7th International Conference on Information and
Copyright © 2015 for the individual papers by the papers’ authors. Copying permitted for private and academic purposes. This volume is published and copyrighted by its editors. PROCEEDINGS 7th International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies in
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Conference Chairs Mike Salampasis, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece Christos Batzios, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Organising Committee Chairs Vagis Samathrakis, President of HAICTA, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece Alexandros Theodoridis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Program Chairs Dionysis Bochtis, Aarhus University, Denmark Zacharoula Andreopoulou, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Doctoral Consortium Chairs Thomas Bournaris, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Pavlos Delias, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology, Greece Poster Chairs Christos Bialas, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece Georgios Tsekouropoulos, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece Tutorial Chairs Athanasios Ragkos, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece Elias Tsourapas, Hellenic Open University, Greece Industry Track Chairs Dimitris Tektonidis, Altec Research, Greece Nikos Manouselis, Agro-Know, Greece Publicity Chair Maria Botsiou, University of Macedonia, Greece Conference Secretariat Christiana Koliouska, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Elias Tsourapas, Hellenic Open University, Greece Organizing Committee Aidonis Dimitrios, Technological Educational Institute of Central Macedonia, Greece Andreopoulou Zacharoula, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Arabatzis Garyfallos, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece Assimakopoulos Konstantinos, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece Avlonitis Markos, Ionian University, Corfu, Greece Batzios Christos, Aristotle Univertity of Thessaloniki, Greece Bialas Christos, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece Bochtis Dionysis, Aarhus University, Denmark Botsiou Maria, University of Macedonia, Greece Bournaris Thomas, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Delias Pavlos, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology, Greece Galanopoulos Kostas, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece Gemtos Theofanis, University of Thessaly, Greece Grigoroudis Evangelos, The Technical University of Crete, Greece Ioannou Konstantinos, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology, Greece Kalogianni Eleni, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece Karasavvoglou Anastasios, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology, Greece Katrakylidis Kostas, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Kiomourtzi Faidra, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Koliouska Christiana, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Koutouzidou Georgia, University of Macedonia, Greece Lantzos Theodoros, Technological Educational Institute of Central Macedonia, Greece Manos Basil, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Mazaraki Nikoleta, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Mitlianga Paraskevi, Technological Educational Institute of Western Macedonia, Greece Papathanasiou Antonis, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology, Greece Parisis Costas, Technological Educational Institute of Western Macedonia, Greece Polychronidou Persefoni, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology, Greece Polymeros Kostas, University of Thessaly, Greece Ragkos Athanasios, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece Salampasis Mike, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece Semos Anastasios, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Sideridis Alexandros, Agricultural University of Athens, Greece Tektonidis Dimitris, Altec Research, Greece Tompoulidou Eleni, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Triantafyllou Dimitrios, Technological Educational Institute of Central Macedonia, Greece Trikoupi Georgia, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Tsekouropoulos Georgios, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece Tsourapas Elias, Hellenic Open University, Greece Tzortzios Stergios, University of Thessaly, Greece Vazakidis Athanasios, University of Macedonia, Greece Vlachopoulou Maro, University of Macedonia, Greece Vlontzos George, University of Thessaly, Greece Yialouris Costas, Agricultural University of Athens, Greece Scientific Committee Adamides George, Agricultural Research Institute, Cyprus Adamopoulos Dimitrios, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece Aggelopoulos Stamatis, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece Aggelopoulou Katerina, University of Thessaly, Greece Aidonis Dimitrios, Technological Educational Institute of Central Macedonia, Greece Androulidaki Maria, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Arabatzis Garyfallos, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece Arslan Derya, Necmettin Erbakan University, Konya, Turkey Asimopoulos