Modeling For Sustainable Management In Agriculture Food And The Environment

Recent developments in computer science, data mining and big data analytics have resulted in new operational frameworks in agriculture, food and the environment, which in fact, share a strong link between them. A key challenge for researchers is to extract new data patterns and utilize them in decision making. Managers, policy makers, and practitioners have to be aware of these methodologies in order to establish efficient and effective working groups for the tasks to be resolved. The book reviews the complexity of the interrelationship between agriculture, food production and processing, and environmental issues. It also highlights the prospects of modeling in various cases of problem solving in these sectors, and reviews the new and future challenges. Consumer awareness in food production and processing practices is continually increasing and the necessity for advanced behavioural tools follows the same trend. Furthermore, the value chain management challenge is becoming one of the most crucial tasks due to the increased importance of new parameters like the origin of products, its environmental footprint and the enhancement of local production, etc. The book addresses these topics in a holistic approach, merging modeling with advanced marketing practices in a coherent and innovative manner, being an effective tool in a continuously demanding world.

Food Systems Modelling emphasizes sustainability, including the impact of agriculture and food production on profits, people and environment, with a particular focus on the ability of humanity to continue producing food in the midst of global environmental change. Sections introduce the purpose of models, the definition of a food system, the importance of disciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary inquiry, cover specific branches of modeling in the sustainability of food systems, and wrestle with the challenge of communicating modeling research and appropriately integrating multiple dimensions of sustainability. This book will be a welcomed reference for food scientists, agricultural scientists, nutritionists, environmental scientists, ecologists, economists, those working in agribusiness and food supply chain management, community and public health, and urban and regional planning, as well as academicians and graduate students interested in the sustainability of food systems. Emphasizes sustainability, including the impact of agriculture and food production on profits Focuses on the ability of humanity to continue producing food in the midst of global environmental change Deciphers what models can teach us about food system sustainability

Recent developments in computer science, data mining and big data analytics have resulted in new operational frameworks in agriculture, food and the environment, which in fact, share a strong link between them. A key challenge for researchers is to extract new data patterns and utilize them in decision making. Managers, policy makers, and practitioners have to be aware of these methodologies in order to establish efficient and effective working groups for the tasks to be resolved. The book reviews the complexity of the interrelationship between agriculture, food production and processing, and environmental issues. It also highlights the prospects of modeling in various cases of problem solving in these sectors, and reviews the new and future challenges. Consumer awareness in food production and processing practices is continually increasing and the necessity for advanced behavioural tools follows the same trend. Furthermore, the value chain management challenge is becoming one of the most crucial tasks due to the increased importance of new parameters like the origin of products, its environmental footprint and the enhancement of local production, etc. The book addresses these topics in a holistic approach, merging modeling with advanced marketing practices in a coherent and innovative manner, being an effective tool in a continuously demanding world.

Agriculture increasingly faces the challenge of balancing its multiple functions in a sustainable way. Integrated assessment and modelling (IAM) can provide insight into the potential impacts of policy changes. However, concepts to address the wide range of issues and functions typical for agriculture are still scarce. Environmental and Agricultural Modelling reviews and presents our current understanding of integrated and working tools to assess and compute, ex-ante, alternative agricultural and environmental policy options, allowing: 1. Analysis at the full range of scales (farm to European Union and global) whilst focusing on the most important issues emerging at each scale; 2. Analysis of the environmental, economic and social contributions of agricultural systems towards sustainable rural development and rural viability; 3. Analysis of a broad range of issues and agents of change, such as climate change, environmental policies, rural development options, effects of an enlarging EU, international competition, and effects on developing countries.

