Value Chain Analysis: three case studies

The development of agriculture and value chains is a major component to rural economies. Major opportunities lie in the development of integrated value chains where agricultural products better meet market specification, logistics enable access to diverse markets, and quality can be assured with detailed market feedback and intelligence. This allows greater value to be derived from agricultural products, new markets to be developed and higher proportion of product value being earned by the producer.

This is particularly important as consumer demand and expectations change, global market access expands and production becomes more vertically integrated.

Priorities for RECoE in value chain research are:

• Supporting innovation in agricultural production systems and value chains and establishing links with transformed manufacturers,
• Developing market innovation and identifying new markets and matching new products to high value markets,
• Promoting food and fibre product development,
• Understanding investment attraction to scale-up opportunities and progress innovative business models. Supporting the commercialisation of new ideas, products and technologies,
• Researching and identifying “new economy” economic opportunities including enabling agricultural climate adaptation and transition, and
• Diffusing inventions and innovations developed by producers and by researchers.

A PhD scholarship is available for Value chain research please see the below link for details:

The University of Southern Queensland, through the Rural Economies Centre of Excellence (RECoE), is offering a three-year PhD scholarship to study key aspects of agricultural value chains in Queensland. The thesis topic will be developed with the supervisory team after enrolment is completed but the focus is expected to be on one or more of:

• Comparisons of the structure, operation and economic impacts of different value chains;
• Increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of value chains;
• Identifying the distribution of value along the chains;
• Identifying how improvements in the efficiency and effectiveness of value chains could benefit the chain actors and rural economies more generally; and
• Policies to support efficient and effective value chains.

The study must be based on agricultural production in Queensland, though the scope of the work can extend further as other aspects of the value chain are considered. In consultation with the supervisory team, the successful candidate will identify a selection of value chains for the study, but consideration will be given to extensive grazing and cropping industries and some horticultural value chains. 

Closing date: November 30, 2019

https://www.usq.edu.au/scholarships/regional-economics-centre-of-excellence

Contact: Ben.Lyons@usq.edu.au