Disruptive Technologies in Agricultural Operations: A Systematic Review of AI-driven AgriTech Research

YesThe evolving field of disruptive technologies has recently gained significant interest in various industries, including agriculture. The fourth industrial revolution has reshaped the context of Agricultural Technology (AgriTech) with applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and a strong focus on data-driven analytical techniques. Motivated by the advances in AgriTech for agrarian operations, the study presents a state-of-the-art review of the research advances which are, evolving in a fast pace over the last decades (due to the disruptive potential of the technological context). Following a systematic literature approach, we develop a categorisation of the various types of AgriTech, as well as the associated AI-driven techniques which form the continuously shifting definition of AgriTech. The contribution primarily draws on the conceptualisation and awareness about AI-driven AgriTech context relevant to the agricultural operations for smart, efficient, and sustainable farming. The study provides a single normative reference for the definition, context and future directions of the field for further research towards the operational context of AgriTech. Our findings indicate that AgriTech research and the disruptive potential of AI in the agricultural sector are still in infancy in Operations Research. Through the systematic review, we also intend to inform a wide range of agricultural stakeholders (farmers, agripreneurs, scholars and practitioners) and to provide research agenda for a growing field with multiple potentialities for the future of the agricultural operations

Producers Responding to Environmental Turbulence in the Greek Agricultural Supply Chain:Does Buyer Type Matter?

There are many changes in the EU Agricultural Supply Chain (ASC). These changes cause environmental turbulence for supply chain entities operating in this sector. In the Greek ASC, there is a significant decline in its performance in particular at producers’ level. Based on the Contingency Theory this paper aims to identify the relevant environmental turbulence factors in Greek ASC context from the producers’ perspective and ascertain their impact on producers based on their choice of buyer type i.e. collaboration type. Twenty in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with Greek ASC producers. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the interviews. The findings suggest the existence of six major environmental turbulence factors at producers’ level which are: regulatory, market, competitive, weather, economic and political turbulence factors. Producers selling their products to cooperatives were found to be significantly impacted by the different environmental turbulence factors. Future research directions as well as managerial and policy implications are identified

Global orientation and export competitive advantage : a study of Malaysian firms

Recent globalization studies pinpoint to tracing the way that a global orientation is implemented and the effect it has on shaping firm's performance. The globalization literature connects the creation of competitive advantages with following a more standardized marketing approach across global markets, whereas the marketing adaptation literature declares that adaptation is necessary when consumers needs and wants differ significantly. Yet, there exists a lack of conceptual clarity and empirical evidence as to whether, and how, global export orientation and adaptation can be reconciled for competitive advantage. This study makes a step toward addressing this knowledge void by examining the interplay between global export orientation and product adaptation in realizing cost advantage and distribution advantage. Drawing on cross-sectional survey data from 144 Malaysian exporters, the results demonstrate that global export orientation has a positive impact on both cost and distribution competitive advantages. However, the quantity of export product adaptation pursued has a double-edged moderating effect. While on one hand adaptation weakens the global export orientation-cost advantage relationship, hindering the attainment of cost advantages, on the other it holds a positive moderating effect for the global export orientation-distribution advantage relationship

Does collaboration pay in agricultural supply chain? An empirical approach

This paper examines the effect of different types of collaboration on the level of Postharvest Food Losses (PHFL) and the proportion of low-quality peaches produced using a unique data-set of Greek peach producers. Quantile regression techniques are adopted to estimate the effects at different points of the conditional distribution of our variables of interest. The findings of this study suggest that high levels of collaboration between producers and cooperatives are associated with both low levels of PHFL and a low proportion of low-quality peaches. We also find that specific types of collaboration, such as ‘goal congruence’, can play a significant role in reducing PHFL and improving the quality of peach production at the extremes of the distribution. Important policy implications regarding collaborative practices and systems that can be implemented to reduce PHFL and boost a producer’s performance together with sustainability credentials are drawn from this study

Stakeholder collaboration in climate-smart agricultural production innovations: insights from the Cocoa industry in Ghana

