An empirical examination of Andean fruit chain performance: a perspective on long-term strategies
The diversification of agri-food chains has a fundamental role in the economic development of Latin American countries. In Ecuador, the exports of nontraditional crops reached USD 4.33 million in 2016. This analysis is focused on the Inca berry agri-food chain as an example of the productive potential existing in the core of the Inter-Andean zone. This chain has displayed relevant economic growth due to the socio-economic and productive concatenations between actors, but also because of the existing market opportunities at the national and international level. The Inca berry chain, as well as other Andean agricultural chains, look for the designing of strategies that allow it to strengthen its sustainable and competitive performance over time. The value of a study on the structure of agri-food chains lies in the possibility of identifying aspects - strengths and weaknesses - that affect the performance of actors in any of the stages considered. Furthermore, with this framework, it will be possible to reveal the opportunities and potential threats on which stakeholders such as policy makers, distributors, firms, agricultural cooperatives should work for a relevant development of the Inca berry chain. Therefore, the aim of this study was to understand the dynamics across the stages and flows, considering socio-productive and economic aspects, but also identifying the dimensioning existing in order to understand the level of coordination. Additionally, export determinants and policy implications were taken into account in order to understand the real scenario of the aforementioned chain. To carry through the research, a systematic methodology was applied, the same one that had the combination of global supply chain analysis tools. This analysis concluded that the low water demand of cultures, involvement of peasant families, the intervention of the academic sector to improve yields, and the Inca berry industrialization in several ways are improving the dynamism but of the other side, the diversification of marketing channels, the strengthening of associative structures and implementation of agricultural policies are needed to improve performance.
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- Revista de Investigaciones Agropecuarias
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