Nikolaos, Technological Educational Institute of Western Macedonia, Greece Avlonitis Markos, Ionian University, Greece Bartzanas Thomas, Center for Research and Technology, Greece Batzios Christos, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Begum Mst. Esmat Ara, Bangladesh Agricultural Reasearch Institute, Bangladesh Bimonte Sandro, Cemagref, France Blanas George, Technological Educational Istitute of Larissa, Greece Bogdanović Vladan, University of Belgrade, Serbia Bonati Guido, INEA, Italy Borrelli Irene Paola, University of Naples Parthenope, Italy Bournaris Thomas, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Canavari Maurizio, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Italy Cesaretti Gian Paolo, University of Naples Parthenope, Cesaretti Foundation, Italy Chanet Jean-Pierre, Irstea, France Chernyak Oleksandr, Kyiv National Taras Shevchenko University, Ukraine Costopoulou Constantina, Agricultural University of Athens, Greece Dal Fabbro Inacio Maria, University of Campinas, Brazil Delias Pavlos, Technological Educational Institute of Eastern Macedonia-Thrace, Greece Emmanouilides Christos, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Erdelyi Eva, Corvinus University of Budapest, Hungary Florou Giannoula, Technological Educational Institute of Eastern Macedonia-Thrace, Greece Gemtos Theofanis, University of Thessaly, Greece Gertsis Athanasios, American Farm School-Perrotis College, Greece Gurstein Michael, Centre for Community Informatics Research, Training and Development, Canada Hatzichristos Thomas, National Technical University of Athens, Greece Herdon Miklos, University of Debrecen, Hungary Ilicali Coscan, Kyrgyz - Turkish Manas University, Turkey Ioannou Konstantinos, Technological Educational Institute of Eastern MacedoniaThrace, Greece Kabranova Romina, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, FYROM Kalogianni Eleni, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece Kamenidou Irene, Technological Educational Institute of Eastern Macedonia-Thrace, Greece Kapoulas Alexandros, CITY College an International Faculty of the Univesrsity of Sheffield, Greece Karanikola Paraskevi, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece Karasavvoglou Anastasios, Technological Educational Institute of Eastern Macedonia-Thrace, Greece Karelakis Christos, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece Katsoulas Nikolaos, University of Thessaly, Greece Kokkinakis Antonis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Koluman Nazan, Cukurova University, Turkey Kononova Kateryna, V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Ukraine Kostoglou Vassilis, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece Koumpis Adamantios, ALTEC S.A., Greece Kouroupetroglou Christos, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece Koutroumanidis Theodoros, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece Kurganskaya Galina, Irkutsk Sate University, Russia Kuzmanovska Biljana, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, FYROM Kyrkos Stathis, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece Lagogiannis George, Agricultural University of Athens, Greece Lakota Miran, University of Maribor, Slovenia Lantzos Theodoros, Technological Educational Institute of Central Macedonia, Greece Lazić Sanja, University of Novi Sad, Serbia Lefakis Panagiotis, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Litina Anastasia, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg Lorentzos Nikolaos, Agricultural University of Athens, Greece Louca Soulla, University of Nicosia, Cyprus Mačukanović-Jocić Marina, University of Belgrade, Serbia Mahboubi Hadj, Cemagerf, France Malama Eleonora Ioulia, Tecnhological Educational Insitute of Western Macedonia, Greece Mandilas Athanasios, Tecnhological Educational Insitute of Eastern MacedoniaThrace, Greece Manitsaris Sotiris, IRCAM-MINES ParisTech, France Manos Vassilios, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Manouselis Nikos, Agro-Know Technologies, Greece Manthou Vicky, University of Macedonia, Greece Matopoulos Aristides, Aston University, United Kingdom Mavridis Ioannis, University of Macedonia, Greece Merunka Vojtech, Czech University of Life Sciences, Czech Republic Michaelidis George, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Miralles André, Cemagref, UMR TETIS, France Misso Rosa, University of Naples "Parthenope”, Italy Mitkas Pericles, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Mitlianga Paraskevi, Technological Education Institute of Western Macedonia, Greece Moshou Dimitrios, Aristotle University, School of Agriculture, Greece Murgante Beniamino, University of Basilicata, Italy Myronidis Dimitris, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Namdarian Iraj, INEA, Italy Notta Ourania, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece Ocak Sezen, Zirve University, Turkey Paliokas Ioannis, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece Paltoglou Georgios, University of Wolverhampton, United Kingdom Papadopoulou Eleni, Aritsotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Papajorgji Petraq, University of Florida, USA Papathanasiou Jason, University of Macedonia, Greece Pardalos Panos, University of Florida, USA Parisis Constantinos, TEI of Western Maccedonia, Greece