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COVID-19 and the restrictive measures towards containing the spread of its infections have seriously affected the agricultural workforce and jeopardized food security. The present study aims at assessing the COVID-19 pandemic impacts on agricultural labor and suggesting strategies to mitigate them. To this end, after an introduction to the pandemic background, the negative consequences on agriculture and the existing mitigation policies, risks to the agricultural workers were benchmarked across the United States’ Standard Occupational Classification system. The individual tasks associated with each occupation in agricultural production were evaluated on the basis of potential COVID-19 infection risk. As criteria, the most prevalent virus transmission mechanisms were considered, namely the possibility of touching contaminated surfaces and the close proximity of workers. The higher risk occupations within the sector were identified, which facilitates the allocation of worker protection resources to the occupations where they are most needed. In particular, the results demonstrated that 50% of the agricultural workforce and 54% of the workers’ annual income are at moderate to high risk. As a consequence, a series of control measures need to be adopted so as to enhance the resilience and sustainability of the sector as well as protect farmers including physical distancing, hygiene practices, and personal protection equipment.
Dionysis Bochtis; Lefteris Benos; Maria Lampridi; Vasso Marinoudi; Simon Pearson; Claus Sørensen. Agricultural Workforce Crisis in Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Sustainability 2020, 12, 8212 .
AMA StyleDionysis Bochtis, Lefteris Benos, Maria Lampridi, Vasso Marinoudi, Simon Pearson, Claus Sørensen. Agricultural Workforce Crisis in Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (19):8212.
Chicago/Turabian StyleDionysis Bochtis; Lefteris Benos; Maria Lampridi; Vasso Marinoudi; Simon Pearson; Claus Sørensen. 2020. "Agricultural Workforce Crisis in Light of the COVID-19 Pandemic." Sustainability 12, no. 19: 8212.
The calculation of the energy cost of a cultivation is a determining factor in the overall assessment of agricultural sustainability. Most studies mainly examine the entire life cycle of the operation, considering reference values and reference databases for the determination of the machinery contribution to the overall energy balance. This study presents a modelling methodology for the precise calculation of the energy cost of performing an agricultural operation. The model incorporates operational management into the calculation, while simultaneously considering the commercially available machinery (implements and tractors). As a case study, the operation of tillage was used considering both primary and secondary tillage (moldboard plow and field cultivator, respectively). The results show the importance of including specific operation parameters and the available machinery as part of determining the accurate total energy consumption, even though the field size and available time do not have a significant effect.
Maria Lampridi; Dimitrios Kateris; Claus Grøn Sørensen; Dionysis Bochtis. Energy Footprint of Mechanized Agricultural Operations. Energies 2020, 13, 769 .
AMA StyleMaria Lampridi, Dimitrios Kateris, Claus Grøn Sørensen, Dionysis Bochtis. Energy Footprint of Mechanized Agricultural Operations. Energies. 2020; 13 (3):769.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaria Lampridi; Dimitrios Kateris; Claus Grøn Sørensen; Dionysis Bochtis. 2020. "Energy Footprint of Mechanized Agricultural Operations." Energies 13, no. 3: 769.
This paper presents a methodological framework for the systematic literature review of agricultural sustainability studies. The framework synthesizes all the available literature review criteria and introduces a two-level analysis facilitating systematization, data mining, and methodology analysis. The framework was implemented for the systematic literature review of 38 crop agricultural sustainability assessment studies at farm-level for the last decade. The investigation of the methodologies used is of particular importance since there are no standards or norms for the sustainability assessment of farming practices. The chronological analysis revealed that the scientific community’s interest in agricultural sustainability is increasing in the last three years. The most used methods include indicator-based tools, frameworks, and indexes, followed by multicriteria methods. In the reviewed studies, stakeholder participation is proved crucial in the determination of the level of sustainability. It should also be mentioned that combinational use of methodologies is often observed, thus a clear distinction of methodologies is not always possible.
Maria Lampridi; Claus Sørensen; Dionysis Bochtis. Agricultural Sustainability: A Review of Concepts and Methods. Sustainability 2019, 11, 5120 .
AMA StyleMaria Lampridi, Claus Sørensen, Dionysis Bochtis. Agricultural Sustainability: A Review of Concepts and Methods. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (18):5120.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaria Lampridi; Claus Sørensen; Dionysis Bochtis. 2019. "Agricultural Sustainability: A Review of Concepts and Methods." Sustainability 11, no. 18: 5120.
The need to intensify agriculture to meet increasing nutritional needs, in combination with the evolution of unmanned autonomous systems has led to the development of a series of “smart” farming technologies that are expected to replace or complement conventional machinery and human labor. This paper proposes a preliminary methodology for the economic analysis of the employment of robotic systems in arable farming. This methodology is based on the basic processes for estimating the use cost for agricultural machinery. However, for the case of robotic systems, no average norms for the majority of the operational parameters are available. Here, we propose a novel estimation process for these parameters in the case of robotic systems. As a case study, the operation of light cultivation has been selected due the technological readiness for this type of operation.
