2. Literature Review
Supply chain management has recently become a popular topic.
The principles can be implemented in several industries, including agriculture. The stakeholders in the supply chain should be virtually integrated by establishing coordination, collaboration and sharing information throughout the whole supply chain so that the total system-wide costs can be minimized while the service level is satisfied [1][2][3].
Some recent research can be applied directly to farmers, such as studies of: analysis of key factors for a farmers choice of crop [4]; production costs of small-, medium- and large-size rice farmers in Bangladesh [5]; the relationship between farm size and performance in U.S. dairy farms [6]; producers and the changing production and marketing environment, to help farmers compete in the long run [7]; the integration among farmers and other parties in the same supply chain [8][9]; the role of contract farming in Latin America [10]; value addition and value creation to the rice supply chain [11]; and the improvement of production efficiency [12].