Appraising stake holder performance through an empirical model for horticultural supply chains in Brazil.

摘要

In previous research, marketing and consumption losses for fruit and vegetables in Brazil were 18% of turnover. This study develops a scoring guide that can assist commercial establishments and households in evaluating and mitigating the potential loss of fruit and vegetables within their operations. The scoring model separately addresses losses related to products and losses related to establishments. The score for the products evaluates the activities of sorting, packaging, transport and storage. The score for the establishment assigns values to the management functions of maintenance of premises, professional qualifications of personnel, quality demands on suppliers, purchase programming and direct supervision of operations. The study researched 16 establishments and 42 varieties of produce and determined an empirical relationship between the scores of the two parts of the model and the expected losses. Consequently, the model serves as a management tool that can be used by storeowners to improve the efficiency of their operations and reduce produce losses. Given that the 18% loss figure translates into 90 tonnes per day of food thrown away in the city under study alone, the research effort invested in this and future models of this type will contribute to better management of post-harvest losses and organic waste in metropolitan areas..