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Background: The onset of the coronavirus pandemic created diverse stressors for families with small children such as isolation, limited public and private childcare options, and balancing work and childcare. Fear of the future, feelings of uncertainty and loneliness led to a rise in mental health problems. Public family support services also faced significant challenges: while families felt more need for support, established means of reaching families and providing services were severely curtailed. Objectives: The current study aimed at capturing pandemic-related changes in family needs and at documenting experiences in the use of newly developed analog and digital services provided by public family support institutions in the city of Hamburg, Germany. Materials and methods: We conducted focus groups with staff members of different types of public family support services and parents who were using these services. Central topics of discussion were pandemic-related experiences and ideas for the future of public family support services. Results: Results confirm an increase in family pressures. Parents and staff members missed low-threshold accessibility of services and personal contact and dialogue. Creative approaches to complement services digitally were developed. Several of these approaches were considered beneficial, especially for reaching new target groups and strengthening interprofessional cooperation in the field. Conclusions: In-person support services need to be upheld. However, digital services can effectively complement analog formats. A successful combination requires effective resource distribution and staff member qualification measures.
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Tourists' preference for ecological attractions was boosted in the post-Covid-19 period and reinforced the importance of ecotourism around the world, with the appreciation of domestic trips to destinations marketed as sustainable. Therefore, the general objective of this article is to reflect on potentialities and challenges for ecotourism in the municipality of Rancharia (SP, Brazil). It should be noted that Rancharia is part of the "Sol do Oeste" and "Oeste Rios" Circuits, so there is a regional articulation focused on a tourism policy. The research methodology consisted of a theoretical review on the topic of ecotourism, tourism planning and tourism sustainability, highlighting study concepts and perspectives. Documents provided by the municipal government were consulted, such as the Master Plan, the Master Plan for Tourism Development and the Urbanistic and Environmental Master Plan. To complement the analyses, an interview was conducted with the Director of the Municipal Department of Tourism, the main activity management sector on a local scale. The results show that Rancharia has the potential to perpetuate ecotourism practices, especially when it is verified the presence of expressive natural resources in its territory and the title of Municipality of Tourist Interest (MIT) conquered in 2007, when it started to receive funds for investments in infrastructure tourism, as well as resources from the Improvement Fund for Tourist Municipalities to benefit the activity. On the other hand, the challenges are related to the opening of private properties to public visitation, as they have natural attractions that already motivate flows of people, however, they also lack investments in infrastructure for access and permanence of visitors. Likewise, it is necessary to sensitize the community to the value of ecotourism as an alternative to socioeconomic development. From this, it would be possible to structure an ecotourism itinerary with an emphasis on practices and leisure activities in contact with nature, attracting more tourist flows to the municipality.
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Public green spaces provide physical and mental respite, which have become essential and elevated services during the COVID-19 pandemic. As visitation to public parks and recreation areas increased during the pandemic, the challenge of maintaining visitor safety and protecting environmental resources was exacerbated. A key visitor safety practice during the COVID-19 onset was maintaining a physical distance of six feet (1.8 m) between groups. A novel data set documented and compared physical distancing compliance and off-trail behavior on multiple-use trails across multiple states and within select U.S. communities, attending to the impact of select environmental factors. Nearly 6000 observations revealed physical distancing compliance varied and the environmental factors of trail width, density, and signage influenced its variability. Similarly, off-trail movement was related to trail width and density. Clearly the environment matters as people negotiate the 'new normal' of physical distancing during physical activity and outdoor recreation participation. Given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and likelihood of future health crises, this project provides important information and insight for trail and other public green space management, monitoring, and modelling moving forward.
