Agriculture has always been a very volatile industry, mainly due to fluctuating commodity prices (specifically white maize) and irregular rainfall patterns. Furthermore, the agricultural industry is confronted with finite resources of which limited arable land and water scarcity are among the most troubling. Many agribusinesses in the industry have also achieved a level of maturity as far as market share is concerned, leaving little room for further growth. On the other hand, most of these agri-businesses are organisations with shareholders and investors demanding acceptable and sustainable returns on their investments. This situation invariably creates challenges relating to growth, profitability and sustainability. One of the few ways of addressing this problem is for stakeholders in the industry to combine their resources, capabilities and efforts through consolidation strategies, like acquisitions, mergers and strategic alliances, among others. This includes an extended presence and involvement throughout the value chain by means of forward and backward integration. The aim of such consolidation activity is to improve the long-term sustainability of agri-businesses and the agricultural industry as a whole. Agriculture is extremely important in terms of its contribution to the national economy, employment and job creation, earning foreign exchange through exports and improving food security and safety as well as the affordability of and access to food. Agri-businesses fulfil the functions of handlers, processors and marketers of agricultural produce, suppliers of production inputs and services including mechanisation solutions and support as well as being financiers of farmers and farming activities. However, there are too many role players and intermediaries involved in the agricultural industry which only aggravates the problem of limited growth potential within the industry. This study focuses on one of the leading agribusinesses in the industry while at the same time aiming to obtain the opinions of other industry stakeholders regarding the desirability of such consolidation strategies, the nature and extent thereof and the probability of successfully executing such strategies within the industry. Qualitative empirical research was performed by using a semi-structured interview schedule and conducting personal or telephonic interviews with a selection of executives, directors and other senior managers of several agri-businesses, regulators and controlling bodies associated with the South African agricultural industry. The themes covered included growth and sustainability, strategic leadership, consolidation as strategy, the different consolidation approaches, consolidation methods to be used, motives for consolidation, possible legislative restrictions on consolidation, the steps in the consolidation process and the preferred business approach to execute a consolidation strategy. The results of the empirical study indicated that consolidation does support growth and sustainability and that sound strategic leadership is of strategic importance to agri-businesses. The majority of participants confirmed that consolidation does form part of their current strategies and agreed that a combination of the three different consolidation approaches will be most effective in the execution of a consolidation strategy. Of the different consolidation methods, strategic alliances was the most preferred method as well as being selected as the method most likely to successfully achieve industry consolidation. Value creation was the overwhelming choice as being the primary motive for consolidation and was also selected as the motive with the highest probability of achieving success in consolidating the agricultural industry. The restrictive nature of the South African Competition Act (89 of 1998) and the competition authorities was highlighted by the responses obtained from the interviewees. Even though the negotiation phase was described as the most important step in the consolidation process, the results showed that is critically important to accommodate all the different steps in the process to ensure the success of the entire consolidation project. Finally, there was no clear preference regarding the business approach to apply in executing a consolidation strategy, being either a focuses business approach or an integrated business philosophy. The recommendations contained suggestions to increase consolidation activity among stakeholders in the industry and to develop and establish sufficient consolidation skills and capacity to aggressively pursue a consolidation strategy. It was also suggested that agri-businesses should reverse previous decisions to limit shareholding within these organisations. Any consolidation approach and consolidation method which is based on willing and amicable participation of the parties involved, benefits these stakeholders and the industry. These transactions must hold some benefit or value for those parties involved as well as other stakeholders in the industry. The principle of embracing the competition authorities and the requirements of the South African Competition Act (89 of 1998) as part of the consolidation process was strongly advocated. Ultimately, the business approach which best supports the organisation’s strategy is the obvious choice, but the reality is that it might include characteristics of both an integrated and a focussed approach. / Thesis (MBA)--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

