Changes in the features of food demand and consumption have moved from the mass consumption model towards an increasing qualitative differentiation of products and demand. This movement towards addressing consumers’ demand for food products with more advanced quality attributes has led to increasingly complex food qualification processes and a proliferation of standards. Accompanying these changes in the agro-food system is a growing consumer concern for food safety and quality. Even though these trends are also permeating South Africa, little research has been done on the local quality dynamics of this emerging country. There is therefore the need to investigate consumers’ food choice behaviour in a developing country context, such as South Africa. Consumers’ quality perception and decision making process regarding food products is quantified through measuring consumers’ willingness to pay (WTP)for a given attribute in a food product. Willingness to pay refers to the maximum monetary amount that a consumer is willing to pay for a specific product representing a bundle of product attributes. The general objective of this study is to test the application of experimental auctions as one of the available methods to measure consumers’ willingness to pay, in order to determine the applicability of experimental auctions to specific research scenarios – for example the case of food products with advanced quality attributes in a developing country context. Sample selection for the experiment was done through a combination of random and convenience sampling. The total sample amounted to 31 participants. The target population was high income, established South African consumers, who are regular consumers of red meat and also the main buyers of groceries in the household. A pre-auction survey was done to determine the exact demographic composition of the sample as well as gaining insight into the sample’s buying behaviour and attitudes towards red meat, specifically Karoo lamb. A random nth price auction was conducted to obtain willingness to pay estimates for a premium on certified Karoo lamb. Various demographic and behavioural variables were linked to participants’ individual bids in order to determine the possible influence of these variables on participants’ bidding behaviour. This research study tested the application of an experimental auction mechanism in the food marketing context of a developing country. To the knowledge of the researcher, it is the first study of its kind done in South Africa. It was worthwhile to investigate this method as an alternative to stated preference methods in the field of food choice behaviour, because the auction conducted during this research project succeeded in giving meaningful insights into the possibilities of the certification of meat of origin in a developing country like South Africa. From the auction results, a general positive willingness to pay for certified Karoo lamb was observed, with an average premium recorded of R10.90/500g of loin chops. The impact of additional information was clearly visible as bids increased substantially after information treatments about the product were introduced. It was found that female respondents and respondents from the older age group generally bid higher premiums for Karoo lamb. Respondents buying red meat and sheep meat (i.e. referring to mutton and lamb products) from Woolworths and Spar also indicated a higher positive willingness to pay a premium for certified Karoo lamb. With specific reference to the case study product, a positive willingness to pay for certified Karoo lamb was determined in this study. The concerns raised by participants about the lack of availability and authenticity of Karoo lamb, serves as an indication of the need for a formal certification process of food products in South Africa. / Dissertation (MCom)--University of Pretoria, 2011. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted

‘Karoo lamb’ is a product with specific regional qualities that are based on, among other factors, the natural environment present in the region of origin. Together with the specific product qualities, regional image factors create a unique identity for a product, as is the case of ‘Karoo lamb’, in this way bringing about added value. Consumers will only consume food products that fulfil their specific requirements and have become more demanding about what they want. As food markets have become more globalised, consumers have become more concerned about the origin of the food they eat, with decreased confidence in the quality and safety of foods produced outside their local region or country. Traceability systems address these concerns, and the importance of establishing a link between a product, producer and place of production has therefore gained momentum as a trend. The overall goal of the research was to explore the role and contribution of traceability as a system relating to a product of origin, specifically ‘Karoo lamb’, and the influence it has on consumers’ decision-making processes when selecting and purchasing ‘Karoo lamb’. Consumer decision making is a complex and dynamic process that can be explained according to a consumer decision model that specifies its various stages. The research was conducted in three phases. During the first phase a quantitative research approach was followed to investigate and describe the audit processes that have been implemented by different retailers in South Africa regarding the traceability of lamb meat. In the second phase, focus group sessions, a recognised qualitative research technique, were conducted to identify the product attributes that were critical to consumers’ preferences and choices