Petrelis Nikolaos, Technological Educational Institute of Thessaly, Greece Petrović Dragan, University of Belgrade, Serbia Pimenidis Elias, University of East London, United Kingdom Pinet Francois, Cemagref, France Podaras Athanasios, Alpha Bank, IT Department, Greece Polymeros Konstantinos, University of Thessaly, Greece Polyzos Serafeim, University of Thessaly, Greece Ragkos Athanasios, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece Ruml Mirjana, University of Belgrade, Serbia Salampasis Michail, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece Samathrakis Vagis, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece Santana Fabiana Soares, Federal University at ABC, Brazil Saprikis Vaggelis, University of Macedonia, Thessaloniki, Greece Sarmaniotis Christos, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece Selmaoui-Folcher Nazha, University of New Caledonia, France Semos Anastasios, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Sibertin-Blanc Christophe, University of Toulouse, France Sibetheros Ioannis, Technological Educational Institute of Athens, Greece Sindir Kamil, Ege University, Turkey Sioutas Spyros, Ionian University, Corfu, Greece Srdjevic Bojan, University of Novi Sad, Serbia Srdjevic Zorica, University of Novi Sad, Serbia Tampakis Stilianos, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece Tasoulas Evangelos, Technological Educational Institute of Ipiros, Greece Tegos George, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece Tektonidis Dimitrios, Altec Research, Greece Theodoridis Alexandros, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Theriou Nikolaos, Technological Educational Institute of Eastern Macedonia-Thrace, Greece Triantafillou Dimitris, Technological Educational Institution of Thessaloniki, Greece Trigkas Marios, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece Tsagaris Apostolos, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, Greece Tsantopoulos Georgios, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece Tsekouropoulos Georgios, Technological Educational Institution of Thessaloniki, Greece Tsiantikoudis Stavros, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece Tsiligiridis Theodoros, Agricultural University of Athens, Greece Tsirogiannis Ioannis, Greece Tzortzios Stergios, University of Thessaly, Greece Valsamidis Stavros, Technological Educational Institute of Eastern MacedoniaThrace, Greece Várallyai László, University of Debrecen, Hungary Vatsos Ioannis, Universitetet i Nordland, Norway Vazakidis Athanasios, University of Macedonia, Greece Viaggi Davide, University of Bologna, Italy Viola Immacolata, University of Naples Parthenope, Italy Vlachopoulou Maro, University of Macedonia, Greece Vlontzos George, University of Thessaly, Greece Vulovic Snezana, University of Kraguejvac, Serbia Wotawa Franz, Technische Universitaet Graz, Austria Yialouris Constantine, Agricultural University of Athens, Greece Zafeiriou Eleni, Democritus University of Thrace, Greece
Sponsors
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Editorial The booming of ICTs in all aspects of human life has significantly re-structured the current socio-economic environment with the provision of innovation. Various new technologies have recently emerged in the convergence of different IT-systems aiming to meet the needs of the modern society in goods and services while protecting the environment. Moreover, technology is now transforming in digitization of equipment, of processes, of structures and of business models that provide huge opportunities to those engaged in the agrifood sector, in the protection and preservation of the environment, and in sustainable development and rural planning.
In that context, ICT related research applications, innovative methodologies and practices have been presented and discussed during the 7th International Conference on Information and Communication Technologies in Agriculture, Food, and Environment (HAICTA 2015).
These proceedings contain peer reviewed research papers accepted for presentation at HAICTA 2015, which was held on September 17-20, 2015, in Kavala, Greece.
HAICTA 2015 constitutes a leading bi-annual international professional and scientific forum for IT-experts, geotechnical and agrifood scientists, environmentalists, foresters, water engineers, spatial engineers, and decision-makers, to present research works, contributions and recent developments, current practices and innovations, to suggest questions and issues, and to start a productive debate. Furthermore, another emphasis is put on the applicability of ICT solutions to real industry cases and the respective challenges.
129 papers were initially submitted from scientists from 21 countries. After a double blind review process by at least two members of the Program Committee of HAICTA 2015, 108 papers were finally accepted for presentation and publication in the conference proceedings (83.7% acceptance rate). The included papers highlight new tools, techniques and processes critical for the enhancement of agrifood and environment through information and communications technologies. Most of the papers represent academic research viewpoints while they equally discuss contemporary technologies, emerging research applications and future potential.