Sustainable Agriculture and the Environment describes the relationship of agriculture, society, nature and the environment, sustainable agriculture and sustainable development goals, management of biophysical resources for sustainable food and environment, traditional knowledge and innovative options, and social and policy aspects of sustainable agriculture. The book presents both environmental and economic principles, helping readers in the development and application of robust policy and good institutional systems that execute on sustainable agriculture practices for a healthy environment and to combat climate resilience. Includes case studies that provide real-world insights Relates traditional knowledge and innovation, maximizing the potential from both Reinforces our understanding of the role of sustainable agriculture in developing environmentally sustainable and profitable food systems

Systems Analysis and Modeling in Food and Agriculture is a component of Encyclopedia of Food and Agricultural Sciences, Engineering and Technology Resources in the global Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS), which is an integrated compendium of twenty one Encyclopedias. Systems analysis and modeling is being used increasingly in understanding and solving problems in food and agriculture. The purpose of systems analysis is to support decisions by emphasizing the interactions of processes and components within a system. Frequently investigated systems level questions in agriculture and food are relevant to the 6 E's: Environment, Energy, Ecology, Economics, Education, and Efficiency. The theme on Systems Analysis and Modeling in Food and Agriculture with contributions from distinguished experts in the field provides information on key topics related to food and agricultural system. The coverage include an overview of food system; system level aspects related to energy, environment, and social/policy issues; knowledge bases and decision support; computer models for crops, food processing, water resources, and agricultural meteorology; collection and analysis methods for data from field experiments; use of models and information systems. This volume is aimed at the following a wide spectrum of audiences from the merely curious to those seeking in-depth knowledge: University and College students Educators, Professional practitioners, Research personnel and Policy analysts, managers, and decision makers and NGOs.

Public pressure and societal changes induce interventions and policies, which aim to transform agriculture and food provision. This book shows that for upscaling novel practices and organizational models it is important to include meso-level regime aspects in analysis and practice. The argument presented is that our understanding of the human and social dimensions of transformation processes can be enriched by anchoring practice and policy in social theory. A focus on transitions offers a clear view on the direction and velocity of change. This publication aims to complement this by highlighting theoretical insights in the social or institutional mechanisms enabling or hindering change. Essays on a selection of theorists, varying from idealist or materialist accounts, to actor or system approaches, examine what the presented explanatory framework on social change offers in terms of guidance for intervention and action. The value of these theoretical insights is further explored in a selection of case studies in agriculture and food: rural reconstruction in horticulture and livestock, seed supply systems, and pest control. Each case study systematically applies six theoretical frameworks with the purpose of investigating what novel insights arise from looking at the change process from a particular perspective. Through this exercise the often implicit assumptions of hands-on change processes surface. This book is of interest to practitioners engaged in changing current practices in agriculture and food provision, policy makers interested in grasping why transitions are challenging, applied researchers who like to move beyond individual case studies and social and natural scientists involved in integrative studies of complex change processes.

This book describes the contributing aspects of contemporary developments related to sustainable agricultural resources and assessment of sustainable agriculture in developing nations. The issues like food crisis and declining agro-productivity, post-pandemic food security, zonation and mapping technique viewing food crisis, biotechnology and sustainable agricultural, scaling hunger indices, health hazard and food crisis, changing climate and food availability, consumer load and fertilizer usage, growing demand and increasing usage of harmful chemical in agro-fields are regarded as serious concerns. Thereafter, the scope of sustainable agricultural potentiality (SAP) modeling, amidst the arena of deforestation and encroachment of new cultivable land, impact of pandemic on sustainable agriculture, using wastewater as non-sustainable agricultural practice, applying geospatial techniques on extreme weather susceptibility and agro-production, soil erosion and poor agricultural production, questioning shifting cultivation on the issue of sustainability, meteorological drought and irrigational gaps, occupational mobility and loss of agricultural heritage, farm-excreta burning and air quality index (AQI), GI-Science and sustainable agro-management, community preparedness in food crisis management, multi-criteria hunger index (MCHI), climate change declining sustainable agro-production are worth some. Almost the entire world has recently suffered from several natural and human-induced problems, among which food crisis and unsustainable agriculture throw significant challenges to human society. Contrastingly, if modern technology and means, with advanced monitoring and calibration methodology and policy guidance, can help, it will undoubtedly reduce half of the world's problems and ensure the future survival of human society. In addition, this approach also can minimize the other partially linked problems, like climate change and food shortage, livelihood crisis, environmental refugees, international trade balance, global food supply chain interruption, the ever-expanding gap between rich and poor, and so on. Therefore, properly nurturing the knowledge on the application of GI-Science for an agriculturally sustainable society and their monitoring and management can curtail the gap between science, policy, and the ground-level scenario concerned.