Application of planning models in the agri-food supply chain: A review

The supply chain of agricultural products has received a great deal of attention lately due to issues related to public health. Something that has become apparent is that in the near future the design and operation of agricultural supply chains will be subject to more stringent regulations and closer monitoring, in particular those for products destined for human consumption (agri-foods). This implies that the traditional supply chain practices may be subject to revision and change. One of the aspects that may be the subject of considerable scrutiny is the planning activities performed along the supply chains of agricultural products. In this paper, we review the main contributions in the field of production and distribution planning for agri-foods based on agricultural crops. We focus particularly on those models that have been successfully implemented. The models are classified according to relevant features, such as the optimization approaches used, the type of crops modeled and the scope of the plans, among many others. Through our analysis of the current state of the research, we diagnose some of the future requirements for modeling the supply chain of agri-foods. 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Keyword: OR in agriculture