Fruit and vegetables are often spoilt during storage, handling and transportation due to microorganisms. The common spoilage causes are fungi within the order Mucorales, the largest order of the class Zygomycetes. Such spoilage can result in reduced food supplies, poor quality and severe losses to producers and traders. The study was to investigate the type of Mucorales prevalent in various commodities and in a particular market than others. Fifty infected papaya, peaches and strawberries were collected at five occasions from large, medium and small markets. Isolation was done aseptically in a biosafety cabinet. Mucorales were identified morphologically, through culture based tests and molecular techniques. Mucorales isolated are Rhizopus stolonifer, Mucor circinelloides and Mucor racemosus. Mucorales were isolated at a higher rate in samples collected from the small market than other two markets. Spoilage in all three markets is assumed to be influenced by lack of modified temperatures in the storage room. / Life and Consumer Sciences / M. Sc. (Life Sciences)

Fruit and vegetables are often spoilt during storage, handling and transportation due to microorganisms. The common spoilage causes are fungi within the order Mucorales, the largest order of the class Zygomycetes. Such spoilage can result in reduced food supplies, poor quality and severe losses to producers and traders. The study was to investigate the type of Mucorales prevalent in various commodities and in a particular market than others. Fifty infected papaya, peaches and strawberries were collected at five occasions from large, medium and small markets. Isolation was done aseptically in a biosafety cabinet. Mucorales were identified morphologically, through culture based tests and molecular techniques. Mucorales isolated are Rhizopus stolonifer, Mucor circinelloides and Mucor racemosus. Mucorales were isolated at a higher rate in samples collected from the small market than other two markets. Spoilage in all three markets is assumed to be influenced by lack of modified temperatures in the storage room. / Life and Consumer Sciences / M. Sc. (Life Sciences)

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Government and Public Administration

The Ezemvelo Farmers’ Organisation (EFO) is a certified organic smallholder group in KwaZulu-Natal province (South Africa) that exists as an institution to improve smallholder access to niche markets by reducing unit production and transaction costs. The study is motivated by the need to understand drivers of collective action, prevalence of internal group free-riding, and the impact of contract terms on contract performance. These three theoretical concepts are pertinent in understanding organisational and institutional issues affecting the performance of smallholder organic farming groups and in formulating policies to promote the performance of such groups. The study relies on the theoretical foundations of collective action, free-riding and contracts found within the realm of New Institutional Economics (NIE). These theories, though separate, are in fact related in certain respects. Collective action in smallholder groups, apart from being a function of a plethora of socio-economic factors, including transaction costs, could be constrained by free-riding within the group, which in turn could be influenced by flawed contractual arrangements. This study of collective action focuses on 200 farmers drawn from a sample survey of 49 non-EFO members, and a census survey of 103 partially certified and 48 fully certified EFO members. A ‘collective action’ model investigates the impact of perceived benefits and savings on production and transaction costs attributed to collective action by drawing comparisons between EFO members and non-members using a multinomial logit model. The study of free-riding uses data from 151 members of the EFO to construct an index of free-riding within the group using principal components analysis (PCA). A ‘contract model’, which also focuses on EFO members only, attempts to measure the impact of verbal contract provisions on contract performance in addition to evaluating the determinants of preferred contract terms using a combination of PCA, Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression, and logit models. Results indicate that continued participation in EFO is not influenced by the age or gender of the farmer, but positively influenced by growth in the net benefits of participation, and negatively by an increase in the size of the household’s cropland or on-farm earnings. With respect to production and transaction costs, the results suggest that EFO has reduced fully certified members’ concerns that crops would be damaged by livestock or constrained by inadequate technical information. However, this is not the case for other problems such as price uncertainty in conventional markets, a lack of affordable operating inputs, a lack of affordable transport, and a lack of communications infrastructure. The index of free-riding behaviour constructed using principal components analysis suggests that free-riding poses a serious threat to EFO’s collective marketing efforts. Ordinary Least Squares regression analysis of the index scores shows that members who are male, poorly educated, partially certified, aware of loopholes in the grading system, and who do not trust the buyer are more likely to free-ride. Benefits accruing to EFO members are limited and there is substantial confusion among members about the terms of EFO’s verbal contract with the pack house that purchases their organic produce. Ordinary Least Squares regression analysis of the impact that perceived contractual terms have on quantities delivered to the pack house yielded interesting findings. Perceptions that delivery calls are made by the buyer, that grading procedures are flawed and that prices are not jointly established were found to reduce quantities delivered to the pack house, after controlling for differences in farm and farmer characteristics. Logit models estimated to identify the determinants of preferred contract clauses indicate that farmers with higher levels of formal education and farm income, and lower levels of experience, favour a written contract over a verbal contract. Similarly, farmers with higher levels of formal education and lower levels of family farm labour favour a contract denominated by area rather than weight. It is concluded that EFO should recruit households that rely on farming for income and which are land constrained. EFO is more likely to survive if it continues to secure fully subsidised information, transport, fencing, and certification services for its members, and if it improves the benefits of participating by synchronising harvest and delivery dates, negotiating price discounts for organic inputs, and by maintaining an office with telephone, fax and postal services. In the longer-term, EFO should address institutionalised free-riding by issuing tradable ownership rights. In the short-term, EFO must engage with the pack house (buyer) to remove flaws in the grading process that conceal the origin of low quality produce. Transparent and mediated negotiations leading to an incentive compliant contract with the buyer may also help to build trust and reduce free-riding within EFO. It is also recommended that the terms of EFO’s contract with the pack house should be revised so that; (a) delivery calls can be made by either the pack house or by EFO during specified periods and with reasonable notice, and (b) grading procedures are fully transparent and ensure traceability so that losses caused by poor quality can be internalised to members who deliver inferior produce. In addition, it is important that prices be negotiated at the beginning of each season and that the contractual parties have recourse to pre-agreed facilitators and an arbitrator to resolve disputes on price and quality. A written contract is recommended to support these more complex terms, with the proviso that the contract is explained to current and prospective members, and that growers are fully informed of their rights and obligations. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

