agroindustry complex. Without the imported inputs, in a hypothetical autarchy, the agroindustry complex was the only economic sector area increasing its influence upon economy. In the industrial complex, a decrease had been occurred in the multipliers of both total and domestic requirements. Upon the use of the imported input, the fast-growth industrial sectors maintained their market portions practically stable.

Submitted by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2016-04-19T17:54:12Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Edeilton Pereira dos Santos.pdf: 31126164 bytes, checksum: f9bb7c036e3755ea703950bde23a3128 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2016-04-19T17:54:25Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Edeilton Pereira dos Santos.pdf: 31126164 bytes, checksum: f9bb7c036e3755ea703950bde23a3128 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Divisão de Documentação/BC Biblioteca Central (ddbc@ufam.edu.br) on 2016-04-19T17:54:38Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Edeilton Pereira dos Santos.pdf: 31126164 bytes, checksum: f9bb7c036e3755ea703950bde23a3128 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-04-19T17:54:38Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - Edeilton Pereira dos Santos.pdf: 31126164 bytes, checksum: f9bb7c036e3755ea703950bde23a3128 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-11-06 / Não informada / The siren song, sung by agribusiness disseminators, with a seductive speech, involving modernization of chords, high in the indices of exports development via production oriented monocultures for export, has dispersed its notes everywhere. With it, trying to convince everyone that to achieve progress, it is essential to walk the path "via grãos". This discourse and practice have spread in the Territory of the Lower Amazon-PA, resulting in the implementation of "hegemonic agricultural models", supported in the production of exportoriented monocultures, especially the soybean agribusiness in the municipalities of Santarém and Belterra. However, "in the midst of this expansion, they hadsome peasants". However, these territories were already occupied by farmers long ago. This led to clashes of divergent and conflicting territoriality. It settled a dispute over land and changes in communities with ancient occupations of peasants, because of the expansion of this agribusiness. As a result, was intensified the arrival of soy producers, especially of northern Mato Grosso, who leasedor bought property to develop the planting of soybeans. The government has made investments to dynamize that production of agricultural commodities. The work screen made a cut that territory and selected three communities that experienced this insertion: Prata, Açaizal do Prata in the municipality of Belterra-PA and Paca, Mojuí in the municipality of Campos-PA. Was taken as the time limit period in 1999 (the early grain crops on a commercial scale) and 2013 (beginning of the course). Given this context, the objective of the research is to understand the process of soy agribusiness territorialization in these peasant communities / O canto da sereia, entoado pelos arautos do agronegócio, com um discurso sedutor, envolvendo acordes de modernização, altas nos índices das exportações, desenvolvimento via produção de monoculturas voltadas à exportação, tem espalhado as suas notas para todos os lados. Com isso, tenta convencer a todos que para alcançar o progresso, é essencial trilhar o caminho “via grãos.” Esse discurso e prática se propagaram no Território do Baixo Amazonas-PA, ocasionando a implantação de “modelos agrícolas hegemônicos”, amparados na produção de monoculturas voltadas para exportação, sobretudo, o agronegócio da soja nos municípios de Santarém e Belterra. Entretanto, “no meio dessa expansão, tinham uns camponeses.” Afinal, esses territórios já eram ocupados por camponeses há muito tempo. Isso ocasionou embates de territorialidades divergentes e conflitantes. Instalou-se uma disputa por terras e mudanças em comunidades com ocupações antigas de camponeses, em virtude da expansão desse agronegócio. Como resultado, se intensificou a vinda de produtores de soja, sobretudo do norte do Mato Grosso, que arrendaram ou compraram propriedades para desenvolver o plantio da soja. O poder público fez investimentos para dinamizar essa produção de commodities agrícolas. O trabalho em tela fez um recorte nesse território e selecionou três comunidades que experimentaram essa inserção: Prata, Açaizal do Prata no município de Belterra-PA e Paca, no município de Mojuí dos Campos-PA. Tomou-se como limite temporal o período de 1999 (início dos cultivos de grãos em escala comercial) e 2013 (início do mestrado). Diante desse contexto, o objetivo é compreender o processo de territorialização do agronegócio da soja nessas comunidades de camponeses

Orientador : Walter Belik / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Economia / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-03T14:32:16Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Hanashiro_MarceloMikio_M.pdf: 548295 bytes, checksum: e43bc7e47e38f0a97305cca0a416397d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2003 / Mestrado

Master of Agribusiness / Department of Agricultural Economics / Allen M. Featherstone / For more than 70 years, the Iowa State University Ag 450 Farm has been in operation south of the Iowa State University (ISU) campus located in Ames, Iowa. The Ag 450 farm is currently the only student managed farm at a land grant university in the United States. The idea for the Ag 450 Farm was developed by Dr. William Murray in 1938 and in 1943, the Ag 450 class was first offered by Dr. Murray. At the farm, the core principals of agribusiness and farm management have been taught while adapting to an ever-changing agriculture. The Ag 450 Farm is considered the capstone course for the Iowa State University Agricultural Studies major. ISU Ag 450 is currently under the supervision of farm manager Greg Vogel and the Iowa State University Agriculture and Studies Department. Today, the Iowa State University Ag 450 students manage approximately 275 acres of owned ground, 700 acres of cash rented ground, 80 acres of crop share ground, and 800 acres of custom farmed ground depending on the year. Ag 450 represents a commercial farming enterprise of corn and soybean production as well as housing nursery piglets and custom finishing over 1000 head of feeder pigs. In its current condition, the ISU Ag 450 is looking to expand its operations to meet the demands Agricultural Studies majors at Iowa State University. A focus of the expansion is to increase the amount of custom finished feeder pigs by building another finishing facility. That type of expansion requires the need for another full-time farm manager. This research examines the feasibility of expansion of the swine and management to determine the impact this may have on the future viability of the farm.

