Use of delivered energy in a food process chain [Elektronische Ressource] : a case study of the Kenyan fluid milk chain / presented by: Grace Chitsaka Mwangome

Mwangome, Alfred A. (Alfred Augustus) Grace

Informations

• Publié par: justus-liebig-universitat_giessen
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 112
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Use of delivered energy in a
food process chain: A case
study of the Kenyan fluid
milk chain


A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of
Agricultural, Nutritional and Environmental
Sciences (FB 09) in partial fulfilment for the
requirements of the award of a Doctorate in
Agricultural Sciences of Justus-Liebig-University
Gieβen, Germany



Presented by:
Grace Chitsaka Mwangome., MSc.
from
Kilifi, Kenya








Declaration

I hereby declare that this dissertation is my original work and that it has not previously been
presented to this or any other university in partial fulfilment for the award of any degree.

ii











Dedication


To my sweet little angels Lynn Ndimu and Liam Musyimi and my soulmate Mwongela
Musyimi. To my parents and siblings: you have all believed in me. To all the Mijikenda
women aiming for academic excellence.








iiiThis dissertation was presented to the faculty of Agricultural, Nutritional and Environmental
Sciences of the Justus-Liebig University-Giessen, Germany and was examined and defended
thon 28 April 2009.


The dissertation defence jury was composed of


Prof. E.-A. Nuppenau
Institute for Agricultural Policy and Marketing
Senckenbergstrasse 3
35390 Giessen
Germany


Prof. E. Schlich
Institute for Agricultural Technology
Stephanstrasse 24
35290 Giessen
Germany


Prof. S. Bauer
Institute of Farm and Agribusiness Management
Senckenstrasse 3
35390 Giessen
Germany


Prof. S. Hoy
Institute of Animal Breeding and Genetics
Bismarckstrasse 16
35390 Giessen
Germany


Prof. D. Braeunig
Institute of Household Science
Bismarckstrasse 37
35390 Giessen
Germany