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The climate crisis and global pandemic have accelerated the urgency of providing safe drinking water services around the world. Global progress to safe drinking water is off-track with uncertain and limited data on the extent and performance of rural water service providers to inform policy and investment decisions. This report documents a global diagnostic survey to evaluate the status and prospects of rural water service providers from 68 countries. The service providers describe providing drinking water services to a population of around 15 million people through over 3 million waterpoints. The data provides information on the scale and sustainability of rural water services to examine: . The extent and type of professional water service provision in rural areas globally;. Self-reported metrics of operational and financial performance;and, . The size and scope of current rural service providers that could transition to resultsbased funding. Five major findings emerge. First, most service providers aim to repair broken infrastructure in three days or less. Second, almost all service providers reported at least one type of water safety activity. Third, most service providers collect payments for water services. Fourth, about one third of service providers reported major negative shocks to their operations from the COVID-19 pandemic. Fifth, non-governmental service providers in low income countries less often report receiving subsidies for operations, and more often report paying part of user fees to government, including through taxes. Most rural water service providers are working towards provision of affordable, safe and reliable drinking water services. Key barriers to progress include sustainable funding and delivery of services at scale. We propose four conditions to promote scale and sustainability based on policy alignment, public finance, professional service delivery, and verifiable data. To illustrate these conditions, we consider the differing context and service delivery approaches in the Central African Republic and Bangladesh. We conclude by identifying a group of 77 service providers delivering water services for about 5 million people in 28 countries. These 77 service providers report operational metrics consistent with a results-based contracting approach. Technical assistance might support many more to progress. We argue that government support and investment is needed to rapidly progress to the scale of 100 million people to provide evidence of pathways to universal drinking water services for billions more.
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Food supply chains (FSCs) have long been exposed to environmental variability and shock events caused by various economic, political, and infrastructural factors. The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed and identified the vulnerability of FSCs, and promoted integrated optimization approaches for building resilience. However, existing works focusing on general supply chains (SCs) and FSCs have not been fully aware of the distinct characteristics of FSCs in green logistics, i.e., the expiration of fresh products. In reality, perishable food materials can be processed into products of different processing levels (i.e., multi-level processing) for longer shelf lives, which can serve as a timely and economic strategy to increase safety stocks for mitigating disruption risks. Motivated by this fact, we study the problem of enhancing FSC with a multi-level processing strategy. An integrated location, inventory, and distribution planning model for a multi-echelon FSC under COVID-19-related disruptions is formulated to maximize the total profit over a finite planning horizon. Specifically, a two-stage stochastic programming model is presented to hedge against disruption risks, where scenarios are generated to characterize geographical impact induced by source-region disruptions. For small-scale problems, the model can be solved with commercial solvers. To exactly and efficiently solve the large-scale instances, we design an integer L-shaped method. Numerical experiments are conducted on a case study and randomly generated instances to show the efficiency of our model and solution method. Based on the case study, managerial insights are drawn.
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The purpose of the paper is to find out how COVID-19 has affected the sector of SMEs, especially in terms of its access to finance. In doing so we hypothesize that problems arising from both supply side and demand side of the business, have additionally restrained SMEs' access to finance, thus putting their short-to-medium term position to a threat. Research methodology includes descriptive statistical analysis of the results of a company survey of Croatian enterprises with respect to their current access to finance and expectations for the future. The survey was carried out on a sample of 40 small and medium sized companies in Split-Dalmatia County. The findings show that companies do not perceive many of the business risks as particularly threatening to their businesses. Still, this survey reveals a presence of a series of risks closely related to the current situation caused by COVID-19. These include increasing production costs resulting from rising costs of labor, capital, raw materials and other inputs (e.g. transport and logistics services), followed by increasing tax burden and stagnating productivity. Together with increasing costs, a fall in demand on both domestic and foreign markets, as well as a resulting decrease in sales, announce further problems that call for a strong policy response in the future. The main contribution of the paper is the finding that besides the problem of access to finance, the COVID-19 crisis has revealed other serious obstacles for SMEs which threaten to endanger the market position and competiveness of small business in the long run. By far the most serious problems for Croatian SMEs are that of a structural nature which include increasing costs and decreasing productivity. This research has additionally accentuated some serious obstacles from external environment which threaten to restraint SMEs' capacity to restructure and keep their competitive edge.
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Purpose: Education institutions can be slow to react to the changes that are happening in human capital development content and delivery. This article highlights some of the shifts that robotics, artificial intelligence (AI) and access to information are having on jobs in tourism and the future of work. It explores the ways in which the tourism education sector can respond. Design/methodology/approach: This paper draws upon content shared at several conferences and webinars addressing the future of work and the education delivery methods from experts and commentators on the subject. This was augmented by research conducted by global tourism associations, the World Economic Forum and other global associations and supported with secondary data from recent media and online content providers. Findings: By highlighting emerging trends in the sector and skills to thrive in the fourth industrial revolution, we can identify what education should focus on during this period of transition and uncertainty. We need to capitalize on the digital delivery skills we have developed due to COVID-19 and build new content and accessible learning approaches. Originality/value: There are many uncertainties about the future of work and the way that a rapidly digitized education delivery approach has and will affect tourism education in the future. This article is aimed to generate further thought and dialogue by identifying changes and raising points about what we are effective at in public post-secondary education and what we need to capitalize on and adapt to in the future. The core question posed is that if the tourism and hospitality workforce and work environment has changed, has, or can, tourism and hospitality training and education change as well?
