Agronomy is actively upgrading the classical research approach of the slow but reliable acquisition of new knowledge (problem, hypothesis, method, data). In addition, it is obliged to meet the objectives of several sustainable development goals and must provide a wide range of ecosystem services. Furthermore, agronomy and agriculture should be considered in a broader sense in the context of food systems and food chains, connecting the actors throughout the whole agri-food chain, in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. This requires quick and correct decisions on many levels. Thus, decision-making in agronomy has become an extremely complex process that can be improved using objective scientific approaches. Due to the intensive digitalization of agronomy, both data and existing knowledge increase rapidly. Decision analysis has made significant progress in solving complex problems with data and knowledge-based decision models developed by various methods of artificial intelligence (AI).
In COCOREADO, we will apply state-of-the-art artificial intelligence methods to bring closer the farmers and consumers and address sustainability issues in existing food systems throughout the world. More specifically, we will co-create and adapt a decision support system to assist public authorities in specifying tender requirements for sustainable public procurement. The use of advanced artificial intelligence methods have enormous potential to facilitate progress in producing sufficient quantities of healthy food in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way.
Aneta Trajanov, Marko Debeljak – Jozef Stefan Institute, Slovenia