Precision Agriculture under a bibliometric view

Precision Agriculture comprises techniques to monitor and control the differentiated application of agricultural inputs, considering the variability of cultivation areas over time to increase productivity and maintain environmental sustainability. Its current form considers the use of high-tech equipment to ensure food safety in the future and, therefore, constantly seeks research that produces innovations for the sector. However, there is a tremendous challenge in evaluating scientific development, given the large volume of information. This study aimed to carry out a scientific mapping of Precision Agriculture from a set of bibliometric techniques supported using the R bibliometrix tool. Based on this objective, the research questions were formulated and answered throughout qualitative quantitative and descriptive exploratory study. The data processing resulted 5,807 articles (13,705 authors) obtained from 1993 to 2020. Among the main results, there is constant growth in the number of publications, especially between 2016 and 2020; more significant concentration among countries, forming well-defined collaboration subnetworks through their institutions; presence of expressive central themes in the research with a high density of studies, such as the use of remote sensing combined with machine learning techniques, due to the growing trend in the amount of processed data

Digitalization in food supply chains: A bibliometric review and key-route main path analysis

Technological advances such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, big data, social media, and geographic information systems represent a building block of the digital transformation that supports the resilience of the food supply chain (FSC) and increases its efficiency. This paper reviews the literature surrounding digitalization in FSCs. A bibliometric and key-route main path analysis was carried out to objectively and analytically uncover the knowledge development in digitalization within the context of sustainable FSCs. The research began with the selection of 2140 articles published over nearly five decades. Then, the articles were examined according to several bibliometric metrics such as year of publication, countries, institutions, sources, authors, and keywords frequency. A keyword co-occurrence network was generated to cluster the relevant literature. Findings of the review and bibliometric analysis indicate that research at the intersection of technology and the FSC has gained substantial interest from scholars. On the basis of keyword co-occurrence network, the literature is focused on the role of information communication technology for agriculture and food security, food waste and circular economy, and the merge of the Internet of Things and blockchain in the FSC. The analysis of the key-route main path uncovers three critical periods marking the development of technology-enabled FSCs. The study offers scholars a better understanding of digitalization within the agri-food industry and the current knowledge gaps for future research. Practitioners may find the review useful to remain ahead of the latest discussions of technologyenabled FSCs. To the authors’ best knowledge, the current study is one of the few endeavors to explore technology-enabled FSCs using a comprehensive sample of journal articles published during the past five decades

Domain Analysis, Discourse Community and Literary and Semantic Warrants: a study of the Brazilian rural landscape

The current study deals with the theoretical and methodological feasibility of the use of domain analysis and discourse community, by means of literary and semantic warrants, aiming at the identification of the rural landscape in its ontological dimension, having Knowledge Organization Systems (KOS) as a purpose. The rural landscape and its network of concepts within the field of Information Science (IS) are analyzed in relation to geographic knowledge representation and organization. The methodological procedures, subdivided into bibliographical research and documentary research, included the examination of the 1970 and 2006 editions of the Census of Agriculture, under the responsibility of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, and of representation of the rural landscapes in bibliographic classification systems, thesauri, and ontologies. Results show conceptual and standardized landscape terminology by means of the conceptualization of the categories that represent it, resulting from the Geography domain and aggregated to information taken from the 1970 and 200 censuses of agriculture.Estudio que presenta la viabilidad teórico-metodológica del uso del análisis de dominio y comunidad discursiva, a través de garantías literaria y semántica, con el fin de conocer e identificar la dimensión ontológica del paisaje rural, objetivando los Sistemas de Organización del Conocimiento (SOCs). Se analiza el paisaje rural y su red de conceptos en el área de las Ciencias de la Información con relación a la organización y representación del conocimiento geográfico. Los procedimientos metodológicos se dividieron en investigación bibliográfica e investigación documental que examinó los Censos Agropecuarios de 1970 y 2006, bajo la responsabilidad del Instituto Brasileño de Geografía y Estadística (IBGE), así como también examinó la representación del paisaje en los sistemas de clasificación bibliográfica, tesauros y ontologías. Como resultado, se obtuvo la terminología conceptual y estandarizada del paisaje a través de la conceptualización de las categorías que lo representan, resultante del dominio de la Geografía y agregadas a las informaciones provenientes de los censos agropecuarios de 1970 y 2006.The current study deals with the theoretical and methodological feasibility of the use of domain analysis and discourse community, by means of literary and semantic warrants, aiming at the identification of the rural landscape in its ontological dimension, having Knowledge Organization Systems (KOS) as a purpose. The rural landscape and its network of concepts within the field of Library and Information Science (LIS) are analyzed in relation to geographic knowledge representation and organization. The methodological procedures, subdivided into bibliographical research and documentary research, included the examination of the 1970 and 2006 editions of the Brazilian Census of Agriculture, under the responsibility of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, and of representation of the rural landscapes in bibliographic classification systems, thesauri, and ontologies. Results show conceptual and standardized landscape terminology by means of the conceptualization of the categories that represent it, resulting from the geography domain and aggregated to information taken from the 1970 and 2006 Brazilian censuses of agriculture