For many poor rural South African communities, involvement in agriculture remains one of their most secure livelihood strategies. For the majority of these people, indigenous knowledge and the use of local materials, resources and skills is often the only asset they possess. The Ezemvelo Farmers Organisation (EFO) from the community of Embo in KwaZulu-Natal is one such group of rural people befitting this description. In the absence of financial resources to purchase relatively expensive agricultural inputs, accompanied by a lack of infrastructural development in their community, EFO farmers have become organic farmers by default. EFO members produce mainly traditional organic crops. However, little has been documented about the potential value of trade in these products. The purpose of this study was to explore potential marketing opportunities for traditional organic products through the mobilisation of indigenous knowledge, skills, and natural resources to improve the livelihoods of EFO members. A research team of three postgraduate students, each involved in his/her own independent study, worked in collaboration to collect relevant research information. Five data collection tools were used to collect this information. These were a household survey, a sustainable livelihoods analysis, a forcefield analysis, a stakeholder analysis, and a workshop. Research results showed that there are five stakeholders involved in EFO activities, each with his/her own personal interests. EFO members mainly produce amadumbe, sweet potatoes, and potatoes, which they market to a packhouse, the local community, and to hawkers. Other crop varieties are produced for household consumption and small quantities are sold to the local community and hawker markets. Farmers obtained a slightly higher price for crops sold to the packhouse as compared to the other two markets. The packhouse was the farmers' largest market for the 2002 season. However, the packhouse market was unsustainable for farmers because of problems due to the delays in payments for produce, the high quantities of crops that are rejected because they did not meet the quality control standards of the packhouse, and problems due to the unreliability of transport from Embo to the packhouse. The majority of EFO members' farms were also found to be unprofitable due to the high costs of inputs and losses to production. Constraints such as a shortage of kraal manure for soil conditioning, unfenced properties, a lack of water for irrigation, and the unavailability of a tractor for ploughing were found to be contributing factors to the unprofitability of member farms. Recommendations for improving marketing and profitability were that projects involving farmers should be regularly evaluated, EFO members seek business management skills, direct contracting agreements with their suppliers, explore value added products, and for Government to play a role for rural enterprise development to take place. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2002.