These proceedings merge agricultural, food and environmental sector topics with modules of Information Technology aiming to establish successful communication channels, essential for sustainable decision making in agriculture, food and the environment which consecutively contribute to productivity, competitiveness and sustainable development.
The Hellenic Association for Information and Communication Technologies in Agriculture, Food and Environment (HAICTA) marks this year 18 years of existence; the first conference took place in 2002. The conference’s prestige grew over the years -mainly from an organizational aspect- arousing the interest of national and international institutions to become conference partners.
We would like to thank the authors and HAICTA participants for their contribution to these proceedings and who continue to participate in HAICTA scientific community. We would also like to thank the reviewers, members of the Programme Committee, for ensuring the Proceedings quality. We are also grateful to the invited keynote speakers Prof. Remigio Berruto, Dr. Nicolai Fog Hansen and Prof. Panos Pardalos, who agreed to share their ideas and research with HAICTA community through their inspired lectures. We would also like to thank the Organizing Committee Chairs, Conference Chairs and Conference Secretariat for their continuous help to our task.
We hope that these proceedings will promote the HAICTA focal scientific areas and contribute the challenges for the integration of innovative and advanced ICT technology, practices and emerging research applications towards environmental and agricultural sustainable development systems while it will enhance a constructive discussion within the scientific community.
The Editors,
Prof. Zacharoula Andreopoulou Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Prof. Dionysis Bochtis
Aarhus University
Table of Contents Doctoral Consortium
Dimitris Solakis and Panagiotis Lefakis
Design and Development of a Dynamic Portal – Travel Guide for the City of Florina Concerning Smart Portable Devices Leon Thaqi
E-Waste Management & Clean Technologies Georgia Koutouzidou, Athanasios Vazakidis, Alexandros Theodoridis and Christos Batzios
A Review of ABC Methodology for Agricultural Sector Ioakeim Tzoulis, Zacharoula Andreopoulou, Marios Trigkas, George Tsekouropoulos and Elias Voulgaridis
Wood Trade in Greece: The Impact Of Economic Crisis And The
Use Of New Technologies Stefanos Leontopoulos, Garyfallos Arabatzis, Stamatis Ntanos and Stavros Ch. Tsiantikoudis
Acceptance of Energy Crops by Farmers in Larissa’s Regional
Unit, Greece: A First Approach Afërdita Qekaj-Thaqi
Integration of GIS & GPS Systems on Vehicle Monitoring Research & Development Session
Milan Popović, Đorđe Malenčić, Dejan Prvulović, Biljana Kiprovski, Aleksandra Popović and Dušica Dorić
Effect of Auxins on Mechanical Injury Induced Oxidative Stress in
Prunus sp. Rootstocks Christos Stefanis, Eleni Kamateri, Maria Partalidou, Stelios Gargas and Kostas Nasias
Biomass On-line Management System: BI.O.MA.S.
Györk Fülöp, Edit Sárközi and Ildikó Szikszainé Szigeti
Applying Earth Observation Data for Detection and Estimation of Woody Biomass Volumes of Agricultural Areas Accessible for
Energy Production Salem S. Alghamdi and Megahed H. Ammar
Direct Regeneration of Chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) from Adventitious Buds 1 11 20 26 38 44 53 60 64 68 Polychronis Kostoulas, Elissavet Angelidou and Leonidas Leontides
A Stochastic Simulation Model for the Efficacy of Vaccination Against Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in Dairy
Sheep and Goats Hamed Tavakoli, Seyed Saeid Mohtasebi and Robin Gebbers
An Image Processing Based Approach for Detection of Nitrogen
Status in Winter Wheat Under Mild Drought Stress Ioannis Kosmadakis, Panagiotis Tsardaklis, Konstantinos Ioannou and George N. Zaimes
A Novel Fully Automated Soil Erosion Monitoring System Dimosthenis Mpoutakidis, Alexandra Pavloudi, Stamatis Aggelopoulos and Maria Rapti