Information and Communication Technologies for Agriculture (ICT4Ag) in sub-Saharan Africa: A bibliometrics perspective based on web of science data, 1991–2018

The purpose of this study was to assess research articles published on ICT4Ag in subSaharan Africa, with a view to determining the application of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in the agricultural sector in the region. The agricultural sector in sub-Saharan Africa is one of the most important sectors that have greatly benefited from the application of ICTs. Research on the application of ICTs is rapidly expanding and therefore requires synthesis to gauge the extent of publication, the subject focus of the research on ICTs for agriculture (hereafter simply referred to as ICT4Ag), and the trend of publication and countries contributing to research on ICT4Ag in sub-Saharan African countries. Relevant data were obtained from the Web of Science (WoS) citation databases using a search query, which combined a variety of agricultural terms and several key, words that constitute ICTs. It was found that ICTs are largely applied for communication and dissemination of agricultural information to and among stakeholders, including farmers and extension workers. Areas of application involve land use, crops [production], animal husbandry, conservation, [soil and crop]  management, and climate change. In terms of the broad disciplinary context, the application of ICTs in agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa occurs mostly in agronomy, environmental sciences, and dairy and animal science. Although only a few specific names of ICTs were found in the literature on agriculture, ICT-led activities and applications such as remote sensing, GIS, computer programs, software, Landsat, and information systems, among others, provided insight into not only the areas but also the nature of ICT  application in agriculture in the region. The internet, radio, computers and mobile phones were among the few types of ICTs that featured in the ICT4Ag literature and are, therefore, deemed to be the commonly used in agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. Concerning the foreign countries that have collaborated with sub-Saharan Africa in ICT4Ag research, the USA, France and England featured the most, thereby signalling the continuation of colonial legacies in the region. Furthermore, the pattern of collaboration may signal the nature of knowledge and innovation diffusion for ICT4Ag in sub-Saharan Africa. Finally, results reveal a diversity of areas of ICT application in agriculture in the region. The study makes recommendations for further research in other geographical regions for comparison purposes; a study to explore other bibliographic databases such as Scopus; and a study to assess the impact of the ICTs on agricultural performance of the affected countries. Key words: Sub-Saharan Africa, Information technologies, Innovations, ICTs, ICT4Ag, Agriculture, Farming, Bibliometric