There has long been evidence that many smallholder farmers can benefit from marketoriented agriculture. However, smallholder farmers often face a number of barriers to accessing the markets. Smallholder market access is often cited as a factor that exacerbates the smallholder situation, but is little researched. This study investigated barriers to market participation among three smallholder farmer groups in rural KwaZulu-Natal. It is hypothesised that identification of these barriers could assist in institutional innovation to alleviate market constraints and challenges faced by smallholder farmers. It is also expected that addressing such barriers may create enabling conditions that would encourage smallholder farmers to access and participate more effectively in markets. Such efforts could improve the ability of smallholder farmers to become part of the mainstream or commercial agricultural economy. Three farmer groups from rural areas of KwaZulu-Natal (Centocow, Mbumbulu and Muden) were selected to participate in the study because they had interests in marketing fresh produce. One group (Mbumbulu) was a certified organic producer and was supplying a formal market. The other two groups (Centocow and Muden) were not organically certified and sold produce to informal markets. A three way comparison that included agricultural Policy Reform, Integrated Development Plans (IDPs) from Local Municipalities and focus group discussions was used to check and validate farmers’ responses to questions asked. Agricultural policy reforms relevant to these groups were reviewed. IDPs were analysed to evaluate service delivery and provision of infrastructure (enabling conditions for market participation). Focus group discussions were conducted to investigate farmer experiences in marketing and perceptions of agricultural policy constraints. The study revealed that access to resources, market information, infrastructure and farmer support services were barriers to market participation. Efforts to incorporate smallholder farmers through agricultural policy reforms in large scale agriculture have failed. Programmes to create enabling conditions (e.g. infrastructural development and telecommunications) were either not budgeted for or not implemented by local municipalities. Local economic development programmes focused on developing tourist attractions, although communal areas (Centocow and Mbumbulu) have the potential for agricultural growth. Local municipalities also faced challenges, such as lack of capacity to plan, implement, budget for planned projects, lack of service provider commitment and municipal funds. The results showed that despite barriers to market participation, smallholder farmers still marketed limited amounts of produce. If identified barriers are addressed, the issues raised in this study might improve market participation. Some barriers require direct intervention by government, as in the case of support services, extension service, credit and training. Investment in good infrastructure may encourage smallholder farmers to participate effectively in markets. This may be done by establishing a market infrastructure that includes collection points, transportation and market deposits in order to address the problems of proximity to markets. Such intervention should require the involvement of the private sector. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2008.

Commissioning of a machine is still representing a very challenging operation and most steps are still executed manually by commissioning engineers. A future goal is to support the commissioning engineers and further automate the entire integration process of a newly installed system with a minimum of manual effort. This use case is known as plug-and-produce (PnP). In this contribution a concept of the Industrial Internet of Things is presented to improve the commissioning task for a pneumatic handling system. The system is based on a service-oriented architecture. Within this context, information models are developed to meet the requirements of PnP to provide relevant information via virtual representations, e.g. the asset administration shell, of the components to the commissioning process. Finally, a draft of the entire PnP process is shown, providing a general understanding of Industrial Internet of Things fluid power systems.

本論文共一冊，約五至六萬字，分為七章，廿四節。 本論文研究的目的，在於瞭解我國電子電器、化學、基本金屬、機械儀器、橡膠塑膠 等三大製造業，近年來技術中進的成效，並從引進過程中探討影響成效的因素（第一 章），為了進行這項研究，曾對二百個樣本展開問卷調查，就所得資料加以統計分析 （第二章）。 本論文亦就過去國內外有關文獻（第三章）及與技術引進有關的政府法令規章（第四 章），略作評介。 第五及第六章根據廠迥回卷資料，分析五大製造業近年來技術引進成效，並探究影響 成效的各項因素。 最後，根據上述發現，闡釋策略涵意，分別對工業界、政府主管單位提出增進技術引 進成效的具體建議（第七章）。

