Figure 1
The model diagram is titled “Direct benefits to the milk processor (Not in the scope of this study)” and shows eight latent variables, each represented by a circular node. The model includes two vertical dashed rectangles labeled “Farmer development” on the left and “Sustainable farmer performance” on the right, each comprising three latent variables. The “Farmer development” rectangle comprises “Farmer Training (F T),” “Financial Support (F S),” and “Evaluation and Feedback on Farmer’s Quality Performance (E F F Q P).” The “Sustainable farmer performance” rectangle comprises “Economic Sustainability (E S),” “Social Sustainability (S S),” and “Environmental Sustainability (E n v S).” Three small squares labeled “R,” “H,” and “I P” are placed on the right of each sustainability variable — “E S,” “S S,” and “E n v S” — and have dashed arrows pointing to them. Between these two rectangles are two latent variables: “Farmer Capability (F C)” positioned at the top center and “Processor-Farmer Relationship (P F R)” positioned at the bottom center. Three upward diagonal arrows extend from “Farmer Training (F T),” “Financial Support (F S),” and “Evaluation and Feedback on Farmer’s Quality Performance (E F F Q P)” labeled “H 1,” “H 2,” and “H 3,” pointing to “Farmer Capability (F C).” Two small squares on the left of “Farmer Capability (F C)” labeled “R” and “H” have dashed arrows pointing toward it. From “Farmer Training (F T),” “Financial Support (F S),” and “Evaluation and Feedback on Farmer’s Quality Performance (E F F Q P),” three downward diagonal arrows labeled “H 4,” “H 5,” and “H 6” point downward toward “Processor-Farmer Relationship (P F R).” A vertical downward arrow labeled “H 7” connects “Farmer Capability (F C)” to “Processor-Farmer Relationship (P F R).” Two small squares on the left of “Processor-Farmer Relationship (P F R)” labeled “R” and “H” have dashed arrows pointing toward it. Three diagonal downward arrows labeled “H 8 a,” “H 8 b,” and “H 8 c” extend from “Farmer Capability (F C)” to the three right-side latent variables “Economic Sustainability (E S),” “Social Sustainability (S S),” and “Environmental Sustainability (E n v S).” Similarly, three diagonal upward arrows labeled “H 9 a,” “H 9 b,” and “H 9 c” extend from “Processor-Farmer Relationship (P F R)” to “Economic Sustainability (E S),” “Social Sustainability (S S),” and “Environmental Sustainability (E n v S).” A single dashed rightward arrow labeled “H 10 asterisk” extends from “Farmer development” to “Sustainable farmer performance.” At the bottom, a note reads: “R is a binary control variable representing the farming region (0 equals Upcountry and 1 equals Low Country); (2) H is a continuous control variable representing herd size; (3) I P additional training received over and above the regular training conducted at the farm by the milk company’s officer when they visit the farm, and occasional invited short training at the milk company’s milk collection center (No equals 0, Yes equals 1); (4) The hashed grey arrows, extending from the three farmer development constructs to the three farmer sustainable performance constructs, indicate artificial paths to demonstrate the robustness of the theoretical model (collectively represented by H 1 to H 9 c) through the specification of the null hypothesis, H 10.”Theoretical model. Source: Authors’ own work