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Agriculture and COVID-19: Assessing the Footprint of the Pandemic on...
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Agriculture and COVID-19: Assessing the Footprint of the Pandemic on the Production and Consumption Patterns of Agricultural Products and Food

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Economics, Policies and Rural Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 June 2023) | Viewed by 16265

Special Issue Editor

Dr. George Vlontzos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture, Crop Production and Rural Development, University of Thessaly, 38446 Volos, Greece
Interests: optimisation of agricultural systems; decision support systems; food consumer behaviour
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has had a direct impact on several aspects of agricultural production and the consumption of primary products and foodstuff. Productivity levels have been changed around the globe, labour availability appears to be a major issue, the logistics of international trade are facing unprecedented challenges, and considerable changes in consumer behaviours and patterns have manifested. The externalities of the aforementioned deviations have had a direct and perhaps permanent impact on all critical points of agricultural value chains, transforming and reshaping production and trading contexts that had been dominant for decades. It is also worthwhile mentioning the significant impact of new technologies and the development of e-trade as a means for facing problems of reaching traditional food selling places that are related with curfews and barriers. Finally, the spatial dimension of production and consumption patterns is challenging food security, which is especially a high priority issue for developing countries.

This Special Issue is seeking submissions focused on agriculture and food under the prism of the COVID-19 pandemic. Topics can include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Agricultural productivity
  • Optimisation of agricultural production modelling
  • Precision farming
  • Value chain analysis
  • Decision support systems in agriculture
  • Impact assessment of agricultural development for developed and developing countries
  • Food consumer behaviour
  • E-trade in agriculture and food purchasing patterns.

Dr. George Vlontzos
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • productivity
  • precision farming
  • international trade
  • logistics
  • E-trade
  • consumer behaviour

