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.

George Vlontzos is an Associate Professor, Director of the Laboratory of Agricultural Economics and Consumer Behaviour. His research interests focus on, among others, economic and environmental efficiency assessment, and on consumer behaviour characteristics for agricultural inputs and foodstuff. He has published several papers in journals and participated in international congresses and seminars. Finally, he has participated in competitive projects co-financed by the EU, national funding, as well as private funding projects.

Yiannis Ampatzidis is an agricultural engineer and Assistant Professor in the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department of University of Florida. He works in the area of mechanization and automation of specialty crop production, focusing on the design, development, and testing of sensors and control systems for optimal management of inputs, resources and products. His current research focus is on mechatronics, precision agriculture, smart machines, machine vision, artificial intelligence, automation, robotics, UAVs, and machine systems.

Basil Manos is a Full Professor of the Department of Agricultural Economics at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. His research interests are in farm management and regional planning, environmental management, impact assessment, and sustainability and efficiency. His recent publications include papers in Regional Studies, Journal of Policy Modeling, British Food Journal, European Journal of Operational Research, and Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. He is editor of International Journal of Sustainable Agricultural Management and Informatics.

Panos M. Pardalos serves as Distinguished Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering at the University of Florida. Additionally, he is the Paul and Heidi Brown Preeminent Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering. He is also an affiliated faculty member of the computer and information science department, and the biomedical engineering program. He is also the director of the Center for Applied Optimization. Pardalos is a world-leading expert in global and combinatorial optimization.