Development of Software for the Farms Accounting Session 1: ICT for AgroEnvironment & Development
Alexander B. Sideridis and Loucas Protopappas
Recent ICT Advances Applied to Smart e-Government Systems in
Life Sciences Paraskevi Karanikola, Stilianos Tampakis, Vasileios Drosos and Nikolaos Varlamis
Informing Residents to Natural Disasters: the Case Study Results from Northern Evros, Greece Christiana Koliouska, Zacharoula Andreopoulou, Fedra Kiomourtzi and Basil Manos
E-Government for National Forest Parks in Greece Cor Verdouw, Robbert Robbemond and Jan Willem Kruize
Integration of Production Control and Enterprise Management
Systems in Horticulture George Dimokas and Constantinos Kittas
Use of Branch and Bound Algorithms for Greenhouse Climate
Control Session 2: Engineering & Water Management through ICT Dimitrios Myronidis, Dimitrios Fotakis, Konstantina Sgouropoulou, Marios Sapountzis and Dimitrios Stathis
Checking a Culvert Suitability for Flood Wave Routing Within the Framework of the EU Flood Directive 69 74 80 85 92 107 117 124 136 146 Paschalis Koutalakis, George N. Zaimes, Dimitrios Emmanouloudis, Konstantinos Ioannou and Valasia Iakovoglou
Using ArcSWAT to Predict Discharge in Ungauge Torrents of
Thasos Island Kun Zhou and Dionysis Bochtis
Route Planning For Capacitated Agricultural Machines Based On
Ant Colony Algorithms Nikolaos Malamos, Ioannis L. Tsirogiannis, Antonis Christofides, Stavros Anastasiadis and Silvia Vanino
Main Features and Application of a Web-based Irrigation
Management Tool for the Plain of Arta Yasemin Leventeli&
Importance of Water in Morphology Session 3: Agricultural Mobile Apps
Radu Roşca, Petru Cârlescu, Ioan Ţenu and Radu Ciorap
Vacuum Regulation with a VFD Controller: Preliminary Tests and
Modeling of the Vacuum System Michael Maliappis and Dimitris Kremmydas
An Online Analytical Processing (OLAP) Database for
Agricultural Policy Data: a Greek Case Study Arpit Narechania
KisanVikas – Android Based ICT Solution in Indian Agriculture to
Assist Farmers Nikos Petrellis
Plant Disease Diagnosis Based on Image Processing, Appropriate for Mobile Phone Implementation Heather Jaffan&
ICT Enable of Agricultural Innovation Systems: Implications
Environment, Population and Food Production Session 4: Urban Green & Agroforestry
Constantinos Kittas, Dimitrios Antoniadis, Nikolaos Katsoulas, Ioannis L. Tsirogiannis, Gregorios Varras and Thomas Bartzanas
Measurements and Simulation of Microclimatic Effects of a Horizontal Hydroponic Pergola 154 163 174 186 202 214 226 238 247 255 Grigorios Varras, Zacharoula Andreopoulou, Christiana Koliouska, Evangelos Tasoulas and Christos Myriounis
A Web-based DSS for Sustainability in Urban Green Zones László Várallyai, Miklós Herdon, Charles Burriel, János Tamás and János Pancsira
Building a European Agro-Forestry Training and Learning System
Model in the AgroFE Leonardo Project - Hungarian Specialities Athanasios Gertsis, Konstantinos Zoukidis and Christos Vasilikiotis
Evaluation of an Irrigation Water Treatment Technology (MAXGROW) on its Effects to Vegetable Species Yield Garyfallos Arabatzis, Spyros Galatsidas, Christina Intze, Miltiadis Chalikias, Stavros Tsiantikoudis and Spyros Mamalis
Green Entrepreneurship and Green Products: Consumers’ Views and Attitudes in Regional Unit of Evros Posters
Mariana Ivanova
E-learning Course in Organic Food Retailing in Bulgaria Athanasios Ragkos, Vagis Samathrakis, Alexandros Theodoridis, Ourania Notta, Christos Batzios and Elias Tsourapas
Specialization And Concentration Of Agricultural Production In
The Region Of Central Macedonia (Greece) Ioannis Gravalos, Dimitrios Kateris, Anastasios Georgiadis, Theodoros Gialamas and Avgoustinos Avgoustis
Optimizing Soil Moisture Uniformity and Irrigation Management Maria Karatassiou, Athanasios Ragkos, Phoebus Markidis and Theodosis Stavrou
A Comparative Study of Methods for the Estimation of the Leaf
