Browsing by Author "Vink, Nick"

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    Application of science and technology by the South African food and beverage industry
    (Academy of Science of South Africa, 2018) Ronquest-Ross, Lisa-Claire; Vink, Nick; Sigge, G. O.
    Significant shifts in the type of foods consumed by South Africans have taken place since 1994 and packaged food and beverage innovation has accelerated since then. Globally, advances in science and technology have benefitted food processing and food manufacturing technologies and systems. Significant capital investments have been made by the South African food and beverage manufacturing industry (SAFBMI). It is, however, not clear which technology areas have received investments and for what purposes. The objective of this study was thus to understand how the SAFBMI has invested in and applied science and technology since 1994. Data were sourced from food and beverage trade magazines, dating from 1986 to 2012. Trends over the past 30 years were analysed to determine the application of science and technology. The findings suggest that the dairy, soft drinks and bakery sectors have been most active. The main advances were to upgrade manufacturing facilities and build new plants to increase capacity, deliver new products and improve efficiencies and product quality and safety. Investments to improve thermal processing and packaging were also noted. We found evidence of the application of commercially available new preservation technologies and a low level of experimentation with non-commercial novel technologies by the SAFBMI. South Africa appears to be keeping pace with advances in food manufacturing in automation, process control and quality and food safety practices, material handling, and centralised distribution centres with warehouse management systems. Continued investment in food science and technology research will ensure that the growing consumer demand for packaged foods and beverages is met.
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    The development of vegetable enterprises in the presence of transaction costs among farmers in Omusati Region of Namibia : an assessment
    (Elsevier, 2020) Vink, Nick; Thomas, Benisiu
    The paper investigates how transaction characteristics influence the development of vegetable enterprises among smallholder farmers in north-central Namibia. As transaction costs are difficult to measure the theoretical framework of analysis is based on transaction costs economics of new institutional economics. The results revealed that the spot market-based governance structure was the most preferred market arrangements by smallholders farmers in north-central Namibia because vegetable farmers struggle to meet the quality and quantity standards as required by the contractors market-based and commission market-based arrangements. The results also suggest that due to incomplete information, farmers and market agents suffer from high transaction costs. Skewed information distribution between farmers and marketing agents leads to slow development of vegetable enterprises. The study recommends that information shared to farmers must be packaged in an adequate manner to minimise transaction costs in the vegetable value chain.
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    Effects of economic growth, foreign direct investment and internet use on child health outcomes : empirical evidence from South Africa
    (Taylor & Francis, 2020-02) Salahuddin, Mohammad; Vink, Nick; Ralph, Nicholas; Gow, Jeff
    This study examines the effects of economic growth and foreign direct investment (FDI) on child health outcomes measured by Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and Child Mortality Rate Under 5 (CMRU5) with several control variables such as corruption, inequality and HIV among others. It analyzes South Africa's annual time series data for the period 1985–2016. As variables were found with mixed order of integration, Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) model is applied to determine cointegration and estimate short-run and long-run coefficients. Results indicate that economic growth and FDI have negative significant effects on both indicators of child health outcomes in both the short run and the long run. This implies that both economic growth and FDI contribute towards reducing IMR and CMRU5 in South Africa and thus help improve child health outcomes. Toda and Yamamoto (TY) causality test confirms causal association between these variables. Policy implications are discussed.
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    Food consumption changes in South Africa since 1994
    (Academy of Science of South Africa, 2015) Ronquest-Ross, Lisa-Claire; Vink, Nick; Sigge, G. O.
    Food consumption patterns in South Africa have changed dramatically over the past decades and likely will continue to change over the coming decades. Various food-related studies conducted over the last few decades indicate that food consumption shifts in South Africa have been towards a more Westernorientated diet, with nutritional consequences contributing to increased obesity and other non-communicable diseases. Several sources of data may be used to examine patterns in food consumption over time. Each of these methods has its own merits depending on the desired outcome, but are difficult to compare as each measures different levels of dietary information. As a result of the lack of regular national or comparable food consumption data in South Africa, the objective of this study was to establish, through the use of databases (FAOSTAT food balance sheets and Euromonitor International© Passport), the broad food and beverage consumption shifts in South Africa since 1994. Our findings indicate that food consumption shifts have been towards an overall increase in daily kilojoules consumed, a diet of sugar-sweetened beverages, an increase in the proportion of processed and packaged food including edible vegetable oils, increased intake of animal source foods, and added caloric sweeteners, and a shift away from vegetables. The largest shifts in food consumption were observed for soft drinks, sauces, dressings and condiments, sweet and savoury snacks, meat, and fats and oils. Convenience, health and nutrition, and indulgence were the main drivers of the increase in consumption of packaged foods and beverages. These shifts in food consumption are concerning as relates to their fat, sugar and salt composition and potential effect on public health.
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    Understanding farmers' preferences for wastewater reuse frameworks in agricultural irrigation : lessons from a choice experiment in the Western Cape, South Africa
    (South African Water Research Commission, 2016-01) Vink, Nick; Saldias, Cecilia; Speelman, Stijn; Van Huylenbroeck, Guido
    Wastewater has emerged as an alternative source of water. Since the agricultural sector remains the largest water user world-wide, it is the main potential user of treated wastewater. However, while there are trade-offs in using wastewater, it may be the only option in water-scarce regions. South Africa has included water reuse as a policy option; hence the aim of this study is to understand farmers’ preferences regarding water reuse frameworks for irrigation. A choice modelling approach was applied to identify the elements defining these frameworks and to quantify their relative importance amongst farmers in the agricultural hinterland of Cape Town. The findings suggest that water reuse is acceptable to farmers in the area. Furthermore, they prefer options that guarantee good quality water and low levels of restrictions on use practices. Due to low trust in water service providers, farmers are willing to pay for a privately-managed scheme for water reuse, which suggests that the management model for implementing such schemes is important.