AHP choice in cocoa post-harvest technology for small-scale farmers

Abstract

Ensuring that the post-harvest process yields good quality cocoa is a relevant research question. However, the literature currently lacks detailed studies of producers’ criteria for post-harvest technology selection. There is therefore a need for research that examines technology choice based on several criteria. This is the aim of our paper. We defined a cocoa post-harvest technology selection model to assist small producers in Ecuador. To do so, we employed the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to assess the following criteria: quality, processing cost and technology adoption capability. By considering only quality, we first performed a preliminary assessment of nine post-harvest technologies yielded by all possible combinations of fermentation and drying methods. Under the criterion “quality”, results show that no post-harvest technology is preferable to another. This implies that quality differences between producers do not derive from technology choice but rather from the rigour with which producers perform fermentation and drying processes. After adding the criteria “processing cost” and “technology adoption capability”, we performed the analysis again. This multi-criteria approach offered a better way to approximate small farmers’ real needs when selecting technology for cocoa post-harvest. Although quality was the highest-valued criterion, high scores attributed to some technologies in the other two criteria offset scores for quality. Thus, processing cost and technology adoption also emerged as relevant factors for small holders.

Penentuan Prioritas Sarana Pascapanen Jagung Untuk Menurunkan Kehilangan Hasil Dengan Metode Analytical Hierarchy Process (Ahp)

“…AHP dapat digunakan untuk menjelaskan proses pengambilan keputusan dengan memecahnya menjadi struktur hirarki multilevel yang terdiri dari tujuan, kriteria, subkriteria, dan alternatif 16 . Metodologi AHP telah menjadi alat penting dalam pengambilan keputusan dan banyak digunakan pada beberapa penelitian 17,18,19,20,21 . Salah satunya adalah penggunaan metode AHP pada penentuan alokasi fasilitas pertanian di China 22 .…”

Practical method for table grape selection using multicriteria decision análisis

“…Studies based on more recent and sophisticated methods like FITradeoff with the support of the Multi-Attribute Value Theory (MAVT) have been applied in an increasing way in recent years for the purpose of assisting decision making in the most diverse sectors (Camilo, de Souza, Frazão & da Costa Junior, 2020;Rodrigues, Casado, Carvalho, Silva & Silva, 2020;de Almeida, Frej & Roselli, 2021). In the agriculture sector, studies applied to viticulture can be obtained through statistical analyses and/or with multi-criteria selection software, such as ELECTRE GD, Selegen, ANOVA, R, among others (Aznar & Caballer, 2005;Marques-Perez, Segura & Maroto, 2014;Vera-Montenegro, Baviera-Puig & Garcia-Alvarez-Coque, 2014;Mir & Padma, 2016;Leyva et al, 2018;Crnèan, 2018;Vianna, Massignan & Dortzbach, 2019).…”