ศูนย์นวัตกรรมเทคโนโลยีหลังการเก็บเกี่ยว

Soft systems methodologies for modeling postharvest chains.

Prussia, S. E.

Acta Horticulturae Year: 2000 Issue: No. 536 Pages: 653-660 Ref: 6 ref.

2000

บทคัดย่อ

Results are presented of two round table workshops, organized by the University of Georgia, USA, in 1997, for representatives from the main businesses that grow and handle fresh fruits and vegetables. Systems approaches were used for developing diagrams to describe the functions of each business and their interactions with each other. Diagrams were developed for: consumers, retail stores, restaurants, warehouses, fresh cut processors, truckers, packers, and growers. The paper presents a visual model of a postharvest chain showing: links as businesses; arrows for the flows of information, money, product, and value; and arrows representing interactions with organizations such as banks, suppliers, and research institutions. Recognizing that the businesses are links in a chain, rather than a system, helps to understand why it is difficult to make changes that promise to reduce losses or improve the quality of products available to consumers.