Supply Chain for Change (SC4C): A System Dynamics Analysis for the Potato SC at the Wholesale Market of Lima, Peru

Food insecurity is a critical problem worldwide, and wholesale markets play a fundamental role in guaranteeing the availability and accessibility of food - for this paper, potatoes-to final customers in Lima, Peru. Wholesale markets have been understudied in food environments from a Systems Dynamics (SD) perspective. The present research aims to explore how the Great Wholesale Market of Lima (GWML), the principal wholesale market in Peru, affects the accessibility and availability of the potato value chain in Lima. We use the SD approach to understand the role of the wholesale market by identifying dynamics and the major system archetypes. The results show that investment in knowledge and proper tools could decrease costs, reduce waste and increase productivity, growing food accessibility and sales. We argue that this may lay the foundation for a future modeling study where systems and technology improvements in the wholesale market may be tested.