Impacts of Value-Based Supply Chains on Small and Medium Sized Farms

In this project, Tanaka will lead research activities to meet Objective 1, that is, to analyze the current state of knowledge about Values-Based Supply Chains (VBSCs) and their impact on farmers. Working with the project team members, she will develop a methodological strategy for the systematic content analysis of both (a) the existing case studies of VBSCs, and (b) the available documents about VBSCs (e.g., newspaper articles, websites). Rather than summaries, this content analysis aims to categorize and index the existing case studies (e.g., methodological approaches, theoretical framing) and documents (e.g., products marketed, services offered) so as to allow users to identify trends in VBSC research and VBSC development in US food economy. With her graduate research assistant, Tanaka will develop a catalogue for each, which will later become a part of the Online VBSC Database. As stated in the proposal, the first catalogue will target researchers and policy makers who wish to further analyze the benefits and constraints of VBSCs and develop specific policy and programs to strengthen the capacity of VBSCs to meet farmers’ needs. The second catalogue will target farmers, VBSC managers, and community stakeholders who wish to learn about various types of VBSCs in the United States. During the first year, Tanaka will focus on completing the content analysis so as to identify gaps in the current state of knowledge about VBSCs. The proposed survey with farmer participants in VBSC aims to fill these gaps. During the second year, her effort will shift toward the development of an on-line database. She has experience with FileMaker Pro to create a database.