Lean manufacturing in agriculture: adapting the value stream mapping approach for farm management

Lean Manufacturing (LM) is a notorious approach for increasing productivity in manufacturing industry. However, there is a great potential for using its tools and principles in other economic sectors, among which the agricultural sector stands out. Seeking to contribute to exploring this potential, this article proposes an adaptation of the Value Stream Mapping (VSM) tool for the agricultural context. A case study conducted on a coffee farm was used to validate the adaptations. Graphical presentations of the Current and Future State Maps proposed are presented. The paper demonstrates that the VSM is a valuable tool for rural managers because it is simple to understand and use. It also has important potential gains for the process, like increased productivity and competitiveness of agricultural production. The paper also makes novel theoretical propositions for adapting VSM to agricultural production conditions.