The paper presents a Multiple Indicators and MultIple Causes (MIMIC) model for explaining the relationships between buyer-seller power, buyer trustworthiness and supplier satisfaction / performance. The model draws on an organizational supply chain perspective of power and is verified using data relating to dairy farmers' relationships with their main buyer in Armenia. The analysis indicates that buyers are more trustworthy where there is greater competition for supplies. Buyer trustworthiness is also positively correlated with both the size of a supplier, as well as a supplier being a member of a marketing cooperative. Buyer trustworthiness has a positive impact on suppliers' satisfaction (regarding their relationship with their main buyer) and enhances the quality and quantity of suppliers' output.

Digital agriculture is exciting attention because of an expectation that food systems will be disrupted by new digital technologies through improvements in precision, efficiency, volume, speed of process or identity of product. This is against the background of the drive for sustainability in food systems.A diversity of technology applications is unilaterally emerging in all food chains with benefits realized through human acceptance and adoption in business processes. This paper focuses on Australia but the lessons apply to digital agriculture globally. We propose that sustainable food systems frameworks identify the relation of individual changes to broader systemic change, to relate individual changes to one another and to understand how multiple changes within a system can trigger major shifts in entire agrifood chains. With this rapidly-changing landscape in mind, we argue that food system frameworks cover five domains: production, market, capitals, governance and data technologies.We analyse experience from agricultural systems, compare it to digitization in nonagricultural systems and conclude that change will be both disruptive and cumulative. We consider the role of systems governance to be under-reported. Governance will prove critical in areas of IP legislation, policy harmonization and targeted investment.

This paper explores factors affecting consumers' adoption of supermarkets in a nation whose retail environment has been dominated by traditional markets and small independent stores for generations. In‐depth interviews with Libyan shoppers (n = 32) indicate that social acceptability is a major factor governing adoption of supermarkets. In Libya, food shopping has traditionally been a task for male household members, with markets regarded as inappropriate spaces for female alone or with other women. However, the safer, cleaner and less crowded environment offered by large supermarkets has contributed to women feeling more comfortable shopping for food, and henceforth being able to shop as independent consumers. This has been welcomed by both men and women; traditional culture, rather than constraining the spread of supermarkets, may act as a facilitator. For practitioners, a critical factor underpinning the development of supermarkets in Libya will be the degree to which they offer a more female‐friendly and safer shopping experience than traditional retail outlets.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International licence Newcastle University ePrints -eprint.ncl.ac.uk

Digital technology is being introduced to global agriculture in a wide variety of forms that are collectively known as digital agriculture. In this paper we provide opportunities and value propositions of how this is occurring in livestock production systems, with a consistent emphasis on technology relating to animal health, animal welfare, and product quality for value creation. This is achieved by organizing individual accounts of digital agriculture in livestock systems according to four broad types—commodity-based; value seeking; subsistence and nature-based. Each type presents contrasting modes of value creation in downstream processing; as well as from the perspective of One Health. The ideal result of digital technology adoption is an equitable and substantial diversification of supply chains, increased monetization of animal product quality, and more sensitive management to meet customer demands and environmental threats. Such changes have a significance beyond the immediate value generated because they indicate endogenous growth in livestock systems, and may concern externalities imposed by the pursuit of purely commercial ends.

This paper examines four examples of animal welfare issues, demonstrating the interactions between welfare and economic principles. Welfare issues associated with purebred companion animals are examined in terms of predicted inherited diseases, highlighting the power of supply and demand in perpetuating traits in pets that compromise their well-being. The livestock industry is presented from the point of view of pig production and the impact that a major disease (pleurisy) has on production and the animals' welfare. The authors investigate the conflicting and complementary demands of animal welfare and economic gains during the transport and slaughter of livestock and poultry. Finally, wildlife species are considered in terms of their prevalence as pests, and the different types of economic analysis that have been conducted to understand the losses caused by these organisms. Also included in this example are decisions made about cost effectiveness and opportunity costs, and regulatory and financial barriers to the development of humane control agents. In conclusion, animal welfare is illustrated as a central factor in the benefits that humans enjoy from the role played by animals in society. There are, however, tradeoffs between optimal animal welfare and meeting the needs of modern human society.

Objective: This paper sets out to highlight the ongoing need for integrated teaching of business skills in the veterinary curriculum. Background:In response to the changing environment of the veterinary profession, it is important to understand the future needs of veterinary practitioners. While changes to the veterinary curriculum have been made in recent years, they have been highly varied across schools and little evidence is available on how these have improved students' non-technical skills, knowledge, aptitudes, and attitudes.

Change of land use and rustling indicate weaknesses in the producers' institutional environments. Water scarcity, limited access to veterinary services and substandard drugs supplied by vendors were identified as key factors contributing to persistence and frequent outbreaks of diseases. The paper revealed a greater importance of land constraints and rustling relative to disease and highlighted policy issues on management of natural resources and livestock development given challenges associated with pastoralism and insecurity in Nigeria.