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Rizq, Manal B.S. (2025) Exploring the Feasibility and Acceptance of a Digital Platform for Surplus Produce: A Qualitative Study of Irish Farmers. Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.
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Abstract
Food loss and waste (FLW) are a challenge with implications for the environment and economy. Previous evidence has primarily focused on consumer behaviour and the role of supply chains in addressing FLW. Little is known about food surplus at the farm level in high-income countries, and particularly in the Irish context. In this qualitative study, we aim to explore the feasibility and acceptance of a proposed digital platform, AgriLoop, to help Irish farmers manage and distribute surplus produce. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten Irish farmers from Dublin County and the surrounding regions. A thematic analysis of the transcripts was performed, which generated six main themes in our sample: (1) multi-faceted challenges of surplus produce, (2) desired platform features, (3) failures of past alternative sales routes, (4) conditions for trust and platform adoption, (5) current disposal practices, and (6) first impressions of AgriLoop. The findings of our analysis highlight the constraints and pressures faced by Irish farmers, which include operational constraints, a lack of infrastructure, and market friction. These challenges contribute to the on-farm FLW by making the operation to manage surplus costly and time-consuming. A universal desire was expressed for a digital platform that facilitates managing surplus through providing secure payment systems, a vetted buyers database, and logistical support. Trust was the single most prominent condition for adoption among farmers, which has two main parts: institutional legitimacy and peer-based reputation mechanisms, according to the themes observed in our sample. While farmers have shown cautious optimism about the concept of the platform, its success depends on aligning its features with farmers' expectations. This study provides new evidence about insights from the farmers' community in Ireland regarding FLW and a blueprint for designing scalable surplus redistribution platforms. These findings underscore that surplus produce is a multifactorial issue that requires a solution with a participatory design in order to solve it, and not merely a technological challenge, as well as answering the questions regarding the feasibility of the AgriLoop platform.
| Item Type: | Thesis (Masters) |
|---|---|
| Supervisors: | Name Email MacDonald, Rob UNSPECIFIED FitzGerald, Maurice UNSPECIFIED |
| Subjects: | S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General) T Technology > T Technology (General) S Agriculture > S Agriculture (General) > Farming Industry |
| Divisions: | School of Business (- 2025) > Master of Science in Entrepreneurship |
| Depositing User: | Ciara O'Brien |
| Date Deposited: | 12 Feb 2026 10:27 |
| Last Modified: | 12 Feb 2026 10:27 |
| URI: | https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/9130 |
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