Crop Planning in Sustainable Agriculture

Sustainable agriculture aims at growing food in an ecologically and ethically responsible manner by using practices that enhance environmental quality and natural resource base, while maintaining the economic viability of farm operations.  Globally, there is increased focus on sustainable agriculture owing to a variety of factors.  First, we are anticipating a global surge in demand for food as there will be 2 billion people more to feed by 2050.  Furthermore, the global agricultural industry has heightened economic implications, as it is today the main source of income for more than a third of world's population.  In Asia, sustainable agriculture, which contributes to greater food security and poverty reduction, also helps to fuel Singapore’s continuous development as the largest commodity trading hub in the region.

Onur Boyabatli is an Associate Professor of Operations Management at the SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business.  He specialises in research on supply chain risk management, with a focus on agri-businesses.

In this podcast, Assoc Prof Boyabatli shares his research which proposes a sustainable crop allocation policy to help farmers choose which crops to grow on their farmland while optimising their profitability.