Sweetpotatoes in a Globalizing World : The Effects of Globalization on North Carolina's Sweetpotato Industry

ECU Author/Contributor (non-ECU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)

Hilda Linda Noël Bryan (Creator)

Institution

East Carolina University (ECU )

Web Site: http://www.ecu.edu/lib/

Advisor

Holly M. Hapke

Abstract: This study examines the form and effects of globalization on North Carolina's sweetpotato industry. A commodity chain analysis was conducted by constructing North Carolina's sweetpotato commodity chain (SPCC) through the collection of quantitative data and interviews with various individuals (growers packers exporters etc.) within North Carolina's sweetpotato industry. This study has demonstrated that there are several effects of globalization seen throughout the sweetpotato commodity chain including the changing roles of the various actors within the SPCC and how North Carolina's sweetpotato industry functions through changes in marketing distribution and various technologies. As globalization has unfolded the SPCC has expanded and lengthened incorporating new sets of actors such as third-party food safety auditors into its nodes who have influenced the particular form of globalization within the North Carolina sweetpotato industry. Institutions that have played a particularly influential role have been the state and grower organizations. Findings have also shown that an industry must be prepared through investments in technology marketing and distribution in order to meet the demands of new buyers that globalization brings to a commodity chain. Globalization comes swiftly when an industry is ready to meet the demands of entering the global market as this study shows by tracing the history of North Carolina's sweetpotato industry and its role in the global sweetpotato economy. Finally I show that globalization has had positive and negative effects on North Carolina's sweetpotato industry suggest how these effects can be used as learning tools for other industries yet to globalize and suggest further areas of research within the sweetpotato economy. 

Additional Information

Publication

Thesis

Date: 2013

Keywords

Geography, Agriculture economics, Agriculture, commodity chain analysis, globalization, international markets, research, sweet potatoes

Subjects

Sweet potato industry--North Carolina

Globalization--North Carolina

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