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The livelihood of around 70% of the Indian rural population depends on the agriculture sector. In India, even the earnings of the non-agriculture sectors in terms of backward and forward linkage for agro-based businesses also get impacted by the production of agricultural products. However, issues like cereal-centric, regionally-biased, and resource-intensive production are still about the agriculture sector of India. The present study attempts to provide an insight into the present scenario of the Indian agriculture sector after providing a brief review of the agricultural literature. Through empirical analysis using multiple regression technique, it tries to find out the factors responsible for the growth of the Indian agriculture sector. The study also explores the potential impact of COVID-19 on the agriculture sector of India based on various secondary sources. The result shows that agriculture trade, level of rainfall, and infrastructure development is significantly and positively, while life expectancy and employment in agriculture are significantly and negatively impacting the agricultural contribution to the GDP of India.
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The purpose of this research is the pathology of Covid-19 consequences on PE in schools with representing the challenges based on other countries' educational programs and experience. Using the library study method, 100 articles were analyzed and the research data was classified into two forms of challenges and strategies. Findings showed that challenges have appeared including online education challenge (students, parents, and teachers), psychological and social challenge, formation of a new generation of PE students, change of the nature of PE class, challenge of the students with special needs, economic challenge, and school closure. In the second part, effective strategies such as providing counseling programs to solve online education problems, specific educational strategies, professional development for PE teachers, the role of family, parents, principals and school staff, psychological solutions, reducing incompatibility and instability of interpersonal relationships, maintaining the empirical nature and dynamism of PE class, and physical activity strategy after the reopening of schools have been introduced. Finally, the government and educational institutions alongside families can take effective steps, according to the contingent educational conditions, to improve and innovate PE programs in the country's schools, especially during Corona, while reducing the negative effects of Corona outbreak and using existing capacities.
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High price disparity is an economic problem that causes the welfare level of the population to be low. The government through the Sea Highway program tries to reduce price disparities through subsidized and scheduled sea transportation to serve several ports in Indonesia, one of which is in the province of Riau Islands. The Strait of Lampa Port is one of the marine transportation nodes which is a stopover point for Sea Toll boats on the T-3 route serving Natuna Regency. This port has the status of a regional feeder port with the hinterland area of Natuna Regency with Ranai as the district capital. This study aims to provide input related to the clustering of the Marine Highway program in Natuna from several perspectives, namely from the potential of regional commodities and infrastructure for Sea Toll services in the Natuna region. The analysis method used is descriptive qualitative and comparative. The results showed that for the cluster of the western region of Indonesian waters, in this case represented by a sample of the T-3 Natuna Islands Sea Toll route service, in terms of supply and demand from the homebase of Tanjung Priok Port, it is sufficiently balanced even though there are several superior commodities in the Natuna archipelago that have not yet optimally distributed, due to the low development and increase in added value of commodities. Based on the sample Sea Toll service route that has been selected for the Western Region of Indonesia, namely the T-3 route for the Natuna Islands region, several criteria that need to be considered in the future regarding the Sea Toll service cluster include regional commodities, Port infrastructure facilities and infrastructure, hinterland transportation facilities and infrastructure, and ship type and capacity.
