Purpose Despite the large interest in urban food markets, there are, however still relatively few good studies that have empirically documented the functioning of retail markets in developing countries, especially in Africa. The purpose of this paper is to look in particular at the case of Addis...

Purpose – African agri-food systems are undergoing major structural change in response to growing urbanization, rising incomes and shifting patterns of food consumption. The purpose of this paper is to explore four major dimensions of this surprisingly rapid structural shift in African food...

Purpose – Beer-bananas in Central Uganda are important for smallholder farmers’ livelihoods, especially for those that process the banana into beer and spirits. The purpose of this paper is to understand how actors in the beer-banana value chain are affected and how they are managing disease...

Large agricultural producers often demand seed with high yielding genetics along with specialty traits specific to their particular needs. Dairyland Seed Company prides itself on its superior genetics and a research program that adds specialty traits while retaining the qualities of the original...

Public and private policy responses to the introduction of genetically modified (GM) crops have differed across countries and regions, resulting in market fragmentation that is in conflict with the entry mode strategy of standardisation that has dominated the food distribution system for a...

This case study describes the application of robots to an agricultural depalletizing operation. Discusses the reasons for adopting robotics, the requirements of the application and the resulting system performance.

Describes an automated robotic milking system that allows self‐milking by cows. Benefits include increased yield, improved cow welfare and reduced labour. Describes elephant‐trunk robotic arms and vision guidance system for teat acquisition.

Purpose – To construct a commercial agricultural manipulation for fruit picking and handling without human intervention. Design/methodology/approach – Describes a research activity involving a totally autonomous robot for fruit picking and handling crates. Findings – Picking time for the...