The scope of this book is Operations Research methods in Agriculture and a thorough discussion of derived applications in the Agri-food industry. The book summarizes current research and practice in this area and illustrates the development of useful approaches to deal with actual problems arising in the agriculture sector and the agri-food industry. This book is intended to collect in one volume high quality chapters on Methods and Applications in Agriculture and Agri-food industry considering both theoretical issues and application results. Methods applied to problems in agriculture and the agri-food industry include, but are not restricted to, the following themes: Dynamic programming Multi-criteria decision methods Markov decision processes Linear programming Stochastic programming Parameter estimation and knowledge acquisition Learning from data Simulation Descriptive and normative decision tree techniques, including: agent modelling and simulation, and state of the art surveys Each chapter includes some standard and traditional methodology but also some recent research advances. All the applications presented in the chapters have been inspired and motivated by the demands from the agriculture and food production areas.

Based on the 2018 International Joint Conference on Industrial Engineering and Operations Management (IJCIEOM) conference that took place in Lisbon, Portugal, this proceedings volume is the first of two focusing on mathematical applications in digital transformation. The different contributions in this volume explore topics such as health care, social technologies, mathematical programming applications, public transport services, new product development, industry 4.0, occupational safety, quality control, e-services, risk management, and supply chain management. Written by renowned scientists from around the world, this multidisciplinary volume serves as a reference on industrial engineering and operations management and as a source on current findings for researchers and students who focus in business models, digital literacy and technology in education, logistics, production and information systems, and operations management.

Operations Management in Agriculture bridges the knowledge gap on operations management for agricultural machinery. It complements traditional topics (cost of using and choosing machinery) with advanced engineering approaches recently applied in agricultural machinery management (area coverage planning and sequential scheduling). The book covers new technologies in bio-production systems (robotics, IoT) and environmental compliance by employing a systems engineering perspective with focuses on sub-systems, including advanced optimization, supply chain systems, sustainability, autonomous vehicles and IT-driven decision-making. It will be a valuable resource for students studying decision-making and those working to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of production through machinery choice. Covers agricultural machinery management related courses and a number of other courses within the agricultural engineering discipline Provides core tools for machine operations management, including machinery selection and cost of usage Presents current knowledge for agricultural machinery management in a science-based format

Sustainable Development and Pathways for Food Ecosystems: Integration and Synergies is a science-based reference which explores the roles played by agri-food ecosystems, their functions and needs, and the importance of the interdependencies among them. This book explores the relationships between food ecosystems, highlighting each entity's role in transforming, preserving, and conserving the others. It is a vital resource of information on the ecosystems that surround the food supply chain and includes all processes, from primary production of food through consumption. The book covers the agricultural and farming phases; processing and transformation; storage and consolidation; packaging; transportation; the management of waste and losses; and the supply and conservation of enabling resources like materials, biodiversity, energy, and water. Sustainable Development and Pathways for Food Ecosystems: Integration and Synergies is a useful reference for academics, researchers, policymakers, and industry professionals involved within the agri-food sector management. - Provides information on sustainability challenges, developments and solutions related to food ecosystems - Discusses the impact of renewables toward sustainable and zero-carbon food ecosystems - Summarizes the scientific literature on alternative valorization strategies to reduce biomass - Defines boundaries of analysis of entities, input/output flows, constraints and performance goals to measure data

Agriculture is the product of a complex mixture of behavioural, biophysical and market drivers. Understanding how these factors interact to produce crops and livestock for food has been the focus of economic investigation for many years. The advent of optimisation algorithms and the exponential growth in computing technology has allowed significant growth in mathematical modelling of the dynamics of agricultural systems. The complexity of approaches has grown in parallel with the availability of data at increasingly finer resolutions. Farm-level models have been widely used in agricultural economic studies to understand how farmers and land owners respond to market and policy levers. This book provides an in-depth description of different methodologies and techniques currently used in farm-level modelling. While giving an overview of the theoretical grounding behind the models, an applied approach is also used. Case studies range from the application of modelling to policy reforms and the subsequent impacts on rural communities and food supply. This book also provides descriptions of the use of farm-level models in much wider fields such as aggregation and linking with sectoral models. Its purpose is to show the reader the methods that have been employed to inform decision-makers about how to improve the economic, social and environmental goals required to achieve the aims of multidimensional policy.

This book presents strategies and techniques highlighting the sustainability and application of microbial and agricultural biotechnologies to ensure food production and security. This book includes different aspects of applications of Artificial Intelligence in agricultural systems, genetic engineering, human health and climate change, recombinant DNA technology, metabolic engineering and so forth. Post-harvest extension of food commodities, environmental detoxification, proteomics, metabolomics, genomics, bioinformatics and metagenomic analysis are discussed as well. Features: Reviews technological advances in microbial biotechnology for sustainable agriculture using Artificial Intelligence and molecular biology approach. Provides information on the fusion between microbial biotechnology and agriculture. Specifies the influence of climate changes on livestock, agriculture and environment. Discusses sustainable agriculture for food security and poverty alleviation. Explores current biotechnology advances in food and agriculture sectors for sustainable crop production. This book is aimed at researchers and graduate students in agriculture, food engineering, metabolic engineering and bioengineering.