regarding the product, ‘Karoo lamb’. In the third phase the attributes, namely price, safety, quality, traceability and origin, were identified as significant factors influencing consumer choice and used in a conjoint questionnaire. A quantitative approach was followed in phase three and a questionnaire was used to measure the importance individual consumers attach to the different levels of the various product attributes. The utility values were based on the survey participants’ evaluation of the complete product. Price is often known to be one of the most important and determining factors in the consumer’s decision-making process. A higher price can sometimes symbolise better quality or safety of the product for the consumers. The results from the conjoint questionnaire have shown that price, as an extrinsic attribute, was found to be the most important factor in a consumer’s decision-making process at 30.4% when purchasing lamb. Safety at 23.1% was the second most important attribute after price. This is not surprising given the legacy of BSE and e-coli outbreaks that were given much publicity in the press. The third attribute affecting the purchasing decision was quality at 17.0%. The fourth attribute of traceability affected the purchasing decision at 15.7% and the importance of the fifth attribute, region of origin, was 13.8%. According to the participants, the origin attribute had the lowest rating of importance of all five attributes selected for the conjoint questionnaire. As the conjoint experiment was conducted electronically, the participants of the conjoint questionnaire were solicited with the assistance of a marketing research firm, Consulta Research (Pty) Ltd., based in Centurion in the Gauteng province of South Africa, and were part of the consumer panel of consenting survey participants for the company. In total 352 completed questionnaires were used in the data analysis. The buying and/or consuming of mutton or lamb were the only criteria that needed to be met for participation in the conjoint questionnaire. In conclusion it can be said that there is a lack of certification and guarantee in South Africa that the product that is marketed as ‘Karoo lamb’ truly originates from the Karoo, and consumers can easily be misled as to the true origin of the lamb being sold. Traceability can be an important tool to help to establish the authenticity of food products and to check that claims made by producers are true. AFRIKAANS : Karoo lamsvleis is ‘n streeksgebonde produk wat gebaseer is op die natuurlike omgewing in die gebied van oorsprong. Tesame met die spesifieke produk gebaseerde kwaliteite word ‘n unieke produk identiteit geskep deur die streeks faktore soos gesien met Karoo lam en hiermee bring dit toegevoegde waarde mee. Verbruikers sal slegs voedselprodukte aankoop en eet wat hul spesieke aanvraag benodigdhede vervul. Omdat voedselmarkte wêreldwyd meer en meer impak maak op verbruikers begin hulle konsentreer op die herkoms van produkte. Verbruikers het verminderde vertroue in die kwaliteit en veiligheid van produkte wat geproduseer word buite streeks- en landsgrense. Naspoorbaarheid sisteme spreek hierdie probleme aan en die belangrikheid om ‘n skakel tussen produk, produsent en plek van produksie te vind het veld gewen as tendens. Die primêre doel van hierdie navorsingsstudie was om die rol en bydrae van naspoorbaarheid as ‘n sisteem ten opsigte van produk oorsprong en spesifiek Karoo lamsvleis te ondersoek, asook die invloed daarvan op verbruiker besluitnemings tydens die keuse en aankoop van Karoo lamsvleis. Omrede die verbruikers besluitnemingsproses kompleks en dinamies is kan dit verduidelik word met ‘n verbruikers besluitnemings model wat die verskillende fases van die proses beskryf. Die studieprojek is uitgevoer in drie fases. Met die eerste fase is ‘n kwantitatiewe benadering gevolg om ondersoek in te stel en te beskryf hoe en watter ouditprosesse geïmplimenteer is deur groothandelaars ten opsigte van die naspeurbaarheid van lamsvleis in Suid Afrika. Tydens fase twee is fokus groep besprekings, ‘n kwalitatiewe navorsings tegniek, geloods om die produk kenmerke wat verbruikers besluitneming ten opsigte van die produk lamsvleis beïnvloed te bepaal. Die kenmerke prys, veiligheid, kwaliteit, naspeurbaarheid en oorsprong is geïdentifiseer en gebruik in fase drie, die voorkeurkeuse ontleding. ‘n Kwantitatiewe benadering is gevolg in fase drie om die belangrikheid te bepaal wat verbruikers heg aan die verskillende kenmerke en die vlakke van die onderskeie produk kenmerke. Prys is bekend as een van die mees belangrikste en invloedryke faktore in die verbruikers besluitnemings proses. ‘n Hoër prys simboliseer soms beter kwaliteit en veiligheid aan ‘n verbruiker. Die resultate van die voorkeurkeuse ontleding het getoon dat prys met 30.4% as ‘n uiterlike kenmerk, die belangrikste invloed het op verbruikers besluitneming. Veiligheid met 23.1% was die tweede belangrikste kenmerk na prys. Bogenoemde was nie ‘n verrassing nie aangesien die pers wêreldwyd al baie aandag gegee het aan die uitbreking van die e-coli epidemies. Kwaliteit was die derde belangrikste kenmerk wat verbruikers besluitneming bëinvloed het met 17.0%. Naspeurbaarheid as kenmerk het die besluitnemings proses bëinvloed met 15.7% en oorsprong in die vyfde plek met 13.8%. Daar is gevind dat oorsprong as kenmerk verbruikers se besluitneming die minste beïnvloed het. Die deelnemers aan die elektroniese voorkeurkeuse ontledingsopname is verkry vanaf die databasis van die bemarking navorsings maatskappy Consulta Research (Pty) Ltd, wat geleë is in Centurion, in die Gauteng provinsie van Suid Afrika. ‘n Totaal van 352 voltooide vraelyste is gebruik vir die data analise. Die aankoop en verbruik van lam en skaap vleis was die enigste kriterium wat gebruik is in die werwingsproses van die deelnemers. Samevattend kan genoem word dat daar ‘n gebrek bestaan in Suid Afrika in die sertifisering en waarborg van die produk Karoo lamsvleis wat bemark word as afkomstig van die Karoo. Sodoende kan verbruikers maklik mislei word oor die ware oorsprong van die produk. Naspeurbaarheid kan ‘n baie belangrike instrument wees om die geloofwaardigheid van voedsel te bepaal en te verseker dat die aannames ten opsigte van oorsprong wat produsente maak die waarheid weerspieël. Copyright / Dissertation (MConsumer Science)--University of Pretoria, 2012. / Consumer Science / unrestricted

