Sustainable Food Chains and Ecosystems

Konstantinos Mattas is a Professor of Agricultural Policy at the School of Agriculture, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. His research interests include agricultural and social policy, rural development and interdisciplinary work. He has published more than 200 papers in internationally refereed journals, collective volumes and proceedings, contributing to several international journals. He is Managing Editor of the Agricultural Economics Review, Associate Editor of the International Review of Applied Economic Research, and a member of the editorial board of New Medit, Journal of International Food and Agribusiness Marketing, Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science, Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing, Economia Agro-Alimentare, South-Eastern Europe Journal of Economic and Cooperative Management. He also has great experience in participating and coordinating European and national research projects.

Henk Kievit is Faculty Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, Governance & Stewardship as well as Program Director of the Executive MBA programs Food & Innovation/Business & IT/Public & Private Tracks at Nyenrode Business University, The Netherlands. His research includes a variety of topics in (social) entrepreneurship, governance of society, innovation in the circular economy, network- and eco-system organization, and sustainability marketing. He teaches in executive MBA and MSc programs. He is Professor of Organization & Innovation in Regional Eco-systems at the Christian University of Applied Sciences, Ede, The Netherlands, and Visiting Professor at the Silesian University of Technology, Poland. He has published in internationally refereed scientific journals and contributed to scientific and academic books on social venturing entrepreneurship, sustainability, corporate governance and innovation and business eco-systems. He has held senior management positions in the international business of information technology, family (venture) philanthropy and impact investments organizations.

Gert van Dijk is Distinguished Professor of Social Venturing and Cooperative Economics at TIAS, School for Business and Society, Tilburg University. He is Director of the Netherlands Institute of Cooperative Entrepreneurship and Visiting Professor at the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania, CIHEAM-MAICh. and co-founder of Kucheza, a Dutch company establishing New Generation Cooperatives in agricultural modernization projects. He is Emeritus Professor of Cooperative Business Administration and Management at Nyenrode Business Universiteit, Emeritus Professor of Microfinance and Microinsurance at the same university, and Emeritus Professor of Theory and Practice of Cooperation in the Department of Marketing at Wageningen University. He was Director General of the Netherlands Council of Cooperatives, President of the European Federation of Agricultural Cooperatives and a member of the Board of Directors of Rabobank.

George Baourakis is the Director of the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania, CIHEAM-MAICh since June 2012, and the Studies and Research Coordinator of the Business Economics and Management Department of CIHEAM-MAICh since 1989. He has co-ordinated and participated in a large number of EU (FP 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th, INTERREG I, II and III-Archimed, MED, ENPI CBC MED, Tempus, Phare, Life, Lifelong Learning, Leonardo Da Vinci, European Social Fund, etc), international and national-regional research projects. He is Affiliate Professor in Marketing and Supply Chain Management, at the Centre of Entrepreneurship, Nyenrode University, The Netherlands, while he has also been appointed Distinguished Research Fellow in food marketing management at several universities. He has published numerous papers in internationally refereed scientific journals, presented extensively at i

Unarguably, preserving the ecosystem, securing sustainability and understanding the dynamics of agro-food chains have all become vital policy objectives with several interlinked dimensions. The main objectives of this book are to draw the attention of researchers, policymakers and businesspeople to the relation between agro-food chains and the ecosystem, and to demonstrate the importance of building resilient agro-food chains that take into account climate change and environmental challenges. Agro-food chains as they function today can serve as powerful tools for promoting sustainable forms of agriculture, consumption and production that are embedded in a viable ecosystem. The book addresses a range of environmental, methodological and societal issues from a transaction perspective, while also providing extensive background information on the topic, and outlining future applications and research directions.

Presents latest research at the interface of sustainable food chains and economic ecosystems

The Economics of Climate Change in Agriculture: A Review on Kazakhstan and Turkey.- Food Chains and Ecosystem Services through a Resilience Lens.- Analysis upon the Development Potential of Food Industry in EU28.- An Overlook of the Economic Benefits of Value-based Food Chains to Maintain Farms Operating in Less Favored Areas.- Statistical Analysis on the Impact of Online Travel Agents' (OTAs) Commission Structure on Hotels' Revenue Management.- A Retrospective View of the EU Policy Reforms in the Olive Oil Sector and Future Perspectives.- CAP's Impacts upon the Selling Points of Agricultural Supplies and Local Economy.- Making 'soft' Economics a 'hard science': Planning Governance for Sustainable Development through a Sustainability Compass.- Impact of Arabic Spring on the Competitiveness of Arab States' Agricultural Exports to EU Markets.