Sustainability and resilience, two key concepts for smallholder development in fresh food supply chains

Andrés Mauricio Paredes Rodríguez, PhD student in Engineering with emphasis in Industrial Engineering. Credit: researcher's courtesy.

The vast distances between the countryside and population centers are major difficulties for small producers, who face various problems in getting their products to collection centers where they can be marketed. Such difficulties increase when it comes to fresh food, since its decomposition time is much shorter. The impact is negatively evidenced in terms of the decline of some types of crops, which compromises the food security of the population, while at the same time the aging of the rural population is recognized due to the migration of new generations to the big cities in search of other opportunities.

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Seeking to contribute to the growth of small producers, who work around 1 to 2 hectares, the researcher and professor of the Industrial Engineering program of the Universidad del Valle, Buga, Andrés Mauricio Paredes Rodríguez, in the framework of his studies at the PhD in Engineering with emphasis in Industrial Engineering, set the objective of designing a supply chain network for fresh food, based on the concepts of resilience and sustainability, which allowed him to address this issue from different perspectives such as social, economic and environmental. The first results of this research, conducted under the direction of researcher and professor Juan Pablo Orejuela Cabrera and the co-direction of researcher and professor Juan Carlos Osorio Gómez, both from the School of Industrial Engineering and members of the research group in Logistics and Analytics for a Sustainable Society (LASSOS), were published in the journal Alexandria Engineering, and show a research process that brings together new interpretative concepts and proposes a innovative model to consider for the growth and welfare of small producers in remote areas, from a sustainable approach. 

Sustainability and resilience applied to the smallholder sector 

The research was based on two concepts, which are transversal to the conception of the proposal by the researcher Andrés Mauricio Paredes Rodríguez. On the one hand, there is the concept of "resilience", which usually refers to people's ability to overcome the difficulties and obstacles they face, and which was adopted for use in contexts related to supply and production chains due to the similarities between them, since such chains constantly face adverse events that jeopardize their goals. Some examples of these challenges are the precariousness of tertiary roads during the rainy season, which increases the time it takes to transport products from the countryside to the city. 

On the other hand, there is the concept of "sustainability", understood as a concept that responds to the different strategies aimed at guaranteeing benefits over time for producers, within dimensions such as economic, social and environmental. "Among the strategies in this sense are some to reduce the use of water, energy, and crop diversification, which help the welfare of the soil where they work," explains Professor and researcher Paredes Rodriguez, adding that another of these strategies corresponds to the use of refrigerated electric vehicles to ensure both the transport of products and their welfare, while contributing to a lower environmental impact resulting from these activities. 

With the integration of these concepts, which served as a basis for a more comprehensive analysis of the problem, the researcher sought to carry out his research project, so that he could offer an innovative solution for growers and producers in the regions. 

The research 

The research process began with a literature review on the subject, for which professor and researcher Andrés Mauricio Paredes Rodríguez used a methodology called Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). This methodology involved several steps: 1) Identification, where the construction of the equation for the data search was carried out and the databases to be taken as a source were chosen -in this case Scopus and Web of Science-; 2) Debugging of the information, where the records that had appeared duplicated in the search were eliminated; and 3) Eligibility, where the criteria for choosing the articles to be considered were established, in this case the abstracts and conclusions of such documents, with the purpose of determining the real value of these in the face of the research. 

The categories of analysis that made this search possible revolved around the three dimensions previously related to the concept of "sustainability", in addition to the concept of resilience: the key performance indicators in economic terms were those of operational costs and profitability, in terms of environmental performance they were those of energy consumption, water consumption and carbon dioxide emissions, and in terms of social impact they were those of job creation and compliance with demand. The final sample used for the research consisted of 39 documents. 

Then, system dynamics was used to simulate a particular problematic scenario, since this methodology allows long-term evaluations based on different responses depending on the scenario. This bet was born from the readings previously done by professor and researcher Paredes Rodriguez, which led him to wonder what was the effect behind the decision of a particular distribution channel. "I began to see that the effect of the distribution channel was not discussed. This led me to wonder how important this could be when designing such a network," says the researcher. 

Within the design based on system dynamics, the researcher constructed causal loop diagrams to determine the relationship of the variables to be taken into account in the research. Once this was done, a more specific model was constructed, called a Forrester diagram, which consisted of quantitative modeling of the variables. At this point, field visits were necessary, where the producers - made up of mothers who are heads of household - provided the researcher with the information needed to implement the model. "We almost put on our boots and gathered the information from the people and associations with whom we already had contact from previous projects, which are associations in the city of Buga," says professor and researcher Andrés Mauricio Paredes Rodríguez. 

Once the model was simulated, the long-term effect of choosing a specific distribution channel was evaluated. Three scenarios were considered: 1) a traditional distribution channel, where the main actors involved in the process, such as producers and intermediaries or wholesalers, are considered; 2) a distribution channel that considers the use of food distribution centers, where collaborative integration with producers is conceived; and 3) a short distribution channel, where there is a direct relationship between the producer and the final customer. 

Given the different dimensions related to sustainability, the results showed that there is no particular channel that responds ideally, a fact that paves the way for thinking about mixed ways of understanding the choice of distribution channels, according to needs. "Some channels perform better from an economic point of view, others perform better from an environmental and social point of view. A network should not be restricted to a single distribution channel, but different channels could be used depending on the context. If we think about it today, the occurrence of risks can lead me to change that distribution channel at a given moment," explains the researcher. 

The importance of broadening the scope of analysis for food supply chains 

For the researcher, the fact that organizations such as FAO have among their strategic frameworks concepts such as sustainability and resilience is proof of the importance of these concepts when considering analyses focused on this subject. But at the same time, it is a great challenge in terms of appropriation of this knowledge by producers. "When you go to the field, you find that the concept of sustainability is still very ethereal. I believe that the project has also made us more aware, especially with these actors with whom we have had contact, that these distribution networks must promote this environmental, social and economic approach," he says, and adds that the current research challenge lies in the design of a network that will allow producers to be integrated into a channel that guarantees their sustainability, despite the risks to which they are exposed.  

Despite the long way to go, Professor and researcher Paredes Rodríguez now recognizes the positive impact of the work carried out for his doctoral dissertation: "One sign that producers have begun to be more aware is that they are now much more open to having these types of conversations. They are no longer so focused on the fact that only economic issues are at stake, but they accept that benefits can be obtained from other types of initiatives. 

In a developing country like Colombia, the implementation of such initiatives becomes a step forward, which puts it in tune with what is being done in continents such as Europe, places that are beginning to see these proposals with special interest. "I believe that if this synergy continues to be generated around improving these supply chains, in the end the field will not be a place to run away from, but will be an attractive place to develop scientific research, to have opportunities for professional development. There are countries like Germany, which is one of the leaders in food supply chains, where people do not flee the countryside: there are people who work there and can generate income, they can live the life that sometimes many want to live in the city".

 If interested in being in touch with the PhD's student or any further information about the investigation, please write the Faculty of Engineering Communications Office: comunicaingenieria@correounivalle.edu.co.