Completed NRP 73 research project: Enhancing supply chain sustainability

The “Enhancing supply chain sustainability” project examined how the sustainability and resilience of the global supply chains supplying Switzerland can be enhanced. Despite numerous sustainability initiatives, there are still many challenges in this respect, and the various participants in the supply chains need to improve their resilience in order to be in a position to cope better with the increasing shocks affecting global chains.

Taking cocoa supply chains as an example, the project showed that the biggest environmental impact in cocoa supply chains took place at farm level, but relying on farmer training alone to achieve the widespread adoption of sustainable cocoa farming practices is not sufficient.

Where sustainable procurement practices within the supply chains were concerned, difficulties arose in relation to pricing, inadequate communication and lack of support. Farmers’ relationships with their direct buyers were complex, and the degree of trust and commitment between farmers and their direct buyers varied from one relationship to another.

The project found that farmers with high short-term absorptive capacities could counter the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic more successfully. The project therefore suggests that studies on farm resilience should address specific strategies against known risks.

 

More information:

More information on the research project

 

Selected publications:

Tennhardt, L. et al. (2022) “Do environmentally-friendly cocoa farms yield social and economic co-benefits?,” Ecological Economics, 197, p. 107428.

Bergez, J.-E. et al. (2022) “Integrating agri-environmental indicators, Ecosystem Services Assessment, life cycle assessment and yield gap analysis to assess the environmental sustainability of Agriculture,” Ecological Indicators, 141, p. 109107.

Diogo, V. et al. (2022) “Developing context-specific frameworks for integrated sustainability assessment of Agricultural Intensity Change: An application for Europe,” Environmental Science & Policy, 137, pp. 128–142.

Schader, C. et al. (2021) “How is organic farming performing agronomically and economically in sub-Saharan Africa?,” Global Environmental Change, 70, p. 102325.

Home, R., Weiner, M. and Schader, C. (2021) “Smart mixes in international supply chains: A definition and analytical tool, illustrated with the example of organic imports into Switzerland,” Administrative Sciences, 11(3), p. 99.

 

Contact:

Dr. Christian Schader
+41 62 865 04 16
christian.schader@fibl.org