PROSPEÇÃO BIOTECNOLÓGICA PARA AVANÇOS CIENTÍFICOS: REGISTRO, PROTEÇÃO E INOVAÇÃO DE CULTIVARES DE CANA-DE-AÇÚCAR

A biotecnologia tornou-se um campo de destaque na pesquisa canavieira e na indústria canavieira, com foco no registro, proteção e inovação de cultivares de cana-de-açúcar. Este artigo traz um panorama dos processos de registro e proteção de cultivares de cana-de-açúcar, bem como os avanços biotecnológicos nessa área. O estudo realizou uma revisão sistemática de artigos publicados entre 2017 e 2022. A pesquisa também analisou o registro de cultivares no Cadastro Nacional de Cultivares. Adicionalmente, foi realizada uma busca por patentes relacionadas a variedades de cana-de-açúcar. Os resultados destacam a importância do melhoramento genético e da seleção de variedades de cana-de-açúcar, da compreensão da fisiologia e da bioquímica da cana-de-açúcar e do papel dos direitos de propriedade intelectual na proteção e promoção da inovação na indústria canavieira. A análise de cultivares registradas e patentes fornece insights sobre as características e domínios tecnológicos mais procurados na pesquisa canavieira. Este estudo contribui para o avanço do conhecimento científico e para o desenvolvimento de cultivares de cana-de-açúcar sustentáveis e produtivas.La biotecnología se ha convertido en un campo destacado en la investigación de la caña de azúcar y en la industria de la caña de azúcar, con enfoque en el registro, protección e innovación de cultivares de caña de azúcar. Este artículo presenta una visión general de los procesos de registro y protección de cultivares de caña de azúcar, así como de los avances biotecnológicos en esta área. El estudio realizó una revisión sistemática de artículos publicados entre 2017 y 2022. La investigación también analizó el registro de cultivares en el Registro Nacional de Cultivares. Además, se realizó una búsqueda de patentes relacionadas con variedades de caña de azúcar. Los resultados resaltan la importancia del mejoramiento genético y la selección de variedades de caña de azúcar, la comprensión de la fisiología y bioquímica de la caña de azúcar y el papel de los derechos de propiedad intelectual en la protección y promoción de la innovación en la industria de la caña de azúcar. El análisis de cultivares registrados y patentes proporciona información sobre las características y dominios tecnológicos más buscados en la investigación de la caña de azúcar. Este estudio contribuye al avance del conocimiento científico y al desarrollo de cultivares de caña de azúcar sostenibles y productivos.Biotechnology has become a prominent field in sugarcane research and the sugarcane industry, with a focus on registering, protecting, and innovating sugarcane cultivars. This article provides an overview of the registration and protection processes for sugarcane cultivars, as well as the biotechnological advancements in this area. The study conducted a systematic review of articles published between 2017 and 2022. The research also analyzed the registration of cultivars in the National Registry of Cultivars. Additionally, a search for patents related to sugarcane varieties was performed. The results highlight the importance of genetic improvement and selection of sugarcane varieties, understanding the physiology and biochemistry of sugarcane, and the role of intellectual property rights in protecting and promoting innovation in the sugarcane industry. The analysis of registered cultivars and patents provides insights into the most sought-after traits and technological domains in sugarcane research. This study contributes to the advancement of scientific knowledge and the development of sustainable and productive sugarcane cultivars.A biotecnologia tornou-se um campo de destaque na pesquisa canavieira e na indústria canavieira, com foco no registro, proteção e inovação de cultivares de cana -de-açúcar. Este artigo traz um panorama dos processos de registro e proteção de cultivares de cana-de-açúcar, bem como os avanços biotecnológicos nessa área. O estudo realizou uma revisão sistemática de artigos publicados entre 2017 e 2022. A pesquisa também analisou o registro de cultivares no Cadastro Nacional de Cultivares. Adicionalmente, foi realizada uma busca por patentes relacionadas a variedades de cana-de-açúcar. Os resultados destacam a importância do melhoramento genético e da seleção de variedades de cana-de-açúcar, da compreensão da fisiologia e da bioquímica da cana-de-açúcar e do papel dos direitos de propriedade intelectual na proteção e promoção da inovação na indústria canavieira. A análise de cultivares registradas e patentes fornece insights sobre as características e domínios tecnológicos mais procurados na pesquisa canavieira. Este estudo contribui para o avanço do conhecimento científico e para o desenvolvimento de cultivares de cana-de-açúcar sustentáveis e produtivas

The Precautionary Principle (with Application to the Genetic Modification of Organisms)

We present a non-naive version of the Precautionary (PP) that allows us to avoid paranoia and paralysis by confining precaution to specific domains and problems. PP is intended to deal with uncertainty and risk in cases where the absence of evidence and the incompleteness of scientific knowledge carries profound implications and in the presence of risks of "black swans", unforeseen and unforeseable events of extreme consequence. We formalize PP, placing it within the statistical and probabilistic structure of ruin problems, in which a system is at risk of total failure, and in place of risk we use a formal fragility based approach. We make a central distinction between 1) thin and fat tails, 2) Local and systemic risks and place PP in the joint Fat Tails and systemic cases. We discuss the implications for GMOs (compared to Nuclear energy) and show that GMOs represent a public risk of global harm (while harm from nuclear energy is comparatively limited and better characterized). PP should be used to prescribe severe limits on GMOs

Social Network and Content Analysis of the North American Carbon Program as a Scientific Community of Practice

The North American Carbon Program (NACP) was formed to further the scientific understanding of sources, sinks, and stocks of carbon in Earth's environment. Carbon cycle science integrates multidisciplinary research, providing decision-support information for managing climate and carbon-related change across multiple sectors of society. This investigation uses the conceptual framework of com-munities of practice (CoP) to explore the role that the NACP has played in connecting researchers into a carbon cycle knowledge network, and in enabling them to conduct physical science that includes ideas from social science. A CoP describes the communities formed when people consistently engage in shared communication and activities toward a common passion or learning goal. We apply the CoP model by using keyword analysis of abstracts from scientific publications to analyze the research outputs of the NACP in terms of its knowledge domain. We also construct a co-authorship network from the publications of core NACP members, describe the structure and social pathways within the community. Results of the content analysis indicate that the NACP community of practice has substantially expanded its research on human and social impacts on the carbon cycle, contributing to a better understanding of how human and physical processes interact with one another. Results of the co-authorship social network analysis demonstrate that the NACP has formed a tightly connected community with many social pathways through which knowledge may flow, and that it has also expanded its network of institutions involved in carbon cycle research over the past seven years