The recent addition of Karoo Lamb to South Africa’s repertoire of products with a regional identity attracted extensive publicity. The news headlines that spoke of challenges to protect the geographical name, discrepancies among supply chain stakeholders and the outright opportunism and exploitation of the geographical name made Karoo Lamb a particularly interesting case study to examine. Regrettably, the niche product “Karoo Lamb” has not yet come to its own. In an effort to support the development of this initiative, the thesis sets out to address the central question; “How do we increase farmer participation in differentiated product supply chains, whilst discouraging opportunistic behaviour so that the performance of these chains can be optimised?” The overarching question, mentioned above, is addressed in four independent but related research papers by using the differentiated Karoo Lamb supply chain as a case study. The specific questions considered in these papers are:  What are the claims most vulnerable to opportunistic behaviour?  What drives a farmer’s tendency to behave opportunistically, and how can these drivers be used to prevent opportunistic behaviour?  What factors encourage a farmer to participate in a differentiated supply chain?  What enforcement mechanisms are best suited to prevent the opportunistic behaviour of farmers?  What governance mechanisms are currently employed to govern the supply chain?  Are the governance and enforcement mechanisms properly aligned to guarantee the authenticity of the differentiated product? The thesis employed the principals of agency theory, transaction cost economics, and contract theory to address the practical problems faced by the Karoo Meat of Origin certification scheme. The thesis combined quantitative and qualitative research methods to analyse the data collected from four primary stakeholders involved in the Karoo Lamb supply chain. From the total population of 209 certified Karoo Lamb farmers, 73 farmers were interviewed on their farms in the Karoo region. In addition to the farmers, five abattoirs, two processors and/or packers and five retail outlets were interviewed. Results supported the expectation that a farmer’s decision to invest in the collective reputational capital of a product is shaped by his/her relationship with the abattoir, and the ease with which business is conducted. The easier it is for the farmer to do business with the abattoir the more likely the farmer is to invest in the Karoo Lamb initiative. Other, more personal attributes, such as the farmer’s risk profile, education and his/her network also proved to influence his/her willingness to invest in the collective reputation. The efforts to increase the membership base of Karoo Lamb contributes to the success story of Karoo Lamb. The success of the initiative, however, remains threatened by opportunism. The investigation revealed the “from the Karoo” and “free range” claims as the most vulnerable to opportunistic behaviour specifically during times of droughts. The study further revealed a lack of information exchange between the farmers and abattoirs, specifically regarding droughts, feeding practices and disease treatments, as the leading driver for opportunistic behaviour. An increase in information sharing, within the farmer network, and with the abattoir, is therefore recommended. This is the main strategy to reduce or eradicate the opportunistic behaviour of farmers. In addition to broadening farmer investments in the reputational capital of Karoo Lamb and to preventing the opportunistic behaviour of farmers, the success of the Karoo Lamb initiative also requires an alignment between the enforcement and governance mechanisms. The investigation supported the notion that the State-appointed third party is relatively unsuccessful when it specifically comes to the monitoring of the Karoo farmers for compliance with production standards. Due to the failure of the third party, the thesis made an attempt to explore alternative monitoring and enforcement mechanisms. The results indicate that the majority of the Karoo Lamb stakeholders preferred monitoring and enforcement mechanisms that include more frequent monitoring and stricter prosecution strategies to deal with non-compliant stakeholders. Owing to many years of commodity style operations throughout the supply chain, the correct vehicle for ensuring the proper implementation of the enforcement mechanisms remains a challenge. The assessment of the Karoo Lamb supply chain reveals non-contractual arrangements with qualified partners as being the most frequently utilised governance mechanism. However, this mechanism is not sufficient when the third party fails to monitor and enforce the production standards accurately. Therefore, with a view to ensuring the credibility of Karoo Lamb, a move to toward more hierarchical arrangements, are expected, which would provide a stronger focus on private or mutual enforcement mechanisms. This means that the stakeholders in the supply chain would be jointly responsible for the credibility of the product and therefore jointly responsible for the enforcement of quality and origin standards. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2017. / Red Meat Research and Development SA / Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / PhD / Unrestricted

