Agricultural University of Athens
School of Applied Economics and Social Sciences
Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development
Emerging Technologies in the Agri-food Supply Chain
A thesis submitted to the
AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Integrated Master’s Degree of
AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
By
GEORGIOS SOURDIS
Student ID: 418073
Committee Members
Costopoulou Constantina, Professor (Supervisor)
Karetsos Sotirios, Assistant Professor
Ntaliani Maria, Assistant Professor
Athens, November 2024
ABSTRACT
This thesis explores the transformative role of emerging technologies in the agri-food supply chain, with a focus on Artificial Intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain, and Industry 4.0 technologies. These innovations promise to revolutionize the sector by improving operational efficiency, sustainability, and transparency, addressing the growing challenges of food security and environmental impact. Through a systematic literature review and Q-Score evaluation of 23 studies, the research analyzes how these technologies enhance predictive maintenance, real-time decision-making, and food traceability, while also identifying barriers to their adoption, particularly for smallholder farmers and rural regions. The findings highlight AI's role in improving demand forecasting and resource optimization, IoT's contribution to real-time monitoring and waste reduction, and Blockchain's capacity to ensure food safety and reduce fraud through enhanced traceability. Despite these advances, challenges such as high implementation costs, technical expertise gaps, and infrastructure limitations persist. The research concludes by offering recommendations to policymakers and industry stakeholders to facilitate technology adoption, focusing on financial support, infrastructure development, and training initiatives. Future research is encouraged to further explore the long-term impacts of these technologies and their scalability for smallholder farmers.
Keywords: Agri-food supply chain, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), Industry 4.0, Sustainability, Traceability, Digital transformation
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