L’objectif de cette thèse est d’analyser la question du management des spécificités des rayons en grande distribution. Elle est focalisée sur le rayon fruits et légumes dont les particularités semblent peu prises en compte par les distributeurs. Ce travail s’inscrit dans le cadre du courant d’analyse stratégique du canal de distribution, qui adopte la perspective du distributeur, et reconnait que sa stratégie est orientée tant vers l’amont que l’aval du canal. Le développement des politiques marketing des distributeurs les ont conduits à opérer des restructurations visant à consolider leurs achats, et à centraliser leurs décisions. Déployant un modèle axé sur la rentabilité, le rôle de l’encadrement en magasin a été redéfini. Ce modèle semble peu compatible avec les rayons à métier. Dans une première phase d’exploration hybride, la spécificité des rayons F&L est identifiée et définie. Un cadre conceptuel d’un mode de management de ces particularités est proposé. Trois objectifs de recherche sont définis : spécifier les relations entre le mode de management du rayon et ses performances, et comprendre l’influence du degré de centralisation des décisions, et du profil spécialisé ou non du manager, sur ces modes de management. L’étude empirique s’appuie sur l’étude de quatre cas imbriqués, pour proposer un modèle final. Nous montrons qu’un mode de management respectueux des spécificités du rayon permet d’en exploiter le potentiel. Pour cela, le manager de rayon doit maîtriser à la fois des compétences redéployables dans d’autres rayons, et des compétences produits. L’efficacité d’un mode de management centralisé est limitée, les performances du rayon dépendant avant tout des capacités du manager de rayon à gérer le processus de dégradation de la qualité des produits, et de la présentation du rayon. / The purpose of this research is to analyze the management of the specificities of departments in retail store. It is focused on the produce department, whose particularities are not well recognized.This work draws on the strategic approach to distribution channel, which emphases the distributor’s perspective and acknowledges that its strategy is oriented towards both the upstream and downstream channel. The development of marketing policies of retailers has led them restructuring to consolidate their purchases and to centralize their decisions. Deploying a model based on profitability, the role of middle managers at the stores level has been redefined. This model seems to create tensions with some specific product departments. The specificity of produce department is defined based on a first hybrid exploration phase. A conceptual framework for a management style of these features is proposed. Three research objectives are defined: to specify the relations between the management style of the department and its performance, to understand the impacts of the degree of centralization of decisions on these management practices, and to acknowledge the need for manager specific skills.A final model, based on an embedded, multiple case study method is proposed. We show that a management style that respects produce specificities allow to exploit the department’s performance potential. For this, the department manager should develop both re-deployable skills and product expertise. The effectiveness of a centralized management style is limited, since the department performance depends primarily on the manager’s ability to master the process of degradation of products quality and department’s layout.

Farmers’ markets have increasingly become a popular venue for purchase of fresh, locally-grown produce, with the number of farmers’ markets in Kentucky reaching an all-time high of 159 in 2016. Good Agriculture Practices (GAPs) is a program created by the USDA’s Agriculture Marketing Service to function as a food safety audit for small-scale fresh produce growers, such as those who sell fresh produce at local farmers’ markets. However, under the provisions of the Food Safety Modernization Act of 2011, small-scale farmers who sell an average of $25,000 in annual fresh produce sales across the span of three years are exempt from mandatory food safety certification. Many smallscale farmers in Kentucky fall below this threshold, and do not hold food safety certification. This study had two objectives: to investigate the practices, perceptions, and implementation of GAPs among small-scale Kentucky farmers who sell at farmers’ markets; and to create and evaluate the effectiveness of commodity-specific informational factsheets to disseminate food safety knowledge among small-scale Kentucky farmers. Data from the perceptions, practices, and implementation survey were analyzed from 160 completed surveys of small-scale fresh produce growers on-site at farmers’ markets in 21 counties across the state of Kentucky (see Appendix A). The results were mixed, with 90% of participants indicated familiarity with GAPs, but only 47% opting to practice water quality GAPs and 55% choosing to observe soil amendment GAPs. Participants did report slightly higher compliance with field sanitation (71%) and sanitary facilities (73%) GAPs, but indicated that cost (67%) and time (68%) were significant perceived barriers to completing a GAPs audit on their farm. Participants also failed to identify many sources of potential microbiological contamination, with soil only being identified as a source of pathogenic contamination by 41% of participants and irrigation water identified by 51% of participants. Even fewer participants believed that contamination could result from ice (26%) or refrigeration and cooling (28%). However, most respondents indicated a desire to undergo further GAPs education, and the factsheet evaluation data indicated that the factsheets were highly effective and had resulted in significant GAPs knowledge increases for participants.