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This paper is about revisiting the famed Kerala "Model" of Development. It covers a period of six decades, from 1960 to 2020. The remarkable achievements of the State of Kerala in India in basic human development indicators despite a very low per capita income had attracted the attention of development economists and other social scientists interested in the development of poor economies. However, it was often referred to as a case of "high human development with low per capita income". This paper traces the trajectory of high human development that ultimately resulted in high economic growth in terms of two phases of growth. It measures that the early demographic transition, that is a result of high human development, itself contributed to a high per capita income growth in the second phase. The sustaining of the high growth was also a direct result of human development through large scale emigration of adult males to the Gulf countries for employment resulting in a long-term trend in remittances to the Kerala economy. The role of favourable initial conditions and a vibrant public sphere has been highlighted to emphasize the role of public action in demanding the delivery of human development services from the sub-national state. In this otherwise positive scenario, the paper notes the highly skewed nature of the high growth process with a diminishing role for the commodity-producing sectors of agriculture and industry. It has adversely affected employment generation to the increasing working age population. Official measurement of unemployment has been argued as inadequate and in its place the concept of under-utilization of labour has been highlighted. The problem of high unemployment (those seeking work) and under-utilization of labour (both seeking and not seeking work) has been shown to be considerably higher for women than men. This has resulted in the under-utilization of the labour of a significant share of educated women in the working age population. This problem has been termed as a "spectacular failure" on the part of the state. The failure is rooted in the inability of the state to manage public finance as well as public investments. Three examples of these "state failures" are: (a) a declining revenue collection efficiency, (b) persisting loss of the public sector enterprises, and (c) waste of public resources due to time and cost overruns in public investments in basic infrastructure. The outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 in the background of the massive floods of August 2018 is portrayed as the beginning of a new challenge for Kerala's development trajectory.
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Covid-19 has had a significant impact on the real estate sector the world over. The significance of real estate to the Indian economy is substantial - both, in terms of GDP contribution and employment generation. As a supplier of both commercial and residential infrastructure, real estate acts as a fulcrum for growth and enables holistic socio-economic development. This paper studies the extent of the impact of Covid-19 on the Indian real estate sector, and evaluates the response to the challenges on the part of Real Estate Regulatory Authorities (RERAs) and other agencies in the real estate regulatory framework. Using primary data from a survey covering 257 respondents from 16 states, and secondary data from surveys conducted in two separate waves of Covid-19 - one by Anarock and another by the Confederation of Real Estate Developers' Associations of India - better insights are obtained. Notifications issued by RERAs and Ministries, RBI directives, representations made by various stakeholder associations, and a focus group discussion of experts and professionals are other in-puts used in the analysis of the regulatory response. The data indicate that the effect of Covid-19 on real estate has been severe, with the severity getting compounded after the second wave. The stress extends to all stakeholders in the real estate ecosystem. The measures announced by various regulatory agencies are considered inadequate by developers, who have argued for a more robust response, including GST and other fiscal changes. Experts recommend amendments to the RERA Act, as well as the use of technology and innovation for long-term adjustment.
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Agricultural activities in many African countries are bedevilled by a range of risk factors. Using micro-level household datasets from a range of countries in Africa, we examine the drivers of agricultural risks, while exploring the role of context as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on household welfare, with a focus on farm households relative to their non-farm counterparts. We demonstrate that the probability of experiencing risks related to agriculture is significantly influenced by a range of individual- and farm-level/contextual factors, with these effects showing considerable variations across contexts and countries in Africa. We also find that farm households witnessed important reductions in their incomes during the COVID-19 period in Uganda. The study contributes to the design of evidence-based approaches to reducing farmers' vulnerabilities to agricultural risks and pandemic-related shocks.
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Brazil's primary sanitation sector has been neglected, especially concerning rural sanitation. Population dispersion and the difficulty of access in many rural communities bring more significant challenges to the universalization of the service and, consequently, vulnerabilities for the population. The present work builds a theoretical framework about the context of rural sanitation in Brazil, with history, weaknesses in the sector, the impact of COVID-19 and new technologies, and central public policies in the State of Pernambuco. It is known that COVID-19 has caused considerable challenges that, added to the obstacles to national sanitation, result in greater vulnerability to the population, especially for indigenous peoples, quilombolas, and diffuse rural communities. In the State of Pernambuco, certain policies, such as the One Million Rural Cisterns Program (P1MC), One Land and Two Waters Program (P1 + 2), Agua Doce Program and Operacao Pipa Program, significantly improved the quality of life of the rural population. However, these measures are not enough to remedy the sector's shortcomings. Although alternative sanitation technologies bring hope to the sector, there is a long way to go towards the universalization of sanitation.
