This book introduces readers to advanced data science techniques for signal mining in connection with agriculture. It shows how to apply heuristic modeling to improve farm-level efficiency, and how to use sensors and data intelligence to provide closed-loop feedback, while also providing recommendation techniques that yield actionable insights. The book also proposes certain macroeconomic pricing models, which data-mine macroeconomic signals and the influence of global economic trends on small-farm sustainability to provide actionable insights to farmers, helping them avoid financial disasters due to recurrent economic crises. The book is intended to equip current and future software engineering teams and operations research experts with the skills and tools they need in order to fully utilize advanced data science, artificial intelligence, heuristics, and economic models to develop software capabilities that help to achieve sustained food security for future generations.

Climate change, increasing population, food-versus-fuel economics, pandemics, etc. pose a threat to food security to unprecedented levels. It has fallen upon the practitioners of agriculture and technologists of the world to innovate and become more productive to address the multi-pronged food security challenges. Agricultural innovation is key to managing food security concerns. The infusion of data science, artificial intelligence (AI), advanced analytics, satellites data, geospatial data, climatology, sensor technologies, and climate modeling with traditional agricultural practices such as soil engineering, fertilizers use, and agronomy are some of the best ways to achieve this. Data science helps farmers to unravel patterns in fertilizer pricing, equipment usage, transportation and storage costs, yield per hectare, and weather trends to better plan and spend resources. AI enables farmers to learn from fellow farmers to apply best techniques that are transferred learning from AI to improve agricultural productivity and to achieve financial sustainability. Sensor technologies play an important role in getting real-time farm field data and provide feedback loops to improve overall agricultural practices and can yield huge productivity gains. Advanced Analytics modeling is essential software technique that codifies farmers’ tacit knowledge such as better seed per soil, better feed for dairy cattle breed, or production practices to match weather pattern that was acquired over years of their hard work to share with worldwide farmers to improve overall production efficiencies, the best antidote to food security issue. In addition to the paradigm shift, economic sustainability of small farms is a major enabler of food security. The book reviews all these technological advances and proposes macroeconomic pricing models that data mines macroeconomic signals and the influence of global economic trends on small farm sustainability to provide actionable insights to farmers to avert any financial disasters due to recurrent economic crises.

Specialty crops are defined as fruits and vegetables, tree nuts, dried fruits, horticulture, and nursery crops including floriculture. The value of specialty crop production in the United States accounted for 18.44 % of the $433.569 billion in agriculture cash receipts collected in 2021. In 2020, that ratio was 21.47% of the $363.464 billion. Specialty crops are gaining increasing attention across nation as demonstrated in the 2018 farm bill (Agricultural Act of the 2018 Farm Bill (P.L. 115-334)) with the increased number of provisions addressing specialty crop issues, reflecting their growing role in the global economy. The cultivation of Specialty crops, nevertheless, has its own challenges. Specialty crops are generally more sensitive to climatic stressors and require more comprehensive management compared to traditional row crops. Specialty crops face significant financial risks threatening US$1.6 Trillion global market due to their higher water demand. The mission of the book is to prepare current and future software engineering teams, agriculture students, economists, macroeconomists with the skills and tools to fully utilize advanced data science, artificial intelligence, climate patterns, and economic models to develop software capabilities that help to achieve Specialty crops and economic sustainability, through improved productivity for years to come and ensure enough food for the future of the planet and generations to come!

This book introduces and analyses recent trends and studies of sustainable logistics systems using AI-based meta-heuristics approaches, including AI-based meta-heuristics applied to supply chain network models, integrated multi-criteria decision-making approaches for green supply chain management, uncertain supply chain models etc. It emphasizes both theory and practice, providing methodological and theoretical basis as well as case references for sustainable logistics systems using AI based meta-heuristics. Most of multi-national enterprises today face the challenge of sustainable development for their logistics systems trying to meet or exceed customer expectations. Sustainable development attracts both researchers and industrial practitioners who are focused on the design and implementation of logistics system. AI-based meta-heuristics approaches has emerged as a capable method for quickly providing optimal or near-optimal solutions for the problems that exact optimization cannot solve. Recent advances in various AI-based meta-heuristics approaches can resolve various and complex logistics and supply chain problem types. This book mainly encompasses the most popular and frequently employed AI-based meta-heuristics approaches such as genetic algorithm, variable neighborhood search, multi-objective heuristic search and the hybrid of these approaches. The chapters in this book were originally published in the International Journal of Management Science and Engineering Management.

