The role of biofuels in the sustainable development of the agricultural supply chain: using artificial computational intelligence methods

Maleki Masoomabad, Lotfollah; Ardabili, Sina; Hashemi, Fatemeh

The role of biofuels in the sustainable development of the agricultural supply chain: using artificial computational intelligence methods

Document Type : Origional Article

Authors

lotfollah Maleki Masoomabad ¹ ^¶

Sina Ardabili ²

Fatemeh Hashemi ³

¹ Assistant Professor, Department of Geography and Urban and Rural Planning, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran

² Assistant Professor, Renewable Energy, Department of Advanced Engineering, Faculty of Advanced Technologies, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran

³ MSc, Renewable Energy, Department of Biosystems Engineering, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Technologies, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran.

Abstract

Background and Objective: With increasing environmental pressures and the growing need for clean energy, the use of biofuels has been considered as a solution to improve the sustainability of the agricultural supply chain. This study aimed to analyze the role of biofuels in the sustainable development of the agricultural supply chain using a systematic, focus group, and computational intelligence-based modeling approach.
Methodology: In the first stage, a systematic review method based on the PRISMA guideline was used to identify key variables. With the participation of 20 experts in the focus group format, the most important influential parameters, including biofuel production technology, support policies, energy infrastructure, and economic and environmental indicators, were identified. Subsequently, random forest algorithms and Relief feature selection were used to analyze the data.
Results and Findings: The modeling showed that the random forest algorithm was able to effectively cluster supply chains with different levels of sustainability with an accuracy of 85% (AUC=0.98). Clustering indicated that indicators such as direct employment generation in rural areas, pollution reduction, energy cost reduction, and distance to processing centers had the greatest impact on promoting sustainability, while the type and amount of biofuel consumed had a lesser impact. The findings indicate that sustainable development of the agricultural supply chain requires a focus on improving production technologies, biofuel infrastructure, targeted support policies, and educational programs for farmers.While providing a new framework for integrating renewable energies into the agricultural supply chain, it can provide a basis for policy decisions and optimization strategies to achieve sustainable development in the agricultural sector of Iran and other developing countries.

Keywords

biofuel

sustainable development

agricultural supply chain

computational intelligence

random forest

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