Rice and Potato Farming in Australia: A Case Study

INTRODUCTION

As a person with experience and knowledge of rice and potato farming in Australia as well as organic farming practices and genetic engineering of food crops, the author has always brought up to his superiors the viability of strategy formation regarding its analysis and at times fail to understand the reasons or logic behind certain strategic implementations imposed on it.

By delving into this project paper, the author intends to have better insights into how the consumption behaviour in Australia is thought up, formulated and then interpreted. The author hopes to have an in-depth understanding as to how the changes in customer eating behaviour and their impacts enable the country to compete effectively and profitably in this era of internationalization where competition is extremely intense.

In order to reinforce the learning objectives, two key focal issues were focussed upon i.e. innovation and diversity. Innovation was discussed with regards to the consumption behaviour in Australia where it was renowned for its developmental capabilities to constantly innovate. Diversity came under strategic thinking and formation as the author considered the diverse culture, political climate, economic surroundings, social environment, technological settings, government policies and legal systems of Australia in order to better understand the consumption behaviour in Australia.

Rice and Potato Farming

Rice and potato farming in Australia has blossomed over the years because of the efficient and effective implementation of the farming strategies and tasks necessary to gain abundant rice harvests. Rice and potato farming in Australia focuses on the careful management of the farming processes involved in the production and distribution of rice (George et al. 2002).

More often than not, small rice and potato farms in Australia don't really have the capabilities to implement efficient consumption behavior studies. Instead, these farms engage in activities that various schools of agriculture typically associate with consumption behavior. These activities include the monitoring of rice and potato, rice and potato development, production and distribution.

However, consumption behavior deals with all operations done within rice and potato farms and plantations. Factors such as the alternative eating habits, the emerging trends, logistics and evaluations are often related with consumption behavior. A great deal of emphasis lies on the efficiency and effectiveness of processes. Therefore, consumption behavior includes the analysis and management of internal processes (Audebert et al. 1998).

Consumption Behavior in the Hospitality Industry

A. Alternative Eating Habits

Gone are the days when Australians work on their desks for eight hours a day. Today’s employees want to become as productive as possible while in their offices and interact with different individuals and groups in different settings. The technological advancement in genetic engineering among a variety of foods including potato and rice has allowed workers and employees to access quality and healthy food products in an instant. Because of this rigorous and hectic schedule of employees, it became imperative for them to indulge in healthy meals with rice and potatoes as staple food to help them ease the pressure after every day’s work (Jones, 1999).

 

B. Customer Eating-out Behavior

Normally, customers typically choose the best quality of food based on two (2) main factors:

Convenience

The Australian rice and potato farms’ dedication to quality for almost three generations now has led to the satisfaction of millions and millions of its customers worldwide. Australian rice of the medium grain Japonica variety was produced by a group of people who pursued the best quality and craftsmanship in terms of rice farming. The Australian rice and potatoes that its customers and citizens eat today is still being produced using nothing but the original and unparalleled farming strategies discovered three generations ago by the Australian farmers. Their mild sweet taste, fresh aroma, bright color and clarity are obtained by using only the purest planting materials without risks of insecticide and pest infestation (Sahrawat et al. 1997).

Health

The raw materials in the farms used in the production and harvesting of Australian rice and potatoes are able to meet the high quality standards and specifications. The packaging materials where Australian rice and potatoes are sold are also being subjected to strict quality standards. In line to the Australian farm’s policies in food safety, appropriate measures are taken in the milling process of Australian rice and potatoes and all of their brands to prevent the possible contamination. Australian farms implement the principles of the HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points) system as a testament to their dedication to quality (Asch et al. 1999).

 

Emerging Trends

A. Organic Farming Practices

The occurrence of various organic farming practices within Australia reflects the growing difficulty in the management of the procurement of food for
consumption in commercial hospitality operations that require the effective use of valuable resources such as money, materials, equipments, and people. And Australia is no exception to these. This is the reason why organic farming practices are being done by Australian farmers in order to implement and endorse it as the most effective way to coordinate these resources through the application of organic farming methods derived from fields of studies such agriculture, crop science and agronomy (Lin, 1998).

Through organic farming practices, food procurement problems are solved in different ways and alternative solutions are then relayed to the farm management. The farm management then selects the appropriate course of action in line with the food procurement goals. More often than not, organic farming practices are concerned with complicated issues such as naturally occurring biological processes, crop resource allocation, designing of crop production facilities and systems and crop diversity.

