Digital technologies in the agrifood value chain: From precision agriculture to advanced processing and sustainable distribution
The world’s population is expected to grow to approx. 10 billion by 2050. This growth will result in increased demand for resources, raw materials and food. The world faces intersecting challenges like climate change, exploitation of natural capital and an aging and declining rural population. To produce a “sustainable food future,” the world must increase food production while cutting GHG emissions and maintaining (or reducing) the land used in agriculture. Digital technology could address these challenges by making the agri-food value chain more efficient, equitable, and environmentally sustainable – before, during, and after on-farm production. This session focuses on cutting-edge electronics and sensor technology that automate the agrifood supply chain from smart and precision agriculture to advanced processing and retail stages. Novel research works are invited on digital technology related to innovative solutions applied to the agrifood value chain, including agricultural production and processing, quality control along the distribution chain. This session will address smart electronic systems for the agrifood supply chain; Smart sensors for controlling the crop status; Sensors for monitoring food production and processing; Technology to improve traceability; IoT and Artificial Intelligence applications. Bringing together researchers, farmers, and industry leaders, our session at EEITE 2025 provides a unique platform for sharing the latest breakthroughs and discussing the challenges and opportunities of digital technology in agrifood supply chain. The session aims to empower farmers and industry players alike to foster a sustainable, environmentally conscious approach to food production and distribution. Join us in shaping a future where digital technology and sustainability converge to create a resilient and efficient agrifood system.
Session Organizer
Dr. Dimitrios Argyropoulos is an Assistant Professor in the UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering, a multi-disciplinary school—Ireland’s premier agri-food related research entity with excellent networks into the agri-food industry. He is currently the UCD Program Director of the MSc Digital Technology for Sustainable Agriculture and a Principal Investigator with the UCD Institute of Food and Health. He leads the Digital AgTech Lab, with focus on the application of “smart systems” to the agri-food and bio-resource sectors.
Dr Argyropoulos is a highly experienced academic with proven solid project leadership experience at EU, national and industrial level. He has developed collaborative multi-disciplinary research programmes with industry and has led several national and EU funded international research consortia. He is Principal Investigator in 10 ongoing European projects on sustainable and digitised agri-food value chains (Watson, Farmtopia, GOOD, NanoCosmos, EU4Advice, Oenotrace, Mushnomics, SpectroFood, Poease, Foster-xR). He is currently leading the €11 million Horizon Europe Watson project, an interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary project of 45 partners across 20 countries addressing the application of digital and intelligence-based technologies on food authenticity and traceability across the supply chain.
He is a member of various European agri-food tech and engineering networks, societies and associations e.g., advisory board member of the H2020 DIVA project ‘Boosting innovative digitech value chains for agrofood, forestry and environment’; steering committee member of the IEEE Transactions on AgriFood Electronics (TAFE); associate editor of Elsevier Journal on Smart Agricultural Technology (SAT); associate editor of Elsevier Journal on Computers and Electronics in Agriculture (COMPAG); member of the Association of German Engineers (Max Eyth Society for Agricultural Engineering); member of the European Society of Agricultural Engineers (EurAgEng); associate editor (Machinery Systems) of the American Society of Agricultural & Biological Engineers (ASABE).