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 4074 KiB  
Article
Consumers’ Behavior in the Field of Organic Agriculture and Food Products during the COVID-19 Pandemic in the Czech Republic: Focus on a Comparison of Hyper-, Super- and Farmers’ Markets and Direct Purchases from Producers
by Martina Zámková, Stanislav Rojík, Martin Prokop, Simona Činčalová and Radek Stolín
Agriculture 2023, 13(4), 811; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13040811 - 31 Mar 2023
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2454
Abstract
The aim of this paper is to assess Czech food consumers’ behavior when buying organic products during the COVID-19 pandemic, with an emphasis on the place of purchase of organic agriculture and food products—especially those purchases with the shortest logistics value chain, i.e., [...] Read more.
The aim of this paper is to assess Czech food consumers’ behavior when buying organic products during the COVID-19 pandemic, with an emphasis on the place of purchase of organic agriculture and food products—especially those purchases with the shortest logistics value chain, i.e., purchase at farmers’ markets, or directly from the producer—and a comparison with the current most common places of purchase of organic products in the Czech Republic, supermarkets and hypermarkets. Categorical data analysis methods were used to create a profile of the consumer according to the most frequent purchase locations. To create mathematical–statistical models and interpretations, the methods of logistic regression, correspondence analysis and contingency table analysis were chosen. According to the results of the survey, respondents under 25 years of age are the least likely to make purchases at farmers’ markets or directly from the producer. Consumers aged 26–35 and with a university degree are the most likely to buy organic agriculture and food products at this location, followed closely by older respondents in the categories 36–45 and 46+ and with a secondary education. It is important for manufacturers to have an overview of where, in what quantities, and for what reasons consumers buy their products, especially for reasons of production optimization and planning, ecological concerns, rural development, and the impact on local areas and the value chain. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agriculture and COVID-19: Assessing the Footprint of the Pandemic on the Production and Consumption Patterns of Agricultural Products and Food)
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20 pages, 5138 KiB  
Article
Problems and Opportunities within the Wine Industry in Terms of the COVID-19 Pandemic
by František Synák
Agriculture 2023, 13(3), 731; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13030731 - 22 Mar 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 5195
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected and still affects various sectors, including the agricultural sector. A specific industry deriving from agriculture is the wine industry. The purpose of this article is to find out and analyse the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the [...] Read more.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected and still affects various sectors, including the agricultural sector. A specific industry deriving from agriculture is the wine industry. The purpose of this article is to find out and analyse the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the wine sector, especially regarding the Slovakia wine sector. To achieve this, a wide literary research study was conducted through which an overview of the global wine industry situation was obtained. Subsequently, the impact of COVID-19 on a selected wine business in the Slovak Republic was determined via interviewing. The findings were further analysed and compared with the situations of other Slovak and foreign wineries. It follows from the observations that both risk diversification within supplying and purchasing relations and the business’s essential need to adapt to new circumstances under adverse conditions are very important factors. The article’s contribution lies in a summarization of the problems and opportunities within the wineries as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, based on a wide literary research review and interviews with an employee of the large wine company, and the conclusions can also be applied to other agricultural industries. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agriculture and COVID-19: Assessing the Footprint of the Pandemic on the Production and Consumption Patterns of Agricultural Products and Food)
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19 pages, 901 KiB  
Article
R&D Performance Evaluation in the Chinese Food Manufacturing Industry Based on Dynamic DEA in the COVID-19 Era
by Shiping Mao, Marios Dominikos Kremantzis, Leonidas Sotirios Kyrgiakos and George Vlontzos
Agriculture 2022, 12(11), 1938; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12111938 - 17 Nov 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3078
Abstract
Nowadays, China’s food consumption structure is shifting from being survival-oriented to health-oriented. However, the food industry is still facing a research and development (R&D) dilemma. Scientific evaluation of an enterprise’s R&D performance can help to reduce the investment risk of R&D and promote [...] Read more.
Nowadays, China’s food consumption structure is shifting from being survival-oriented to health-oriented. However, the food industry is still facing a research and development (R&D) dilemma. Scientific evaluation of an enterprise’s R&D performance can help to reduce the investment risk of R&D and promote economic benefits. This study implements the dynamic data envelopment analysis (DDEA) technique to measure and evaluate the level of R&D performance in the Chinese food manufacturing industry. Twenty-eight listed companies were selected for the study, considering the time period from 2019 to 2021. After constructing a system of inputs, outputs and carry-over indicators, overall and period efficiency scores were obtained. The results reveal that the overall level of R&D in the industry is relatively low (0.332). Average efficiency scores across years were estimated as 0.447, 0.460, 0.430 for 2019, 2020, and 2021, respectively. Lastly, this study considers the actual business situation of the industry and makes suggestions for improvement from the perspective of enterprises and the government; these anticipate aiding the food manufacturing industry to improve the performance management of R&D activities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agriculture and COVID-19: Assessing the Footprint of the Pandemic on the Production and Consumption Patterns of Agricultural Products and Food)
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18 pages, 1360 KiB  
Article
Coping Strategies of Smallholder Coffee Farmers under the COVID-19 Impact in Indonesia
by Suci Wulandari, Fadjry Djufry and Renato Villano
Agriculture 2022, 12(5), 690; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture12050690 - 12 May 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4261
Abstract
COVID-19 significantly impacts coffee production, which smallholders dominate. Unaddressed impacts will affect coffee production sustainability. However, smallholders face some constraints. This study aims to determine the impact of COVID-19 from the perspective of Arabica and Robusta farmers in Indonesia, examine technical recommendations as [...] Read more.
COVID-19 significantly impacts coffee production, which smallholders dominate. Unaddressed impacts will affect coffee production sustainability. However, smallholders face some constraints. This study aims to determine the impact of COVID-19 from the perspective of Arabica and Robusta farmers in Indonesia, examine technical recommendations as coping strategies, and develop an institutional model to accelerate implementation. We analyzed the divergences in the perceptions of different categories and clusters using farm-level data. Descriptive statistics, Mann–Whitney analysis, cluster analysis, and crosstab analysis were used to explore the facts. Immediate effects of COVID-19 were observed through a decline in household income, impacting the allocation of farming costs, which influences productivity related to the intensity of cultivation, particularly in purchasing and fertilization decisions. It was explored by the study that coffee livestock integration is an important strategy to improve farmers’ livelihood to mitigate the impact. The innovation sharing model complements this technical recommendation as institutional recommendations, including innovation sharing elements and processes. Four farmer clusters have been identified based on the adoption spectrum and farmer conditions. The intervention provides innovation-sharing elements for farmers who have not adopted integration. Where integration was partially completed, reusing waste is recommended by completing innovation elements and improving the sharing process. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agriculture and COVID-19: Assessing the Footprint of the Pandemic on the Production and Consumption Patterns of Agricultural Products and Food)
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