Organic farming actually may vary according to the structures of farms and philosophy of the farm management. But in most cases in Australia, it centralizes in green manure and composting. Organic farming may also have the possibility of utilizing natural pest control methods and livestock raising in order to identify and solve a variety of food procurement problems.

No matter what the type or structure of the farm is, organic farming operates under similar sets of methodologies in order to carry out the organic and natural way to support the food procurement process.

 

B. Genetic Engineering of Food Crops

The genetic engineering of food crops determines the best ways to utilize the basic factors of food procurement. These resources include the people, materials, information, and energy needed in the production of genetically engineered foods. Genetic engineering of food crops is the bridge that links the goals of food procurement and farm performance although in an unconventional way. Genetic engineering is concerned with the increase in productivity in food procurement through the genetic modification of a particular food crop and choosing the appropriate methods to enhance its nutritive value without endangering the health of the people (Grove-White, 1997).

Genetic engineering of food crops makes sure that it performs the careful analysis of the food crops and the target nutrient requirements that will be modified. In this process, they make use of various mathematical methods in its research to meet the requirements. They also develop systems of management control in order to aid in the planning of finances and cost analysis in the process of genetic engineering. These systems are eventually subjected to improvements for the effective distribution of genetically engineered food crops.

This process of genetic engineering of food crops performs the tedious task of selecting which among the various food crops have the best combination of availability and costs. This time, genetic engineers make use of computers for simulations and controlling various activities and devices.

 

Implications for Pricing

Rice and potato farms in Australia base their pricing strategies on several key trends that continuously shape the global marketplace of rice and potatoes. One particular trend is labeled as “premium-tization” (Pham et al. 1989). This phenomenon causes the polarization of different rice and potato markets. This would then trigger the consumers to demand and pay much higher prices for perceived rice and potato quality. However, discounting in prices of rice and potatoes are also simultaneously taking place, therefore squeezing out the middle range. More often than not, rice and potato farms undergo internationalization which leads to a tighter squeeze for shelf space. This will in turn leave them as winners. It is for this reason why Australian rice and potato farms value the “premise sector” so much because this would allow consumers to try their brands at low risk and price.

In terms of market segments, premium and specialty brands of organic and genetically engineered foods in Australia have a disproportionate share of volume growth at an estimated 4-5% per year, as against the 2-3% overall growth rate. These rates come up as a result of both the rise in GDP among developing markets and consumer demands for higher value propositions, which is obviously dominated by international brands. Therefore, Australian farms have to increase its portfolio and operate globally to overcome the home market. Australian farms practically operate on a relatively fragmented market, with other farms accounting for 22% of global organic and genetically engineered food volume five years ago and only about 28% today (Dingkuhn, 1996).

Improving the Production and Distribution of Food in Australia

Rice and potato farms in Australia have been able to maintain their reputation as one of the world's leading rice producers for more than 130 years now. They are able to face the challenges in many of its markets directly. This is made possible by the effective production and distribution strategies aimed to deliver not only profit growth, but also on building down the foundation of rice in Australia (Jones et al. 1996).

The production and distribution strategies of Australia are focused mainly on driving the growth of its rice and improving the farm’s financial performance. These may include both genetic engineering of food crops as well as organic farming practices. These strategies have also helped secure significant acquisitions and partnerships. And more importantly, these strategies have led to the release of the potentials of the Australian farm’s farmers, thus building a quality performance- based culture (Futakuchi et al. 1998).

The production and distribution strategies of Australia’s farms are practically reinforced by the local employees themselves. These moves certainly allow the rice farms to improve even more without the costs of introducing new technologies. These efforts have resulted in increased financial gains for the farms in Australia and have allowed the establishment of distribution networks for Australia’s food products, whether natural or genetically engineered.

 

CONCLUSION

The results of the analysis carried out on the rice and potato farming of Australia indicated very significant effects, even amidst the threats of unrest. Therefore, we could conclude that the rice and potato farming in Australia could still be expected to improve faster than average.

The review of the food consumption behavior in Australia revealed very little inconsistencies regarding the farming strategies of Australian farms. This is coherent with their traditional inside-out approach. However, the need to reconcile both the inside-out and outside-in approaches becomes imperative now for the Australian farms.

The analysis among the implications of pricing as well as the improvement in the distribution and production of food revealed certain gaps, most of which are biased towards the environment. However, these gaps paved the way towards determining a number of recommended strategic options to secure the competitiveness of Australian foods.

Also, the Australian farms have to find a balance between adherence to internal forces within the management and to the changing forces of the environment in order to implement such strategic options.

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