Although collaboration is vital in addressing global environmental sustainability challenges, research understanding on stakeholder engagement in climate-smart production innovation adoption and implementation, remains limited. In this paper, we advance knowledge about stakeholder collaboration by examining the roles played by stakeholders in scaling up ecological sustainability innovations. Using the illustrative context and case of green cocoa industry in Ghana, the analysis identified three distinctive phases of stakeholder engagement in ecological sustainability innovations implemented from 1960-2017. We highlight defining periods of ecological challenges encompassing the production recovery sustainability initiative phase solely driven by the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD)–a governmental body responsible for production, processing and marketing of cocoa, coffee and sheanut. During the period, major initiatives were driven by non-governmental organisations in collaboration with COCOBOD to implement the Climate-Smart agriculture scheme in the cocoa sector. The findings have implications for cocoa production research and stakeholder collaboration in environmental innovations adoption

Data sharing in agriculture 4.0: applications of AI for access control decisions

Data sharing in Agriculture 4.0: Applications of AI for access control decision

Food waste management, valorization, and sustainability in the food industry

The food industry, as one of the largest industries around the world, is of primary importance to numerous national economies. However, the dramatic increase in world population and food supply chain demands will lead to a sharp increase of food production in the upcoming 50 years. Under these circumstances, high volumes of food industry wastes attract increasing social, political, and scientific attention at the national and international level. According to the report of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, 2011a), roughly one-third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally. Taking into account the increasing number of hungry people as well as the restricted natural resources, it is easily understood that waste management systems will become one of the most important challenges of the twenty-first century. National legislations, international regulatory frameworks, and directives concerning waste management indicate waste prevention/minimization and by-product valorization as they key strategies for the effective management system and sustainability of the food industry as well as the improvement of food security. This chapter includes an extensive introduction to the concept of food waste recovery by providing definitions of waste, origin, distribution, and amount of wastes produced, along with aspects of the food supply chain. Moreover, waste management strategies, general regulatory policies, treatment methods, and effects of waste recovery on the sustainability of food production are discussed in detail. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Achieving Agility in Evacuation Operations: An Evidence-Based Framework

YesThere is an agreement among European countries about the need to achieve efficient, effective and responsive evacuations as part of disaster management. Evacuations face uncertain and dynamic conditions, which often challenge the expectations at the planning stage. This research looks at the adoption of agility in evacuation operations. Managers involved in disaster operations in three countries were interviewed to identify current practices and needs during evacuations. This article looks at the potential of beneficiary engagement, staff and information, cooperation, and fitness for change to incorporate agile practices at each one of the stages of evacuation planning. The purpose is to provide an Agile Evacuation Operations (AEO) evidence-based framework to inform theory and practice. The analysis provided shows that along with current practices it is important to engage the beneficiaries more closely, empower and train the staff to react to unexpected conditions, and take advantage of local knowledge to enhance operations.The data collection was funded with the support of the European Commission, Directorate-General Home Affairs.The full-text of this article will be released for public view 12 months after publication

The impact of sulphur limit fuel regulations on maritime supply chain network design

Although the greening of the marine sector started over a decade ago, the emissions produced from ships and port operating equipment have been only recently perceived as issues to be addressed. On this basis, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) decided to enact stricter sulphur limits on the fuel oil used by ships in Sulphur Oxide (SOx) Emission Control Areas in an effort to reduce the environmental impact of the vessel’s bunkers. In this respect, the purpose of the paper is to quantify the cost implications of the IMO revised regulations on the shippers’ traditional supply chain network design decisions through the development of a strategic Mixed Integer Linear Programming decision-support model. The applicability of the model is demonstrated on a realistic maritime supply chain operating within the East Asia—EU trade route. The results reveal that the implementation of the sulphur limits at the route’s ports may not affect the shippers’ network structure under the current fuel prices, as the optimally selected ports have cost effective hinterland transportation connections within the EU market, that make them preferable for the shipper, even though the network’s shipping costs increase