No início dos anos 2000 consolidou-se o quadro de significativas alterações e ajustes nas estratégias das organizações agrícolas. Destacam-se: a consolidação das organizações, a internacionalização dos sistemas de base agrícola, a inovação presente em processos e produtos e de natureza organizacional, a introdução da variável socioambiental, e a adoção de estratégias de transparência. A cooperação pode exigir investimentos especializados, e os incentivos para a sua realização dependem de mecanismos de controle de custos de transação. Com a presença de incerteza no ambiente econômico e nas transações, a flexibilidade planejada visa eventuais ajustes em face de eventos inesperados. Arranjos institucionais complexos (leia-se, contratos) são observados como forma de responder a necessidades apontadas. Além de confiança, reputação, e mecanismos relacionais, a evolução dos mecanismos sociais por trás dos contratos de sociedade é algo a ser desenvolvido. O presente estudo propõe que as cooperativas agrícolas podem desenvolver mecanismos de governança que geram uma competência adaptativa para enfrentar eventos inesperados. O presente estudo explorou uma visão retrospectiva de estratégias adotadas por cooperativas brasileiras. Assumiu-se aqui uma nova vertente analítica da \"História de Negócios\" e suas implicações voltadas ao sistema agroindustrial. Como diretriz de método, foram seguidas as etapas de identificação das principais estratégias relatadas nos estudos de casos escolhidos, sobre cooperativas, desenvolvidos entre 1991 e 2002. Na sequência compararam-se as estratégias com as diretrizes apresentadas no capítulo teórico. Admite-se que as estratégias que implicam em maiores investimentos em ativos específicos tendem a tornarem mais rígidos os arranjos e dificultam a plasticidade, ou adaptação, das cooperativas agrícolas - onde naturalmente as mudanças ocorrem de forma mais lenta - frente a choques ou eventos externos. / The early 2000s consolidated the framework of significant changes and adjustments in the strategies of organizations working in agribusiness systems. Of note are: the consolidation of the organizations themselves, the internationalization of agricultural-based systems, the innovation in processes and products, organizational innovations, environmental variables and the adoption of transparency strategies. Cooperative efforts may require specialized investments in the form of incentives that depend on transaction cost control mechanisms. The environmental and transactional uncertainties and the need for flexibility on the part of organizations are all considered in the relevant literature. Complex institutional arrangements (contracts) are seen as a means to meet these needs. In addition to trust, reputation and business relationships, the evolution of the social mechanisms behind the contracts of society is an area of study to be further developed. Farming cooperatives are good examples how unexpected events can be addressed and strategies of adaptation can be implemented. In this study, we presented a retrospective view of the strategies adopted by Brazilian cooperatives. We adopted a new analytical \"business history\" approach to agro-based systems. When researching this work, we noticed a lack of research into the history of agribusiness. As a guideline method, we followed the steps of identifying key strategies reported in chosen case studies of cooperatives published between 1991 and 2002. Subsequently, the strategies were compared with the guidelines presented in the work. We admit that strategies based on high levels of asset specificity become more inflexible the arrangements and difficult plasticity or adaptation of the agricultural cooperatives - where changes naturally occur slowly - in face of external shocks or events

El texto completo de este trabajo no está disponible en el Repositorio Académico UPC por restricciones de la casa editorial donde ha sido publicado. / The Peruvian export supply is primarily based on the segment of dressings and condiments. This paper seeks to adapt lean manufacturing tools using Poka-Yoke techniques and process standardization, which may align with existing processes to prevent production errors. This combination of tools is expected to reduce the percentage of waste generated throughout the condiment production process. Subsequent to an initial evaluation of the current method combined with the application of both the tools, 11.4% waste reduction was ultimately reported. / Revisión por pares

Thesis (M. Agricultural Management (Agricultural Extension)) -- University of Limpopo, 2022 / This study was aimed at analyzing the perception of students towards selfemployment in agribusiness. Primary data was collected at the University of Limpopo using questionnaires from five disciplines in the School of Agriculture and Environmental Science (SAES). The study population was final year undergraduate, stratified random sampling procedure was used to select seventy-one (71) respondents from the cluster of departments within SAES. Descriptive statistics such as frequency count, percentage and mean score on a Likert-type of scale and Chisquared test were used to address various objectives of the study. Results of the study indicated that most respondents were aged between 21-27 years old, a majority of them were doing a degree in animal production, most of the students were females, majority come from households with 4-6 family members, many come from rural areas, most of the students had no relatives owning a business, most of the respondents had no access to farming land, and about half of the respondents had no farming experience. Respondents had a positive perception towards self-employment in agribusiness with them agreeing on statements like farmers are notable people, entrepreneurship is effective in reducing unemployment, farming is sustainable and disagreeing with statements like farming is for poor people, profitability in farming is very low, that they prefer other degrading jobs than engaging in agriculture. The results also show that most of the students preferred starting facilitation and agency of agricultural insurance savings, followed by poultry enterprise and provision of extension consultancy services. The study also found that most of the motivator’s motivating respondents to pursue self-employment include that agricultural related enterprises are very lucrative, also that many South Africans have made a lot of fortunes from agriculture and that agriculture in South Africa has a lot of untapped potential. The barriers include that agriculture is a risky business enterprise in South Africa and that it is not easy to create self-employment in agribusiness. It was also found that perceived barriers and motivators were highly associated with the type of degree students were studying. The study recommended that the University of Limpopo curriculum must have a module dealing with agriculture venture creation related to the degree and be more practically based. The University of Limpopo also has to invite entrepreneur's guest lecture for their students and produce more research on how to promote youth participation in agriculture especially establishing agribusiness. Development of easily accessible ready-to-market and agricultural commodity distribution centers will inspire more young people to move into farming. First preference needs to be given to agriculture graduates when offering sponsorship, grants and agribusiness loans.