Review on operational research advances in agri-food supply chains and societal challenges
Résumé
Food production and growth has increased since the end of the last 20th century in response to the high increment in population. Therefore, a
challenge for setting efficient and optimal Agri-Food Supply Chains is a multi-disciplinary need, where Operational Research has a key role
to play to support Agri-Food Supply Chain decision-makers. Several risks and uncertainties (food safety, weather, volatile market conditions
and commodity prices), faced by stakeholders, are making the Agri-Food Supply Chain Management a complex task. From the literature,
several research questions are identified, such as: an optimised Agri-Food Supply Chain structure will reduce the administrative barriers
once facing tariff cuts or changes in administrative regulations?; Can distorted competition risks be minimised by optimising trading policies?; and can the enhancement of food standards optimise Agri-Food Supply Chains performance and sustainability?. Therefore, and based
on the on-going work under the H2020 RUC-APS research project network, this research work is oriented to contribute to Agri-Food Supply
Chains decision-making field by covering, reviewing and analysing the current trends in Operational Research for supporting Agri-Food
Supply Chains decision-makers, in special the multi-disciplinary real industry life challenges. This within the objective to propose an integrated framework based on standardised Operational Research structures to cover the key current key challenges.