Research Article // Sustainable agriculture supply chain network design considering water-energy-food Nexus using queuing system: A hybrid robust possibilistic programming
By Komeyl Baghizadeh, Naoufel Cheikhrouhou, Kannan Govindan and Mahboubeh Ziyarati. This article proposes a mathematical Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Programming (MINLP) multiobjective and multiperiod model based on G/M/S//M queue theory and uncertainty for an agricultural supply chain case study, for the first time. Contrary to other investigations in this area, the proposed model is multiobjective, which focuses on water consumption, energy consumption, and waiting time in the form of independent objective functions.
Figure 1: Suggested supply chain network for strawberry production
Abstract
Due to the nature of the agricultural and food industry, the management of production, storage, transportation, waste disposal and environmental effects of their production, are of great importance. To deal with the sustainability issues linked to their supply chains, we propose in this study a mathematical model to design a sustainable supply chain of highly perishable agricultural product (strawberry). The model is a multiperiod, multiproduct multiobjective MINLP mathematical program that takes into consideration economic, social and environmental objectives to cover all aspects of sustainability. In addition, a G/M/S/M queuing system is developed for the transportation of harvested products between facilities for the first time. Since real-world problems related to industries such as food and agriculture are inherently uncertain, in this model, the important parameters of the problem are considered uncertain using fuzzy sets theory and a hybrid robust possibilistic programming model is developed. In addition, the Epsilon constraint approach converts the multiobjective mathematical model into a single-objective one and the Lagrangian relaxation method is used to effectively solve the model on a large scale. A case study in Iran is provided to investigate the results and discuss the solutions. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is performed to identify the impacts of important parameters on the solution. According to the analysis, equipping greenhouses with drip irrigation system and using solar panels in greenhouses, respectively, have the greatest impact on improving all target functions.
Recommendations for Resource Managers
- Multiobjective optimization shows trade-offs among conflicting objective function and assists decision-making to enhance sustainable agriculture industry.
- Focus on transportation system in fresh product will lead to less waste.
- The use of solar panels and drip irrigation helps to minimize water and energy consumption and CO2 emission.
Published
December 2021
By
Citation
Baghizadeh, K., Cheikhrouhou, N., Govindan, K., & Ziyarati, M. (2022). Sustainable agriculture supply chain network design considering water‐energy‐food Nexus using queuing system: A hybrid robust possibilistic programming. Natural Resource Modeling, 35(1), e12337.
Download
Download the full research article here.
Releated Articles
- Research article // Critical review on improving irrigation water use efficiency: Advances, challenges, and opportunities in the Ethiopia context
- Research Article // Characterizing and Defining of Designing Sustainable Product-Service Systems Applied to Distributed Water-Energy-Food Nexus
- Research article // Irrigation of biomass plantations may globally increase water stress more than climate change
- Research Article // A Review of the integrated WEF Nexus modeling platform in the NENA region: Morocco case study