Area in Forage Species Antonios Fanariotis and Theodoros Papathanasiou
The Use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in Environmental Education and Awareness: The Case of Hiking
Trails in the Island of Karpathos-Saria Cluster Maria Karatassiou, Paraskevi Sklavou, Zoi Parissi, Georgia Galidaki and Anna Sidiropoulou
Land Use/Cover Changes in North Eastern Greece from 1980 to 2000 263 270 284 291 298 304 320 326 333 341 Miltiadis Chalikias and Stamatis Ntanos
Countries Clustering with Respect to Carbon Dioxide Emissions by
Using the IEA Database Athanasios Gertsis, Christos Vasilikiotis and Konstantinos Zoukidis
Management Zones Delineation in Olive Grove Using an
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Francesco Barreca and Carmelo Riccardo Fichera
Thermal Insulating Characteristics of Cork Agglomerate Panels in
Sustainable Food Buildings Mahmoud Nasr and Hoda Farouk Zahran
Performance Evaluation of Agricultural Drainage Water
Statistically – A Case Study Alkan Öztekin, Bayram Kızılkaya, Alparslan Aslan, Kahraman Selvi, Sevdan Yılmaz, Olcay Hisar and Sebahattin Ergün
Body Amino Acid Composition of Axillary seabream (Pagellus acarne R., 1827) Catched from Dardanelles (Canakkale, Turkey) Antonis Kavvadias, Emmanouil Psomiadis, Maroulio Chanioti, Eleni Gala and Spyros Michas
Precision Agriculture – Comparison and Evaluation of Innovative
Very High Resolution (UAV) and LandSat Data Session 5: Wood Technology
Kyriaki Giagli, Jan Baar, Vladimír Gryc and Hanuš Vavrčík
Inferences on Wood Density Variability in European Ash Growing in Two Different Floodplain Forest Sites Ioannis Papadopoulos, Marios Trigkas, Glykeria Karagouni, Emmanouil Dedoulis, Aikaterini Papadopoulou and George Blanas
Techno-economic Analysis of Furniture Innovation: Developing a
Green and Smart Furniture for Mass Production Stavros Valsamidis, Ioannis Petasakis, Elpida Tenidou and Lambros Tsourgiannis
Attitude of Evros’ s Farmers for the Genetically Modified Trees Grigorios L. Kyriakopoulos, Miltiadis S. Chalikias, Olga Kalaitzidou, Michalis Skordoulis and Dimitris Drosos
Environmental Viewpoint of Fuelwood Management Nikos Petrellis, Michael Birbas and Fotios Gioulekas
The Front End Design of a Health Monitoring System 347 352 358 367 371 376 387 393 401 416 426 Stavros Ch. Tsiantikoudis and Spyros Goumas
Diversification Factors of Cultivators/Investors of Robinia pseudoacacia (Black locust) Session 6: Regional Sustainability & Agrotourism
Gian Paolo Cesaretti, Maria Carmen de Angelis, Rosa Misso and Safwat H Shakir Hanna
Sustainability Empowerment and Lifestyles: ICTs for New Food
Behavioral Models Chryssoula Chatzigeorgiou, Ioanna Simelli and Apostolos Tsagaris
Bird Watching and Ecotourism: !An Innovative Monitoring System to Project the Species of Lesvos Island to Potential Ecotourists Stefanos Tsiaras
Assessing the Environmental Impact of Mountain Tourism. The
Case of Elatochori Ski Centre, Greece Giannoula Florou, Sofia Anastasiadou, Anastasios Karasavvoglou, Stavros Valsamidis and Athanasios Mandilas
Greek Public Tertiary Education Departments of Agriculture Georgios K. Tegos
Spatial and Temporal Data Analysis of Cephalopods Catches in
Greece Marika Zirham and Roberto Palomba
Innovation and Multi Functionality of Female Agriculture in the
Short Food Supply Chain. Four Campania Region Case Studies Session 7: Marketing & Entrepreneurship
Anastasios Liapakis, Constantina Costopoulou and Alexander Sideridis
The Corporate Social Responsibility in the Greek Agri-food Sector Alessandro Scuderi and Luisa Sturiale
Social Commerce and Marketing Strategy for “Made in Italy” Food
Products Lambros Tsourgiannis, Efstratios Loizou, Anastasios Karasavvoglou, Christos Antonios Tsourgiannis and Giannoula Florou
Consumers’ Purchasing Behaviour Patterns Regarding Organic
Wine in a Southern E.U. Country
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biofuels applications. In Vitro Cellular and Developmental Biology- Plant 45(
London. 1-268 .
