Commodity Chains under Pressure: Resilience through Coping, Adaptation, and Transformation

This insightful book presents an overview of how external shocks affect commodity chains and their neighbouring systems. Expert authors employ diverse theoretical and methodological approaches to illustrate the extensive scope of this research area, exploring the impact of external shocks throughout various parts of the commodity chain. Chapters investigate the intricate relationships between agricultural commodity chains and external shocks through interdisciplinary lenses, including geography, communication studies, economics, history, and sociology. They draw on case studies from around the world ranging from the Kenyan cut roses industry to sheep farming in the UK, providing individual and comparative analyses of the challenges caused by external forces. Examining the effects of both short- and long-term shocks, the book evaluates potential actor strategies, ultimately underscoring the need for increased collaboration across all scientific disciplines. Presenting novel perspectives on the multiple social and spatial transformations associated with agricultural products, Commodity Chains Under Pressure is an invaluable read for students and scholars in global value chains, development studies, human geography, sociology, and agricultural economics. Its practical guidance is also beneficial for policymakers and practitioners in agriculture and supply chain analysis.

Table of Contents:
Contents PART I INTRODUCTION 1 Globalised agriculture and external shocks: theoretical and methodological implications on the research of commodity chains 2 Linda Hering and Lara M. Espeter PART II Coping 2 Exogenous shocks in the Kenyan cut roses industry: developments in the value chain 36 Jakob Engel and Elmar Kulke 3 Food consumption practices during Covid-19: an opportunity for European consumers? 59 Laura Tirabassi PART III Adaptive 4 Can industrial agriculture be resilient to external shocks? Industrial agriculture in diversified clusters in rural China 78 Qian Forrest Zhang and Zhanping Hu 5 COVID-19 and the digitalisation of food supply and delivery: a case of Botswana 99 Gabriel Faimau and Marang Katlego Phuthegelo 6 Food safety in the public debate: on the efforts of food movements to communicate, mobilize, and politicize a critical issue 119 Barbara Pfetsch, Daniel Maier and Annie Waldherr PART IV Transformative 7 Resource frontiers in central Chile: territorial transformation and tensions in times of water crisis 143 Beatriz Bustos Gallardo, Javiera Larraín Suckel, Valentina Valenzuela Albornoz, Valentina Foigelman and Vanessa Quinteros Salazar 8 European agriculture and international trade in historical perspective, 1945–2000 164 Carin Martiin and Juan Pan-Montojo 9 The sacrificial lambs of Brexit: sheep farmers, food security and climate change 186 John Lever, Awal Fuseini and Peter Gittins 10 Relationships between shocks and industrial organisation: from de-regulation of marketing boards to managed varieties in the apple industry in Aotearoa New Zealand 209 Katharine Legun

About the Author :
Edited by Lara M. Espeter, Department of Sociology, Technische Universität Berlin and Linda Hering, Department of Geography, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany

Review :
‘Commodity Chains under Pressure: Resilience through Coping, Adaptation, and Transformation is exceptionally “reader friendly” in organization and presentation, making it a valued, timely, and unreservedly recommended pick for personal, professional, and college/university library Contemporary Economics and Business Globalization collections and supplemental curriculum studies lists.’ ‘In a time of multiple crises, this timely book provides an insightful exploration into the vulnerabilities of agri-food chains around the world, offering a rich interdisciplinary perspective on how external shocks reshape these chains, and what options actors have to increase resilience. I believe this is essential reading for those seeking to understand the complex interdependencies and evolving challenges in agri-food chains.’