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This article presents the results of the five waves of the National Income Dynamics Study - Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey (NIDS-CRAM) on food security between May 2020 and May 2021. Despite significant investments in social protection, food insecurity and household and child hunger remained stubbornly high. We conclude that given the protracted nature of the pandemic, slow economic recovery, household and child hunger have stabilised at higher levels than before the pandemic. The phasing out of emergency relief coupled with the constrained economic situation, are some of the reasons why levels of food insecurity and hunger are likely to remain high in the near future. Strict lockdown regulations also reduced employment and income from informal economic activities. Social support for vulnerable individuals and households remain an urgent priority. Continuing support targeted at households with children is particularly important given the dire consequences of enduring hunger for stunting, and on children's long-term development.
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The purpose of this study was to analyze the impetus that the pandemic caused by the new Covid-19 coronavirus will provide to the acceleration of the automation of the Port Logistics processes in the Port of Callao in Peru. The study was carried out from a qualitative approach, using the conceptual - inductive and phenomenological method as specific methods. Likewise, to collect the information, the in-depth interview technique applied to six specialists involved with the Port of Callao and its different operations was used. The information collected from the informants was developed through the synthesis and the Atlas.ti software. Regarding the investigative findings and conclusions, the pandemic has changed the way of conducting international business around the world, and a gap has opened in relation to the use of social networks, the internet and the tools that it brings with it. have become indispensable for this economic area, and also for the processes of exporting and importing goods and services, in the same way, to stop contagion and the spread of the virus, the governments of each country have adopted measures that have affected both producers as well as consumers.
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Background: Uganda's budget authority has faced increased fiscal pressure caused by a sudden drop in revenues from the economic slowdown and new expenditure pressures associated with COVID-19 impacts. Consequently, the country has responded by reprioritizing the budget towards 7 sectors, i.e., agriculture, health, education, trade and industry, social development, works and energy. These sectors respond to the government's objective of increasing household and firm production and productivity, providing jobs, reducing the health impacts of coronavirus, supporting poverty reduction efforts, promoting exports and enhancing economic growth. Methods and Data: This paper estimates public development budget allocative and technical efficiency for 7 priority sectors that address government policy objectives. Both allocative and technical efficiency are analysed using ratio calculation. However, for some cases, technical efficiency is analysed based on the difference between target and actual outcomes. We calculate the ratios for the 7 sectors based on the votes and outputs. Furthermore, we use a threshold of 80%, which we deem sufficient to determine whether a budget output is inefficient or not. Budget outputs below 80% are considered to be underperforming. Data on allocative efficiency was provided by MoFPED directorate of budget and that on technical efficiency from budget performance reports. The study period considered for this paper runs from 2016/17 to 2020/21. Findings: While we observe high allocative efficiency in a majority of the proposed reprioritisation sectors, there is much variation in budget funds and their utilisation due to: i. A missing link between policy objectives and budgets. Notably, there is a mismatch between wage and non-wage or capital expenditure (CAPEX) allocations, implying inadequate human resources are required to implement the policy objectives, consequently leading to poor outcomes despite the funding provided for CAPEX. This was endemic in the agriculture and health sectors. ii. Duplication of budget outputs reduces flexibility and accountability and increases monitoring costs. This calls for the consolidation of similar budget outputs, but this should be done with consultation from key stakeholders. iii. There are variations in utilisation of domestic relative to the external development financing with unmet outcomes. This could be a case of stringent donor monitoring requirements and delays in procurement. This calls for strict monitoring of the domestic development financing to ensure results. iv. Relatedly, health budgets exhibit an over-reliance on external financing. However, donor funds are largely not integrated into government budgets and may challenge any planned re-allocation. Hence, there is a need to open a discussion with the donors on the possibility of re-channelling financing to other key priority sectors/outputs in line with the country's short-term goals. v. Generally, as observed in the health and education sectors, budgeting is still based on the output/ institution-based system rather than service. This makes it complex to pool resources, spend and strategically purchase goods and services. There is a need to build stronger linkages between budget allocations and sector priorities. This can also enable the implementation of strategic purchasing and incentivize accountability for sector performance. vi. In addition, there is generally an absence of proper transition towards programme-based budgeting (PBB). For example, numerous budget outputs in the trade, tourism and industry sector do not have performance indicators that weaken the link between strategies, annual plans, sector policies and budgets. vii. Generally, we recommend that new road construction should be paused in the short term so that the available funds can be rechannelled to other urgent and critical areas.
