This text is part of the special Research section: climate issues
Rethinking supply chains in the agri-food industry so that they are local and greener is the research project led by a professor from the School of Management Sciences (ESG) at the University of Quebec at Montreal. The initiative, called Carotte AA, received nearly $400,000 from the New Frontiers in Research Fund.
It was with surprise that Carène Tchuinou Tchouwo received this financial support. “It was the first time I created something of this magnitude. I almost didn’t believe it at first. But I was very happy,” rejoices the one who is an assistant professor in the Department of Management at ESG-UQAM.
The project started this year is also carried out in collaboration with researchers from Université Laval, Polytechnique Montréal and members of the 4POINT0 group, a partnership for the organization of innovation and new technologies, she explains. “We also have collaborators at the University of Ottawa and McGill University,” she explains.
Carotte AA is interested in certain aspects of supply chains in order to make them more socially and environmentally responsible. “We are trying to improve collaboration between supply chain actors. With greater transparency towards consumers, better traceability of food, of the products we eat,” summarizes the woman who is the principal researcher of the initiative.
Thus, the project aims to provide more information about where food comes from and how the food was grown. “Because right now it’s a happy mess.” We don’t really know what to trust,” notes Catherine Beaudry, full professor at Polytechnique Montréal and director of 4POINT0.
“If your tomatoes were picked by temporary immigrants who are exploited on the farm, it may leave a bitter taste in your mouth when you eat them,” illustrates the woman who also holds the Canada Research Chair in management and economics of innovation.
More resilient chains
The pandemic has exposed flaws in supply chains, says Mme Tchuinou Tchouwo. “Often, we realize that the living and hiring conditions of workers are not always respected,” she emphasizes about the health crisis.
While she believes that the war in Ukraine has created smaller-scale impacts in Canada, in Europe we have seen stock shortages of certain products, which contribute to inflation, she says. “It shows that today, chains are not necessarily resilient. When there is a problem in one link in the food chain, all the others are a little turned upside down,” she observes. Thus, its project aims in particular to increase the resistance of supply chains to fluctuations caused by events occurring around the world.
A “geopolitical” question, M believes for his partme Beaudry. “As a food exporter, Canada cannot say to itself “I no longer buy anything from you and we grow everything at home”. But there is still an issue with the origin of our food. Are people underpaid and living in terrible conditions in their country? » she asks.
Increased collaboration
Mme Tchuinou Tchouwo notes gaps in collaboration between the different actors in the supply chain. “There are many who work in isolation. There is a lack of communication because they have divergent interests,” she observes.
Researchers also hope to see how new technologies, such as blockchain (blockchain in English), could contribute to greater product traceability. This technology is currently mainly used in finance, to ensure better transparency.
The project also aims to bring increased environmental responsibility to the agri-food industry. A study conducted by the journal Nature Food concluded that transporting food around the planet generates three billion tonnes of greenhouse gases. A balance sheet 3.5 times higher than the latest estimates. The richest countries, including Canada, account for 52% of these emissions. “It’s quite overwhelming and major for us,” explains the professor.
The team of researchers is currently working on a comprehensive review of the literature to establish indicators for measuring social and environmental responsibility. “With everything we have found, we will confront this with stakeholders in the agricultural chain to see what they think. We will talk with these people and see what their realities are. »
Sustainable food autonomy
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