The world population is expected to increase exponentially within the next decade, which means that the food demand will increase and so will waste production. The increasing demand for food as well as changes in consumption habits have led to the greater availability and variety of food with a longer shelf life. However, there is a need for effective food waste management and food preservation as wasted food leads to overutilization of water and fossil fuels and increasing greenhouse gas emissions from the degradation of food. The Research Anthology on Food Waste Reduction and Alternative Diets for Food and Nutrition Security explores methods for reducing waste and cutting food loss in order to help the environment and support local communities as well as solve issues including that of land space. It also provides vital research on the development of plant-based foods, meat-alternative diets, and nutritional outcomes. Highlighting a range of topics such as agricultural production, food supply chains, and sustainable diets, this publication is an ideal reference source for policymakers, sustainable developers, politicians, ecologists, environmentalists, corporate executives, farmers, and academicians seeking current research on food and nutrition security.

Food Sustainability and the Media: Linking Awareness, Knowledge and Action is the first book to explore the roles that the media plays in raising awareness, spurring action, and increasing understanding about food security and global sustainability issues. The book addresses the means of leveraging traditional and new media to advance food and sustainability discourse by linking awareness, knowledge, and action. The book links sustainability and food security in media communication to address different topics, including the way climate change is framed by the media, key factors of success and failure in NGOs, public and corporate communication, and climate change denial. Addresses both conceptual and theoretical issues Presents a diversified set of methodological perspectives, theoretical backgrounds and issues Provides a conclusion that ties the content together, exploring the role of the media and food sustainability in Europe and the U.S.

Emerging technologies have become both crucibles and showrooms for the practical application of artificial intelligence, the internet of things, and cloud computing, and for integrating big data into everyday life. Is the digital world optimized and sustainable using intelligence systems, machine learning, and cyber security methods? This complex concoction of challenges requires new thinking of the synergistic utilization of intelligence systems, machine learning, deep learning and blockchain methods, data-driven decision-making with automation infrastructure, autonomous transportation, and connected buildings. Effective AI, Blockchain, and E-Governance Applications for Knowledge Discovery and Management provides a global perspective on current and future trends concerning the integration of intelligent systems with cybersecurity applications, including recent advances and challenges related to the concerns of security and privacy issues in deep learning with an emphasis on the current state-of-the-art methods, methodologies and implementation, attacks, and countermeasures. The book also discusses the challenges that need to be addressed for implementing DL-based security mechanisms that should have the capability of collecting or distributing data across several applications. Topics covered include skill development and tools for intelligence systems, deep learning, machine learning, blockchain, IoT, cloud computing, data ethics, and infrastructure. It is ideal for independent researchers, research scholars, scientists, libraries, industry experts, academic students, business associations, communication and marketing agencies, entrepreneurs, and all potential audiences with a specific interest in these topics.

Ongoing advancements in modern technology have led to significant developments in artificial intelligence. With the numerous applications available, it becomes imperative to conduct research and make further progress in this field. Artificial Intelligence: Concepts, Methodologies, Tools, and Applications provides a comprehensive overview of the latest breakthroughs and recent progress in artificial intelligence. Highlighting relevant technologies, uses, and techniques across various industries and settings, this publication is a pivotal reference source for researchers, professionals, academics, upper-level students, and practitioners interested in emerging perspectives in the field of artificial intelligence.

The book presents a collection of peer-reviewed articles from the International Conference on Advances and Applications of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning - ICAAAIML 2020. The book covers research in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and deep learning applications in healthcare, agriculture, business, and security. This volume contains research papers from academicians, researchers as well as students. There are also papers on core concepts of computer networks, intelligent system design and deployment, real-time systems, wireless sensor networks, sensors and sensor nodes, software engineering, and image processing. This book will be a valuable resource for students, academics, and practitioners in the industry working on AI applications.