Professor Derek Baker

Professor , Agribusiness - UNE Business School

Derek Baker

Phone: +61 2 6773 2627

Mobile: +61 429 905 093

Email: derek.baker@une.edu.au

Biography

LinkedIn:Derek Baker

Derek Baker is Professor of Agribusiness and Value Chains. His research interests are in measurement and analysis of food industry performance, particularly in the development of empirical supply chain analysis. A research and project manager by profession, Derek has worked in the private and public sectors of food, farm and primary industry in over 40 countries.

Qualifications

PhD (Agricultural Economics) Pennsylvania State University 1991.

B Agr Sc (Hons I) Massey University 1984.

GCERT (Research Management) University of Melbourne, 2016.

MTEM (Research Management) University of Melbourne, in progress

Awards

  • UNE Faculty of Science, Agriculture, Business and Law Teaching Award for development of an agribusiness teaching initiative taking agribusiness students abroad for study tours and instructing them in agribusiness case study methodologies (2019).
  • Short listed for best project awards by IFAD for project "Innovative Beef Value Chain Development Schemes in Southern Africa" in the category “Impact on poverty reduction” (2014).

Teaching Areas

Teaching areas and award
Undergraduate Level

ECON101

OSSE 300

BUS301

HORT 420

Post-graduate Level

BUS501

OSSE500

HDR supervision topic areas
  • Network analysis of primary industry
  • Supply Chain and Value Chain performance analysis
  • Quantitative modelling of whole-chain systems
  • Innovation and technology uptake in primary industries
  • Policy toward primary industries and whole-chain development
  • Social Enterprises

Primary Research Area/s

Food and Agribusiness; Supply chain; Livestock systems; Agricultural and food policy; International development; Inofrmation systems

Research Interests

  • Agrifutures project on Impacts of net zero Carbon on Australian agribusiness and producers
  • Future Food Systems CRC, with NSW Framers, on farmer engagement with 30x30 growth strategy
  • USAID project on GHG emissions' measurement in Ethiopia
  • Food Agility CRC Grand Challenge Food for Life Australian supply chain resilience
  • ACIAR project on Ethiopian livestock data
  • Agrifutures project on Digital Transformation in Chicken Meat
  • NSW Local Land Services training
  • World Bank project on Digital Transformation in downstream food supply chain

Research Supervision Experience

Past research/teaching grants and consultancies
  • Australian Meat Processor Corporation on Innovation in Red Meat Processing
  • Agrifutures on Investment Analysis for Rural Roads
  • Border Regional Organisation of Councils on Rural Infrastructure
  • CSIRO on Rural Infrastructure Investment
  • FAO project on Livestock Data Measurement
  • IFPRI on Value Chain Analysis for Product Marketing
  • IFPRI on training in Value Chain Analysis
  • ILRI on Dairy Development Economics
  • Australian Organic
HDR supervision data

Kanar Hamza – System Dynamics of Agricultural Value Chains

Yue (Nikki) Zhang – the Value of Supply Chain Information in the Red Meat Industry

Matthew Wysel – Management of Information Platforms

Thi Lan Vu - Coffee transaction mechanisms in Vietnam

Lorraine Gordon – Alternative Beef production Systems

Zenal Asikin – Business Models in Indonesian Beef Value Chains

Peter Musinguzi – Social Enterprise in Rural Areas

Publications

2022 in preparation

  • Asikin, Z., D. Baker and R. Villano “New Business Models for Smallholder Cattle Producers in Indonesia: a cluster analysis of survey data”
  • Zhang, Y., N. Huang, E. Morales, D. Baker and G. Griffith “Determinants of upstream producers’ willingness to share information about product quality”
  • Da Silva, A. and D. Baker “Food Loss and Food Waste: The Lack Of Consensus On Definition And Measurement"
  • Musinguzi, P., D. Baker, N. Larder and R. Villano “The Measurement of Social Impacts in Social Enterprises that Target Rural Development: A Systematic Literature Review of Empirical Studies”
  • Musinguzi, P., D. Baker, N. Larder and R. Villano (accepted for 2021, under revision) “Identification of Critical Success Factors in rural focused Social Enterprises: a multi constituent approach and guide to further research directions” Journal of Business Venturing Insights

2021 Published

  1. Nur Fajrina, Derek Baker and R.R. Rukmowati Brotodjojo (2021) “Covid-19 and its effect on home gardening behaviour in Indonesia” Proceedings of Southeast Asia Vegetable Symposium 2021. Yogyakarta, 18-20 Nov 2021
  2. Wysel, M., Baker, D., & Billingsley, W. (2021). Data sharing platforms: How value is created from agricultural data. Agricultural Systems 103241 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2021.103241
  3. Cook, S., Jackson, E. L., Fisher, M. J., Baker, D., & Diepeveen, D. (2021). Embedding digital agriculture into sustainable Australian food systems: pathways and pitfalls to value creation. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability,
  4. , 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1080/14735903.2021.1937881
  5.  
  6. Thi Hoa Pham and D. Baker (2021) “The adaptation strategies of flower and vegetable growers to COVID-19: survey indications from the Central Highlands of Viet Nam” Agribusiness Perspectives24:10
  7. Nur Fajrina, D. Baker, and R.R. Rukmowati Brotodjojo (2021) “The local-level impacts of COVID-19 on Vegetable Consumption at selected locations in Indonesia” Agribusiness Perspectives 24:9
  8. Graham, P., D. Baker and G. Griffith (2021) “Relationship Quality and Innovation in a High Value Export Supply Chain” Australian Agribusiness Review 24: 10
  9. Perry, M., D. Baker and G. Griffith (2021) “Environmental Issues in the Tasmanian Salmon Supply Chain, and Commercial Response” Agribusiness Perspectives 24:11
  10. Baker, D., S. Mounter, B. Sung, M. Thander-Wynne, A. Voinov, F. Taghikhah (2021 under review and formatting with publisher) “Resilience in Australian Agri-food Supply Chains: tools for assessment and management” Food Agility CRC.

Memberships

  • Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education
  • Australian Research Management Society
  • International Society of Farm Management
  • Australian Institute of Agriculture (NSW) (2015)
  • Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society (Branch President 2018 - 19)
  • International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (Board Member 2018 - )
  • European Association of Agricultural Economists
  • Nordic Food Innovation Group
  • Fulbright Scholars’ Alumni Association
Other school/university/external roles

Co-ordinator, minor dissertations

Senior Common Room for UNE’s Robb College

Management Committee Member, UNE SMART REGION INCUBATOR

Co-trainer and manager of UNE teams for IFAMA Student International Case Study Competition (With Dr Stuart Mounter and Ms Sally Strelitz)

Consultancy Interests

Development economics

Agro-industrial adjustment

Regional Economics

Livestock production and marketing

Community and Advocacy Organisation Collaborations

What a Waste: A global townhall meeting on Food Waste (with Armiodale Regional Council, Sustainable Living Armidale and the NSW Environmental Protection Authority

NSW Circular (Office of NSW Chief Scientist and Engineer)

Local Councils' road infrastructure policy

Armidale Business Council audit of business skills in the community  and business needs