Feasibility Study For Application Of Digital Technologies For Improved Traceability And Transparency Along The Agrifood Value Chains

“Agrifood value chains of small and medium-sized producers in the Near East and North Africa region have the potential to generate more value through improved access to high-value markets. Limited logistics capacity in the region, coupled with lack of access to continuous cold chain, has resulted in weak supply chain management, high level of food loss, lack of compliance with food quality and safety standards; information asymmetries; and unfair value distribution, affecting income and livelihood of small and medium-sized producers. Improving traceability and transparency along the agrifood value chains can help building consumers' trust by better tracking the origin of food, identifying, detecting and mitigating the impact of food safety and quality issues in a timely manner and enhancing price visibility and information sharing on value distribution in each stage of the value chain. Digital technologies can play an important role in enhancing traceability and transparency by ensuring the collection of comprehensive, consistent and reliable data along the supply chain, real-time tracking, easy aggregation, integration, analysis and sharing of data. Despite the recognition of game changing potential, few studies have analysed the feasibility of application of these technologies to improve traceability and transparency of value chains, from farm-gate to market, in the region. To fill this gap in knowledge, this study was conducted to understand the digital landscape in the region, examine barriers and incentives for uptake of these technologies and to propose solutions that can improve the adoption rate and sustainability of digital technologies for small and medium-sized producers.”

With new technologies constantly being created, implemented, and sold, it is a robust opportunity for companies to hop on board with the latest digital trends. With the business world undergoing rapid changes and advancements in current times, the transformation process has been rapid and the disruptions significant. This has created a culture of innovation and a plethora of available business opportunities, especially when focused on Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia. Along with these innovative technologies and new opportunities in the business world comes challenges and trends within the Asian region that require more attention and advanced research to fully understand this digital transformation era and the resulting impacts, challenges, and solutions. The Handbook of Research on Disruptive Innovation and Digital Transformation in Asia addresses key topics for understanding business opportunities in Asia, covering a variety of challenges and nations in the Asian region from technological disruption and innovation to connectivity and economic corridors in Asia, Islamic finance and tourism, and more. Due to its innovative topics and approaches, geographical focus, and methodologies, the chapters provide readers with a unique value in bringing new perspectives to understanding emerging businesses and challenges in Asia. This book is ideal for professors in academia, deans, students, politicians, policymakers, corporate heads of firms, senior general managers, managing directors, information technology directors and managers, and researchers.

Applied mathematics, modelling, and computer simulation are central to many aspects of engineering and computer science, and continue to be of intrinsic importance to the development of modern technologies. This book presents the proceedings of AMMCS 2023, the 3rd International Conference on Applied Mathematics, Modeling and Computer Simulation, held on 12 and 13 August 2023 in Wuhan, China. The conference provided an ideal opportunity for scholars and researchers to communicate important recent developments in their areas of specialization to their colleagues, and to scientists in related disciplines. More than 250 submissions were received for the conference, of which 133 were selected for presentation at the conference and inclusion here after a thorough peer-review process. These range from the theoretical and conceptual to strongly pragmatic papers addressing industrial best practice, and cover topics such as mathematical modeling and application; engineering applications and scientific computations; and the simulation of intelligent systems. The book explores practical experiences and enlightening ideas, and will be of interest to researchers, practitioners, and to all those working in the fields of applied mathematics, modeling and computer simulation.

This book covers topics related to implementation of advanced technologies, such as AI, big data, procurement 4.0, Logistics 4.0 and Lean 4.0, in Industry 4.0 for the manufacturing supply chain. Many applications of Industry 4.0 in the manufacturing supply chain have been presented. The content of this book is useful for students, researchers and professionals in order to implement Industry 4.0 in manufacturing supply chain.

This conference proceeding gather a selection of peer-reviewed papers presented at the 1st International Conference on Artificial Intelligence for Smart Community (AISC 2020), held as a virtual conference on 17–18 December 2020, with the theme Re-imagining Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Smart Community to apply computational intelligence for biomedical instruments, automation & control, and smart community to develop suitable solution for various real-world application. The conference virtually brought together researchers, scientists, engineers, industrial professionals, and students presenting important results in the related field of healthcare technology, soft computing technologies, IoT, evolutionary computations, automation and control, smart manufacturing and smart cities. Researchers and scientist working in the allied domain of Artificial Intelligence and others will find the book useful as it will contain some latest computational intelligence methodologies and applications.

This report provides a comprehensive summary and analysis on how impact tokenization and innovative financial models can promote responsible agri-food supply chains. Recent advances in the development of impact tokenization techniques, distributed ledger technology, and innovative financial models have created new opportunities to improve transparency, verification, and incentive alignment across multiple stakeholders in agri-food supply chains. This report outlines those opportunities and describes how practitioners and policymakers can implement enhanced methods for efficiently defining and verifying impact in agri-food supply chains. The report concludes with an analysis of the most promising financial models for promoting responsible agri-food supply chains.

Innovation through information and communication technologies is a key enabler in transforming food systems and holds great potential to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Recent developments, such as mobile technologies, smart networks, drones, remote-sensing, distributed computing, as well as disruptive technologies, such as blockchain, the Internet of things and artificial intelligence, are serving as the premise for a “digital revolution” whereby management of resources can potentially be highly optimized, intelligent and anticipatory. This publication establishes chain traceability as the substrate over which digital solutions need to operate. It provides a comprehensive introduction to blockchain, and covers smart contracts, explores how they relate to blockchain with an example of their use in seafood value chains, and then examines major development and operational considerations for blockchain applications. The publication also analyses the seafood supply chain with considerations on flag, coastal, port, processing and market States. It identifies general control elements (critical tracking events and corresponding key data elements) that form the basis for traceability monitoring and acquisition, and summarizes suitability for blockchain. It also investigates considerations for legality, transparency, species fraud and food safety.

The publication looks at innovations happening at all stages of the food value chain: from production to manufacturing and retailing. This also includes the extended value chain, for example input supply, financial services and agribusiness support services. Yields are improving and primary production is becoming more resilient as a result of digital technologies such as precision agriculture, agricultural drones, and digital farming services and marketplaces; and novel business models such as plant factories, crowdsourcing for farmers. Data and robotics help lift productivity and food safety in the manufacturing process. Online grocery commerce and food delivery services are revolutionizing the way consumers purchase food. Distributed ledger technology, such as blockchain, allows making payments and tracing back food products along the chain in order to increase transparency and trust. New business models are springing up to shorten the chain by removing or shifting stages and to make it fairer and greener, stimulated by enabling technologies and changing customer behaviours. Innovations such as these are discussed and illustrated by almost 200 practical examples from 21 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, across various types of firms and commodities. By observing emerging trends and providing concrete examples, the book discusses the nature of these innovations, how they are affecting food systems and value chains, positively or negatively, and how to deal with trade-offs. It concludes with a reflection on the impacts of these innovations, the policy solutions identified, and lessons learned to future-proof the region’s food systems, particularly in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.