Preocupados com a segurança dos alimentos, consumidores em todo o mundo estão pagando prêmios de preço por \"alimentos naturais\", supostamente livres de qualquer tipo de contaminador. Nesse cenário, desenvolve-se a chamada agricultura orgânica. Esta pesquisa compreende a análise do sistema agroindustrial do tomate salada orgânico no Estado de São Paulo, sob dois prismas: o comportamento do consumidor, ou seja, o que o consumidor espera desse produto, e como se dá a coordenação desse sistema agroindustrial para atender o consumidor. A primeira parte da pesquisa compreende a análise dos atributos valorizados pelo consumidor de tomate orgânico, com vistas a comprovar ou não a hipótese que este paga um adicional de preço visando ao consumo de um produto seguro. Para isso, foi realizada uma pesquisa empírica com consumidores, com base no método da Conjoint analysis. A segunda parte da pesquisa consiste na descrição e análise da estrutura de governança desse sistema, com o objetivo de identificar os mecanismos de coordenação adotados para garantir a autenticidade e inocuidade dos produtos, benefícios intrínsecos não facilmente observáveis, mas que são exigidos pelos consumidores de tomate orgânico. A base empírica para a análise foi constituída de entrevistas com representantes de vários segmentos que compõem o Sistema Agroindustrial do tomate orgânico. O trabalho revela que o consumidor de tomate orgânico é diferenciado e busca um alimento seguro. No entanto, as estruturas de governança que coordenam esse sistema de produção são frágeis para garantir o que o consumidor deseja. Preservar a reputação e o prêmio de preço em um fraco ambiente regulatório é um desafio real, especialmente para produtos frescos. Esta pesquisa investiga como os agentes gerenciam esse sistema, visando a garantir sua vantagem competitiva. / Concerned with food safety, consumers all over the world are paying price premiums for \"natural foods\", supposedly free of any type of contaminant. In this scenario, the so-called organic agriculture is developed. This research analyzes the agribusiness of the organic salad tomato in the State of São Paulo, through two prisms: consumer behavior, that is, what the consumer expects from this product, and how this agribusiness is coordinated in order to satisfy the consumer. The first part of the research involves the analysis of the attributes valued by the consumer of organic tomato, with a view to showing whether or not the hypothesis that he or she pays a higher price in order to consume a safe product is correct. To this end, an empirical survey was conducted on consumers, based on the method of Conjoint analysis. The second part of the research consists of a description and analysis of the governance structure of this system, with the objective of identifying coordination mechanisms adopted to guarantee the authenticity and innocuity of the produce, intrinsic benefits not easily observable, but that are demanded by the consumers of organic tomato. The empirical basis for the analysis was made up of interviews with representatives of various segments that compose the Agroindustrial System of organic tomato. The work reveals that the organic tomato consumer is differentiated and seeks a safe food. Nevertheless, the governance structures coordinating this production system are too fragile to guarantee what the consumer desires. To preserve reputation and the price premium in a weak regulatory environment is a real challenge, especially for fresh produce. This research investigates how the agents manage this system, aiming at guaranteeing their competitive advantage.