Businesses in Swaziland have been somewhat cushioned against the impact of world trade liberation and least as far as home and regional markets are concerned (Ministry of Enterprise and Employment, 2005: 18). The country's position with the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) affords temporary protection against the competition felt by economies elsewhere in Africa. Furthermore, with limited domestic markets, export-oriented industries are the backbone of Swaziland's economy (Thompson, 2010:19). Trade vibrancy caused by globalisation, health standards requirements and other factors has started affecting export industries. It is therefore, important that the businesses in Swaziland prepare for more intense competition in the future. This could be achieved through improved management and improved productivity which would then enhance competitiveness. The decrease of foreign direct investment in the agricultural sector, the removal of trade preferences among top export industries (sugar, textile), decrease in demand for export products (as a result of economic downturn), indicates that there is a problem of competitiveness in the Swaziland agribusiness sector. Therefore, the objectives of the study are; to determine the constraining and enhancing factors of competitiveness of the agribusiness sector of Swaziland and to develop the strategies to improve competitiveness of the sector. A structured questionnaire adapted from the Agricultural Business Chambers (ABC) of South Africa was used to collect the data through face-to-face interviews. Porter's (1998) theory for the determinant of competitive advantage was used as a base in designing the questionnaire in order to capture the constraining and enhancing factors influencing competitive advantage. The target group comprised decisionmakers (chief executive, managing directors) for agribusiness firms, including in the following industries: dairy, sugar, animal feed, maize, livestock and poultry, textile. The data was analysed using the statistical package for social science (SPSS) and was presented in tableau and figure format. The scale of classification used when analysing the determinants of competitiveness was; a mean score of 1 meant constraining competitiveness success; a mean score of 3 meant moderate effect and a mean score of 5 meant enhancing competitiveness success. Most of the determinants [factor (2.72), demand (2.64), related and supporting industries (2.29), chance (2.46) and government conditions (2.48)] were constraining competitiveness. The top three factors contributing to this are: unavailability of professional labour (1.63), costs of inputs and supplies (1.69), incompetent (1.69) and ineffective public sector personnel (1.88) and small local market size (1.88). The only determinant that has the ability to enhance competitiveness is the firm's strategy, structure and rivalry conditions, as indicated by a moderate mean score of 3.38. The top three factors enhancing competitiveness success of the agribusiness sector are; production of high quality affordable products (4.19), availability of water for production and processing purposes (4.00), and the cost of unskilled or semiskilled labour (3.94). The Porter analysis indicated that the competitive environment in which the sector operates in is unfavourable and does not enhance competitiveness. An analysis of the interviewed industries revealed that the overall performance of each industry, particularly the sugar, dairy and maize industries are moderately competitive compared to the other ones. This is supported by the finding that these industries have three determinants of comparative advantage enhancing competitiveness. Special attention, through implementation of strategies to enhance the competitiveness of the agribusiness sector is necessary. This could be achieved though collaboration and intervention by all participants in the sector. The strategies are explained in terms of roles that could be played by the agribusinesses and the government. Strategies involve; industry coordination to minimise costs, market orientation strategy, HIV/AIDS services at company level, encouraging sustainable investments, products diversification and promoting internship and graduate training programmes. Copyright / Dissertation (MSc(Agric))--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

Agribusinesses are multifaceted businesses that may be involved in all the phases of agricultural production, processing, manufacturing, distributing, and retailing. Although US agriculture is a multi-billion dollar industry, the majority of agribusinesses are considered small firms, having less than $250,000 in annual gross sales. This study investigates potential innovative marketing approaches for US agribusinesses, specifically for small farms and agribusinesses. One marketing approach involves an agritourism marketing tool based on an agricultural geocaching program, AgCache. The second proposed marketing approach explores the specialty crops marketing channel to institutional foodservice establishments.  For AgCache, exploratory qualitative analysis was first conducted through a series of in-depth interviews with current AgCache site owners. This was followed by survey data collection and analysis using a probit model to assess the interest in hosting an AgCache. For the specialty crops marketing channel, a probit model was utilized in order to assess the barriers faced by small-scale specialty crop producers as well as their interests in selling to institutional foodservice establishments. Specific attention was paid to logistic and food safety marketing constraints. The results reveal that with adequate attention towards specified barriers, the two marketing approaches can be implemented by US agribusinesses.  As well, there is also a strong interest by small farms and agribusinesses to implement these two marketing approaches. This study provides information valuable not only to small farms and agribusinesses, but also to rural communities\' economic development and stakeholders involved in the agricultural industry. Results will be of interest to those in, and seeking to support agribusinesses and small-scale farms. / Master of Science