Maria G. Lampridi; Dimitrios Kateris; Giorgos Vasileiadis; Vasso Marinoudi; Simon Pearson; Claus G. Sørensen; Athanasios Balafoutis; Dionysis Bochtis. A Case-Based Economic Assessment of Robotics Employment in Precision Arable Farming. Agronomy 2019, 9, 175 .
AMA StyleMaria G. Lampridi, Dimitrios Kateris, Giorgos Vasileiadis, Vasso Marinoudi, Simon Pearson, Claus G. Sørensen, Athanasios Balafoutis, Dionysis Bochtis. A Case-Based Economic Assessment of Robotics Employment in Precision Arable Farming. Agronomy. 2019; 9 (4):175.
Chicago/Turabian StyleMaria G. Lampridi; Dimitrios Kateris; Giorgos Vasileiadis; Vasso Marinoudi; Simon Pearson; Claus G. Sørensen; Athanasios Balafoutis; Dionysis Bochtis. 2019. "A Case-Based Economic Assessment of Robotics Employment in Precision Arable Farming." Agronomy 9, no. 4: 175.
There is a variety of crops that may be considered as potential biomass production crops. In order to select the best suitable for cultivation crop for a given area, a number of several factors should be taken into account. During the crop selection process, a common framework should be followed focussing on financial or energy performance. Combining multiple crops and multiple fields for the extraction of the best allocation requires a model to evaluate various and complex factors given a specific objective. This paper studies the maximisation of total energy gained from the biomass production by energy crops, reduced by the energy costs of the production process. The tool calculates the energy balance using multiple crops allocated to multiple fields. Both binary programming and linear programming methods are employed to solve the allocation problem. Each crop is assigned to a field (or a combination of crops are allocated to each field) with the aim of maximising the energy balance provided by the production system. For the demonstration of the tool, a hypothetical case study of three different crops cultivated for a decade (Miscanthus x giganteus, Arundo donax, and Panicum virgatum) and allocated to 40 dispersed fields around a biogas plant in Italy is presented. The objective of the best allocation is the maximisation of energy balance showing that the linear solution is slightly better than the binary one in the basic scenario while focussing on suggesting alternative scenarios that would have an optimal energy balance.
Efthymios C. Rodias; Maria Lampridi; Alessandro Sopegno; Remigio Berruto; George Banias; Dionysis Bochtis; Patrizia Busato. Optimal energy performance on allocating energy crops. Biosystems Engineering 2019, 181, 11 -27.
AMA StyleEfthymios C. Rodias, Maria Lampridi, Alessandro Sopegno, Remigio Berruto, George Banias, Dionysis Bochtis, Patrizia Busato. Optimal energy performance on allocating energy crops. Biosystems Engineering. 2019; 181 ():11-27.
Chicago/Turabian StyleEfthymios C. Rodias; Maria Lampridi; Alessandro Sopegno; Remigio Berruto; George Banias; Dionysis Bochtis; Patrizia Busato. 2019. "Optimal energy performance on allocating energy crops." Biosystems Engineering 181, no. : 11-27.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the Greek government and the troika in 2010 contained numerous austerity policies and requirements for administrative reforms, among which is that of the national Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system. Complying with this requirement, Law4014/2011 was passed, aiming at reducing bureaucracy and increasing the country's appeal to investors whilst ensuring environmental protection. The present paper provides the first systematic, multi-scale and multidimensional evaluation of the effectiveness of the new EIA system. The evaluation is based firstly on the results of a Pan-Hellenic survey, involving key EIA consultants and authorities; secondly, on additional, in-depth interviews with EIA specialists, National- Ministry and Regional EIA Authorities; and thirdly, on the content review of 105 Environmental Impact statements. The results highlight the persistence of serious problems despite the reform of the Hellenic EIA System. The data reveal a significant discrepancy between what is set out in law and the actual practice. Although Law 4014/2011 contains progressive and innovative elements (such as adopting a life cycle approach to the EIA process, and mandating the development and use of a central Electronic Environmental Registry (e-ER) to manage and publish results of the EIA process), the recorded failure to implement them in practice results in a non-transparent and ineffective EIA system. Recommendations for improvement are proposed as well as areas for further research.
Kalliope Pediaditi; Georgios Banias; Eftychios Sartzetakis; Maria Lampridi. Greece's reformed EIA system: Evaluating its implementation and potential. Environmental Impact Assessment Review 2018, 73, 90 -103.
AMA StyleKalliope Pediaditi, Georgios Banias, Eftychios Sartzetakis, Maria Lampridi. Greece's reformed EIA system: Evaluating its implementation and potential. Environmental Impact Assessment Review. 2018; 73 ():90-103.
Chicago/Turabian StyleKalliope Pediaditi; Georgios Banias; Eftychios Sartzetakis; Maria Lampridi. 2018. "Greece's reformed EIA system: Evaluating its implementation and potential." Environmental Impact Assessment Review 73, no. : 90-103.