Preocupados com a segurança dos alimentos, consumidores em todo o mundo estão pagando prêmios de preço por \"alimentos naturais\", supostamente livres de qualquer tipo de contaminador. Nesse cenário, desenvolve-se a chamada agricultura orgânica. Esta pesquisa compreende a análise do sistema agroindustrial do tomate salada orgânico no Estado de São Paulo, sob dois prismas: o comportamento do consumidor, ou seja, o que o consumidor espera desse produto, e como se dá a coordenação desse sistema agroindustrial para atender o consumidor. A primeira parte da pesquisa compreende a análise dos atributos valorizados pelo consumidor de tomate orgânico, com vistas a comprovar ou não a hipótese que este paga um adicional de preço visando ao consumo de um produto seguro. Para isso, foi realizada uma pesquisa empírica com consumidores, com base no método da Conjoint analysis. A segunda parte da pesquisa consiste na descrição e análise da estrutura de governança desse sistema, com o objetivo de identificar os mecanismos de coordenação adotados para garantir a autenticidade e inocuidade dos produtos, benefícios intrínsecos não facilmente observáveis, mas que são exigidos pelos consumidores de tomate orgânico. A base empírica para a análise foi constituída de entrevistas com representantes de vários segmentos que compõem o Sistema Agroindustrial do tomate orgânico. O trabalho revela que o consumidor de tomate orgânico é diferenciado e busca um alimento seguro. No entanto, as estruturas de governança que coordenam esse sistema de produção são frágeis para garantir o que o consumidor deseja. Preservar a reputação e o prêmio de preço em um fraco ambiente regulatório é um desafio real, especialmente para produtos frescos. Esta pesquisa investiga como os agentes gerenciam esse sistema, visando a garantir sua vantagem competitiva. / Concerned with food safety, consumers all over the world are paying price premiums for \"natural foods\", supposedly free of any type of contaminant. In this scenario, the so-called organic agriculture is developed. This research analyzes the agribusiness of the organic salad tomato in the State of São Paulo, through two prisms: consumer behavior, that is, what the consumer expects from this product, and how this agribusiness is coordinated in order to satisfy the consumer. The first part of the research involves the analysis of the attributes valued by the consumer of organic tomato, with a view to showing whether or not the hypothesis that he or she pays a higher price in order to consume a safe product is correct. To this end, an empirical survey was conducted on consumers, based on the method of Conjoint analysis. The second part of the research consists of a description and analysis of the governance structure of this system, with the objective of identifying coordination mechanisms adopted to guarantee the authenticity and innocuity of the produce, intrinsic benefits not easily observable, but that are demanded by the consumers of organic tomato. The empirical basis for the analysis was made up of interviews with representatives of various segments that compose the Agroindustrial System of organic tomato. The work reveals that the organic tomato consumer is differentiated and seeks a safe food. Nevertheless, the governance structures coordinating this production system are too fragile to guarantee what the consumer desires. To preserve reputation and the price premium in a weak regulatory environment is a real challenge, especially for fresh produce. This research investigates how the agents manage this system, aiming at guaranteeing their competitive advantage.

Due to the recent changes in the economy of Kentucky tobacco production, some producers are seeking an alternative crop that will provide similar economic gains to tobacco without needing more acreage. Tomatoes are an existing crop in Kentucky that have been declining in acreage over the last five years. There is evidence to suggest that, through niche and local marketing, tomatoes may be able to fill the void left by tobacco. However, there is concern among producers that they will lose yield and/or quality if they switch to one of these niche production systems or cultivars. A two year study at Western Kentucky University compared the yield and quality of three tomato cultivars, two heirlooms and one hybrid, under organic and conventional management techniques to see if producers concerns are valid. The heirloom cultivars used were 'Cherokee Purple' (CP) and 'Mr. Stripey', (MS) the hybrid cultivar was 'Crista' (CR). The study was a split block design, with four randomized replications within each block. Plants were grown under black plastic mulch, with drip irrigation under the mulch. Plants were harvested weekly throughout the season and data were collected on individual fruit weight, size, grade and the number of fruit produced per plant. Production and quality were compared between management techniques for each cultivar, and the cultivars were compared to each other under individual management techniques. When comparing organic and conventional management practices, CP produced significantly (p<.05) larger, heavier, and higher quality fruit under organic practices and showed no significant differences in fruit number in 2008. MS and CR showed no significant differences between production systems for fruit weight or size, CR produced significantly higher quality fruit under conventional treatment and MS produced significantly more fruit per plant in 2008. In 2009, CP did not produce enough fruit under organic management to allow statistical comparison between management systems. MS however did not show any significant differences between management systems for any of the traits studied. CR produced significantly larger fruit under organic management, but no other differences were observed. When comparing cultivars in 2008, CP and CR produced fruit of similar weight but significantly heavier than MS under both production systems. CP produced the largest fruit under organic management, with CR following and MS producing the smallest fruit. Under conventional management, CP and CR produced fruit of similar size and both were larger than MS. MS produced the highest quality fruit under organic management, and CR produced the nicest grade under conventional management. No differences were seen for number of fruit per plant between cultivars under organic management, while MS produced the most fruit per plant under conventional management. In 2009 CP did not produce enough fruit to be statistically compared to the other cultivars under organic management. MS and CR produced fruit of similar weight under both organic and conventional management, while CP produced the greatest weight under conventional management. CR produced larger fruit than MS under organic management, while under conventional management CP and CR were of similar size as were CR and MS, but CP was significantly larger than MS. No significant differences were found between cultivars for fruit grade or number of fruit per plant under either management system in 2009.