ivAcknowledgements
I would like to sincerely acknowledge my first supervisor Prof. Ing. Dr. E. Schlich. He
has supported me from the beginning as I applied for the DAAD scholarship that gave me the
opportunity to travel to and study in Germany. Additionally, his invaluable support and
supervision during the entire period of study is part of what has made this work a success. I
also thank my second supervisor Prof. S. Bauer for his support during the entire period of this
research. Prof. S. Mahungu and Prof. Faraj of Egerton University Njoro are thanked for their
collaborative efforts during data collection in Kenya. My sincere thanks also go to current
members of staff and former colleagues at Prof. Schlich’s research group: Susanne Schroeder,
Birgit Schieber, Frank Krause, Bettina Herdtert, Daniela Thorme, Bernd Weber, Mr Ulrich
Bauer and Mrs Doris Wagner are all thanked for their various forms of support. I also express
my gratitude to Ms Carolina Babendererde: Manager of Environmental Affairs in Tetra-pak –
Germany for taking interest in my work from the very beginning and offering her unwavering
support to me.
The painstaking process of data collection would have been completely impossible
were it not for the selfless efforts of the Managing Director of Kilifi Plantations- Mr Chris
Wilson. I therefore would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Mr Wilson for his
invaluable input. I would also like to thank Mr Bartenge, Head of Production at the New-
KCC and all factory managers of the participating New-KCC branches countrywide for their
cooperation in this work. All the staff of New-KCC who helped me in data collection
especially: Mr Keter Kipleting- Sotik, Mr Alex Mureithi- Nyahururu, staff in Kiganjo, Molo
and Miritini, Mr Gervas Ngati of Dandora are sincerely thanked. My gratitude must also go to
the General Manager of Brookside Dairies Company Ltd: Mr David L. Heath and all his
friendly and helpful staff team who assisted me to carry out this survey at their premises. The
plant managers: Mr. George Ouma at Ol’kalou, Mr Karimi in Kiganjo and Mr Ruto in Eldoret
whose support is greatly appreciated are also thanked. The General Manager of Limuru Milk
Processors Ltd. and his staff are also thanked. The efforts of the management and staff of
Adarsh Developers were also very much appreciated. The Managing Director of Tetra-pak –
Kenya, Mr Lindgren, and Mr Felix Kariuki of Tetra-pak are also thanked for their assistance.
The members of my relatives and friends are also thanked: the Mazeras, the Mulewas, the
Waihenyas, Esther Nyambura, Mrs Wanjiru Githua, Margaret Mathenge and Irene Anzazi for
hosting me as I travelled the vast countryside to collect data. I thank Alice Temu for her
support in this work. I also express my gratitude to Diana for carefully reading through my
work and editing it, and the entire Christian family of IBC Giessen for their spiritual support.
vMost of all, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my family. My loving
husband: Dr. rer. nat. B. Mwongela Musyimi for his complete and dedicated support and
encouragement during the entire period of my Doctoral studies. My daughter: Lynn Ndimu
and my son: Liam Musyimi for being tender and patient children during the period when
‘Mama’ had to study. Your sacrifices are incalculable and cannot be appreciated enough; I
surely could not have managed if you were not there for me. I am also extending my
appreciation to my parents: Mr and Mrs William and Lydia Mwangome, sisters: Dr Nimwaka,
Kaeni and Mbeyu and their families- Dr Mwangi Githua, Cello Githua, Felicity Njeri and
William Mwangome, my brother Muye for always believing in me and supporting me in
unaccountable ways. I am also thanking Mwendwa and Maanzo Musyimi, Raphael Munyao,
Robert Mailu and their families for their continued support. I thank my friends Amukelani,
Annette Schauss and her daughter Lisa for spending time with Lynn so I could work.
Last but not least, I sincerely would like to thank the German Academic Exchange
Service (DAAD- Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst) for awarding me the
scholarship to travel to and study in Germany, without which none of this work would have
been accomplished.
viAbstract
Food is a basic need, but so is a sustainable society. There is an urgent need to
increase our knowledge on the environmental consequences of food production, processing
and handling in order to make improvements that promote sustainability (Berlin, 2002).
However, in order to make real improvements in the environmental performance of a food
supply chain, specific empirical data on systems energy requirements need to be assessed in a
specific manner prior to decision making (Owens, 1997). The theory of ecology of scale may
hold an important key to more sustainable food processing as it suggests that the major
influence on ecological performance of food supply chains results from the scale associated
with the involved companies (Schlich, 2008).
The present study sought to gather empirical data on the delivered energy
requirements of the Kenyan fresh milk chain while applying the Life Cycle Assessment
(LCA) technique. The study aimed at investigating whether the operation efficiency as
influenced by the size of the surveyed dairy enterprises is more important than corresponding
transport distances by regarding all energy efforts in this process chain. Energy balances were
used as a component of LCA to establish the energy consumption, and from this database the
primary energy and environmental impacts were then calculated as carbon dioxide (CO ) 2
emissions related to the main processes involved in this milk chain. The total energy uses
were then allocated to a functional unit of 1 kg of milk ready for retailing to obtain the
specific energy use. Comparisons were then drawn between the specific energy turnovers and
corresponding business sizes presented as milk throughput per year. The environmental “hot
spots” (life cycle steps that are more burdensome to the environment) were also identified.
This method has also been extensively applied by Schlich et al., (2006) to investigate a
number of food supply chains, such as lamb, wine, beef and pork. Strong logarithmic
digression relation between firm size and specific energy turnover were observed; thus
supporting the theory of ecology of scale similar to the findings of this study. Additionally,
this study also identified the farming stage as an important environmental hot spot, consuming
the most energy compared to all other stages investigated in this product chain. Diesel
emerged as the most important fuel useful for any energy saving interventions aimed at
reducing the CO emissions of this product chain; although electricity and wood were also 2
quite popular.
The application of energy balances as part of the LCA methodology is useful in
studying the environmental performance of food supply chains in developing economies to
establish hot spots and optimum business sizes for more energy-efficient food supply chains.
viiKurzfassung
Lebensmitteln zählen zu den Grundbedürfnissen des Menschen neben Kleidung und
Behausung, ebenso wie eine nachh