Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Fakultät - Wirtschaftsgeographie

New DFG project: Apples and flowers

November 2021

 

Effects of pandemics on the (Re-)Organization of Commodity Chains for Fresh Agricultural Products: In November 2021, the DFG project began to investigate global commodity chains using apples and flowers as an example. The research takes place in cooperation between the Geographical Institute (HU), under the direction of Prof. Dr. Kulke and the sociological faculty of the Technical University, under the direction of Prof. Dr. Baur. In this process, Jakob Engel will concentrate on the investigation of the global commodity chains of flowers from Kenya and the Netherlands for the German market. The consideration is based on the changes that were caused by the Covid-19 pandemic in the processes of the supply chains. The aim of the study is to find out how the chains are organized before, during and after the pandemic in both countries and how they are compared with one another. The research group at the Technical University focuses on two commodity chains of apples between Chile and Germany and within Germany. 

 

Januar 2023

 

During the DFG project "Apples and Flowers", many exciting results were generated during several field visits last year. Through a six-week field phase in the period from February to April 2022, various stations of the value chain for flowers, especially roses, were visited in Kenya. This focused mainly on the Naivasha region, the Rift Valley, the urban and peri-urban areas of Nairobi. During various discussions, interviews and site visits, valuable data on the impact of shocks and crises on the flower value chain could be generated. The current research results relate to the Covid 19 pandemic, the effects of the Ukraine war, and various natural events. Here, especially the rising costs of energy and transport airfares as well as supply shortages of fertilizers or pesticides pose challenges for Kenyan stakeholders.

 

Contact: eager.trans-net@hu-berlin.de