Supply chain framework adds value to all horticultural science disciplines
Gerard A. McEvilly
Abstracts of 27th International Horticultural Congress & Exhibition (IHC 2006), August 13-19, 2006, COEX (Convention & Exhibition), Seoul, Korea. 494 pages.
2006
บทคัดย่อ
Supply chain framework adds value to all horticultural science disciplines
Continued support for scientific endeavour in horticultural science from either the public or private sectors relies on demonstrating the value of our work. While peer review, publication and citation records assess scientific value, these methods can contain a bias against highly integrative fields such as horticulture, when compared to pure science fields. Another measure of value is the delivery of commercial and/or public good benefits through the application of new horticultural knowledge. Again, the integrative nature of horticulture means that individual elements of scientific know-how may go unrecognized in an overall production system. Even worse, some of these elements may not be adopted, because they offer little value when separated from the production system context. A framework is proposed, which provides a context for all horticultural science disciplines, from the pre-production issues of genetic improvement, through production and postharvest to marketing and human well-being. This extends the supply chain concept from the narrow area of logistics and provides a way to understand, integrate and deliver the benefits from the knowledge generated within each discipline. Furthermore, the framework provides a valuable analytical tool to identify and address weak links in the chain and provides a common focus on the need to satisfy the consumer. Case studies are presented to illustrate the challenges and benefits offered by this approach.