One of the latest trends in the market for food products is the desire amongst consumers to know the origin of the products they purchase and to feel physically or emotionally connected to the farm and the producer. However, given the many efforts by producers and retailers to mislead consumers about the origin of products, for consumers to have faith in the origin of food products, they need to have some guarantee about the true origin of products. Thus, to be able to successfully guarantee the origin of food products, traceability systems need to be in place and they need to comply with the necessary legislation. This consumer need for origin-based food is now playing out in a variety of ways as food processors and retailers are labelling their products according to the origin of the product. Quite often, regional names are used for that identification. One iconic South African example of a product with regional identity is Karoo Lamb. In July this year producers from the Karoo region launched Karoo Lamb, a certification scheme, with a chain-wide traceability system in place to guarantee the Karoo origin of sheep meat in South African retail stores. The question, though, is whether all abattoirs and meat processors in South Africa are able to deliver origin-guaranteed products. The key factor here is the traceability system they have in place. The general objective of this study is therefore to assess current traceability systems in the sheep meat industry and to establish their ability to guarantee the origin of a carcass. This traceability system should be able to protect, manage and govern the food of origin attributes of a product in the sheep meat industry. The specific objectives of the study are: i) to create a high level process map to indicate the flow of Karoo Lamb products; ii) to share information by developing a detailed description of current and potential traceability systems in the Karoo Lamb supply chain; iii) to identify critical control points for maintaining product information and to test if these systems are in line with best practices; iv) to investigate the decision-making factors impacting on the implementation of a traceability system; and v) to develop recommendations for effectively implementing a traceability system that protects, manages and governs food of origin attributes. In response to these objectives, five hypotheses were developed and tested. The five hypotheses basically aimed to identify the tipping factor in the traceability implementation decision-making process. The population of South African sheep slaughtering abattoirs was used to draw a random sample of 55 abattoirs selected to participate in the research survey by means of interview administrated, structured questionnaires. The data was then processed and analysed to include a combination of quantitative and qualitative analysis. The results obtained by the research indicate that 92 % of the abattoirs in South Africa have proper traceability systems in place that enable them to market and deliver origin-guaranteed products. The 3 (8 %) abattoirs that do not have traceability systems are in the Northern Cape and Eastern Cape. This might become problematic, since sheep from these regions are often marketed as Karoo lamb. Without proper traceability systems, this credence attribute cannot be guaranteed. According to the hypothesis test, the fact that an abattoir delivers to a retailer is the single most significant factor, compared to the other factors tested, for abattoirs to implement a traceability system. Research showed that 95 % of retail delivering abattoirs have traceability systems in place, and the other 5 % of abattoirs are those situated in remote rural areas and their retail customers have little other choice than to buy from these abattoirs. However, the study identified poor knowledge on the costs and benefits of a traceability system as a potential drawback in doing a proper cost benefit analysis and therefore proper research on the economics of traceability systems was almost impossible. At the abattoir level, traceability systems are quite easily implemented because it is much easier to trace a single carcass in an abattoir than to trace different pieces of one carcass in the processing plant. Since this study did not include detail pertaining to the downstream tiers; meat processors, packers, wholesalers and retailers, it is not possible to conclude that the entire sheep supply chain can guarantee a product’s origin in the case of Karoo Lamb. The integrity of these role players will play a vital role in their ability to guarantee the origin of a sheep meat product especially when sheep carcasses are moved outside the Karoo boundaries for processing and packaging. It is therefore clear that the downstream tiers play a vital part in the South African sheep meat industry in terms of chain-wide traceability and transparency in order to guarantee the origin of a sheep meat product such as Karoo Lamb. Further research is therefore required to evaluate the other role players in the sheep meat industry for chain-wide traceabiltiy systems, in order to test the readiness of this chain and industry to guarantee the origin of a product like Karoo Lamb. / Dissertation (MSc(Agric))--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development / unrestricted