Advances in Artificial Intelligence Applications in the Agri-Food Sector

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue of the MDPI journal Electronics, entitled “Advances in Artificial Intelligence Applications in the Agri-Food Sector”, focuses on artificial intelligence (AI) and its implications for the agri-food sector. AI has gained popularity during the diffusion of the 4th Industrial Revolution and has become crucial to the advancement of every sector. AI has the potential to alter the agricultural and food processing industries, with significant ramifications for sustainability and global food security due to its integration of sensing, modelling, planning and action, as well as its use of decision–support systems, natural perception, analytics and robotics in agri-food-related applications. The integration of AI in the agri-food sector has notably advanced in recent years, with it now playing a significant role in the green and digital transformation of the agri-food industry by enhancing the operation efficiency, increasing the quality and quantity of food, reducing waste, promoting sustainability and productivity, supporting decision making, and increasing competitiveness and profitability, as outlined by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) (Goal 12 for responsible consumption and production, and Goal 13 for climate change) proposed in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and adopted by all United Nations Member States.

The aim of this Special Issue is to present an overview of recent advances and cutting-edge research regarding the use of AI in the agri-food sector, propose innovative AI strategies to incorporate knowledge in more complex and dynamic environments, and introduce multidisciplinary approaches to ensure proper privacy, data control, transparency and confidentiality throughout the supply chain. This Special Issue also aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of the art and to highlight the challenges, opportunities, and future directions of this rapidly evolving field.

This Special Issue focuses on the practical application of AI in the agri-food sector and its association with crops, livestock, forestry, aquaculture, and fisheries; this encompasses all operations within the food supply chain, including farmers, the food industry, food retail, wholesale, the food service, as well as their suppliers and services, such as seeds, pesticides, fertilizers, machinery, packaging, repair, transport, finance, advice, and logistics. Original research articles, short communications, technical reports, perspectives, extended conference papers and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include, but not limited to, the following:

• Precision agriculture with ai
• AI in crop disease detection and management
• AI-enhanced pest control
• Smart irrigation systems
• Ai in livestock management
• Food quality and safety assurance
• AI for sustainable farming practices
• Robotics and automation in agriculture
• AI for climate-resilient agriculture
• AI for logistics and supply chain optimization/management
• AI for personalized nutrition
• Market analysis and consumer behavior

This Special Issue provides a valuable supplement to the existing literature by compiling a wide range of perspectives on the application of AI in the agri-food sector.  

Prof. Dr. George Papakostas
Dr. Eleni Vrochidou
Prof. Dr. Lazaros Iliadis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Electronics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• artificial intelligence
• agri-food
• supply chain
• digital transformation
• sustainability practices
• machine learning
• deep learning