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Purpose: The purpose of this study is twofold. First, to consider the ways in which transportation could be more sustainable in North Cyprus, which is mostly dependent on tourism and higher education as a small island destination. Second, to investigate current issues in the transportation sector related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Design/methodology/approach: This study employed a qualitative approach, and a descriptive analysis technique was used to analyse semi-structured interviews, conducted by telephone and face-to-face. To investigate current problems in the North Cyprus transportation sector - one of the most affected by the pandemic - travel agencies were chosen as the study's population and research participants were selected purposively. Findings: The findings indicate that the unpredictability of domestic policies combined with the structural challenges confronting North Cyprus contribute to unsustainable current transportation policies. North Cyprus transport and tourism both suffered significant losses during the pandemic but travel agencies were disproportionately impacted. Our study results showed that exorbitant ticket prices, taxes and transportation costs have emerged as the most significant issues in the transportation sector. Research limitations/implications: More efficient and accurate policies that meet the needs of the sector and give opportunity for development are required. This is a critical issue for policymakers to address, as they also represent a significant barrier to the sector's long-term competitiveness. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first qualitative study to look at North Cyprus' transportation problems from the perspective of travel agencies and the impact of the pandemic. It is thought that this study will contribute to the development of solutions for transportation problems and sustainable practices in small island developing states.
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Due to the spread of COVID-19 and the closing of the borders of a large number of countries, tourists' interest in domestic tourist destinations has grown. The objective of this paper is to identify future behaviour patterns of tourists and to propose measures that would affect the interest of domestic tourists in domestic destinations after COVID-19. The study starts with an analysis of the impact of COVID-19 on global tourism, then focuses on trends in the tourism market in Serbia and ends by examining citizens' attitudes towards key factors for domestic tourism development. It is estimated that tourism can benefit from an essential understanding of tourists' demands for a safe journey. Research results indicate statistically significant differences in the attitudes of respondents in relation to age, gender and education, but most respondents believe that it is necessary for the state to invest more in tourist infrastructure and to adjust pricing policy to remain competitive domestic destinations after Covid-19.
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The American Rescue Funds Program seeks improvements to infrastructure, capacity, and diversification in meat and poultry processing, with clear prioritization of increased competition via small- and medium-sized processing facilities. The need to euthanize animals at a time when retailers were rationing meat sales was one of several examples of market failures during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated the disruptions to agricultural meat, poultry, and egg production at $15 billion based on CFAP and CFAP2 payments. Marani et al. (2021) estimate the probability of a repeat event at 1% to 2% per year, justifying the use of these public funds to add surplus capacity and infrastructure to mitigate disruptions in case of recurrence. Economics of scale are modest beyond slaughter of more than 125 head per hour in beef plants and 2,000 head per day in pork plants (Duewer and Nelson, 1991;Ollinger, MacDonald, and Madison, 2005). Dozens of such "medium-sized" U.S. pork and beef processing plants have survived since 2000, typically relying upon niche market connections. Given historic processing plant construction costs for medium-sized plants (Aherin, 333333 2021) and an assumed 20% USDA grant to incentivize construction, a $100 million expenditure on each of the beef and pork plants creates an opportunity to add as much as 5% additional capacity for each species, easing current capacity as the industries prepare for local and export growth. Whether producer-ownership of capacity can generate stability and additional benefits in the supply chains is of key interest. Models of producer ownership-including cooperatives and carefully structured LLCs-allow livestock producers to capture processing margins and remove some of the price uncertainty around live animal prices to the plant and producer. It follows, too, that producer-ownership can therefore reduce the ability of existing larger plants to poach supply from medium-sized plants during the crucial startup phase and ensure that plants run at optimum capacity. A significant portion of the additional capacity added to the pork industry in the last 15 years exhibited some form of producer ownership. Anecdotally, the pork and beef sectors may be moving away from commodity production and into systems that maintain animal identity from farm to consumer. Producers have an opportunity to capitalize on this shift by collectively investing in medium-sized plants with the ability to preserve identity and be more responsive to evolving consumer preferences. An overarching concern is of the need to maintain capacity into the future and the potential of existing packers to acquire this subsidized capacity should medium sized processing fail.