Identifying barriers to sustainable apple production: A stakeholder perspective

Shan Jin; Wenjing Li; Yiying Cao; Glyn Jones; Jing Chen; Zhenhong Li; Qian Chang; Guijun Yang; Lynn J Frewer

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.114082

Identifying barriers to sustainable apple production: A stakeholder perspective

J Environ Manage. 2022 Jan 15;302(Pt B):114082. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.114082. Epub 2021 Nov 11.

Authors

Shan Jin¹, Wenjing Li², Yiying Cao³, Glyn Jones⁴, Jing Chen⁵, Zhenhong Li⁶, Qian Chang⁷, Guijun Yang⁸, Lynn J Frewer⁹

Affiliations

¹ School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK. Electronic address: S.Jin13@newcastle.ac.uk.
² School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK; College of Economics and Management, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, China; Institute for Agri-Food Research and Innovation, FERA Sciences Ltd., National Agri-Food Innovation Campus, Sand Hutton, York, YO41 1LZ, UK. Electronic address: liwenjing@mail.hzau.edu.cn.
³ RSK ADAS Ltd, Spring Lodge, 172 Chester Road, Helsby, WA6 0AR, UK. Electronic address: Yiying.Cao@adas.co.uk.
⁴ School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK; Institute for Agri-Food Research and Innovation, FERA Sciences Ltd., National Agri-Food Innovation Campus, Sand Hutton, York, YO41 1LZ, UK. Electronic address: Glyn.d.Jones@fera.co.uk.
⁵ Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, 100081, China. Electronic address: chenjing@caas.cn.
⁶ College of Geological Engineering and Geomatics, Chang'an University, Xi'an, 710054, China; School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK. Electronic address: zhenhong.li@chd.edu.cn.
⁷ Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Beijing, 100081, China; Information Technology Research Center, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China. Electronic address: changqian@caas.cn.
⁸ Key Laboratory of Quantitative Remote Sensing in Agriculture of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing Research Center for Information Technology in Agriculture, Beijing, 100097, China; Information Technology Research Center, Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Beijing, 100097, China. Electronic address: yanggj@nercita.org.cn.
⁹ School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK. Electronic address: lynn.frewer@newcastle.ac.uk.

Abstract

Apple is one of the most important cash crops in China. However, negative economic, environmental and social impacts are associated with its production. This study aims to apply a holistic systems perspective to understand existing problems associated with apple production in China and use this information to improve its sustainability. A structured survey was administered to farmers (n = 245) in Shandong and Shanxi provinces, combined with semi-structured interviews with apple supply chain stakeholders (n = 25). Themes, dimensions and relationships were identified based on an inductive thematic analysis of interview data, and then triangulated against the survey data. Interpretive Structural Modelling and Cross-Impact Matrix Multiplication Applied to Classification methods were applied to investigate interrelationships and effects of the elicited elements within the system. The results indicated that various environmental, economic and social problems are associated with apple production in China, including environmental and health risks associated with synthetic input applications, yield instability, deterioration of apple quality, farmers' uncertainty about accessing routes to market, and the ageing farming workforce. The interaction of socio-economic and supply chain issues has contributed to the system "lock-in" to unsustainable practices within the apple production system. Existing agricultural policies were ineffective as they did not include policy leverage to mitigate the multiple factors driving lock-in to unsustainable practices within the system. The research has provided evidence to enable policymakers to develop effective and targeted strategies to facilitate sustainable production within the apple production system. In particular, the future policy mix should consider the entirety of the food system including perspectives and requirements of different stakeholders. The three-stage approach applied has demonstrated its feasibility of investigating sustainability issues facing a particular industry within a specific cultural and policy context.

Keywords: Apple production; Food system; Interpretive structural modelling; Lock-in; Policy; Sustainability.

MeSH terms

Agriculture
Crops, Agricultural
Farmers
Farms
Humans
Malus*