Survey methods in social investigation. Heinemann,
Evaluation of Regional Web Portals
Vladimír Očenášek1, Miloš Ulman2, Jiří Vaněk2, Edita Šilerová2 Abstract. Evaluation of regional web portals is based on methods of Digital Governance in Municipalities Worldwide. We evaluated 6 regional web portals using 12 parameters in area of content and services. From the five possible evaluated areas belonging to methodology of Digital Governance in Municipalities Worldwide, we focused on the areas of content and services. We compared Czech web portals against Austrian and Swiss web portals. The highest number of points got Posázaví (welcome in the tourist region around the river Sázava (www.posazavi.com)), which obtained full score for immediate updates, searchable databases, newsletter subscription, event calendar and capabilities of GIS. Evaluation brings insight in matter of increasing attractiveness and website traffic of concerned portals, which would lead to increase in visitors of concerned regions.
Keywords: Digital Governance in Municipalities Worldwide, Rutgers – SKKU – E-Governance Performance Index, regional web portal, regional touristic headquarter, multilingual support, event calendar, searchable database, accommodation and event reservation 1 Introduction There are many of different rankings in the world, which relate to information and communications technology. For example, United Nations e-Government survey evaluates expansion of e-government administration in 193 countries in the world every two years and publishes worldwide ranking of EGDI (e-government development index).
Since 2003 web portals of capitals of the largest countries in the world have been evaluated by - Digital Governance in Municipalities Worldwide (Holzer et al., 2014) every two years. This rating is organized by the "The E-Governance Institute" which is part of Rutgers University Newark. Prague (15 in) was included for the first time in 2007. Prague was ranked in excellent 2nd place in 2009, in the period 2011 - 2012 was in 4th place and in the period 2013 - 2014, Prague ranked 10th. (Pazderník, 2013). Our methods of evaluation are based on methods of Digital Governance in Municipalities Worldwide, which is focused on regional web portals.
! !
Methods
Rutgers-SKKU E-Governance Performance Index is calculated during methods of Digital Governance in Municipalities Worldwide. Regional web portals are evaluated based on predefined criteria of this index. The survey evaluates websites of municipalities in terms of privacy, usability, content, services, and citizen and social engagement, and ranks them on a global scale. The Rutgers-SKKU E-Governance Performance Index is calculated within methodology of Digital Governance in Municipalities Worldwide.
The Regional web portals are evaluated based on predefined criteria of this index. The survey evaluates websites of municipalities in terms of privacy, usability, content, services, citizen and social engagement. Score differ based on type of the question. For „yes or no“ questions, it scales from 0 or 1 to 0 or 3 points in less and more important criteria, respectively and from 0 to 2 (even 3 in special cases) in questions where differentiation is possible.
We evaluated 6 regional web portals using 12 parameters in area of content and services. For instance, we evaluated whether web portal provides: online publications, multilingual access, GIS, calendar of events, searchable database of articles, accommodation reservation etc. All parameters are shown in the Table 1. 3 Results
Department of Information Technologies is interested in web rankings, importance of agrotourism and usage of map portals for a long time (Vaněk et al., 2011). In this article we compared Czech web portals against Austrian and Swiss web portals.
For evaluation of regional web portals, we chose two regional touristic headquarters (Tourist Authority South Moravia (www.ccrjm.cz), Tourist Authority South Bohemia (www.jccr.cz)), one regional touristic web (Posázaví - welcome in the tourist region around the river Sázava (www.posazavi.com)), two Austrian web portals, which represents cross-border cooperation between Austria and Czech republic (Genuine holidays on the farm in Austria (www.agroturistika-vrakousku.cz), Austria – arrive and revive (www.austria.info/cz)) and official web of Switzerland Tourism Company (www.mojesvycarsko.com)).
From the five possible evaluated areas belonging to methodology of Digital Governance in Municipalities Worldwide, we focused on the areas of content and services.
In the area of content, we evaluated whether web portal contains: • contact information for regional representation, municipalities, members of LAG (Local Action group), members of non-profit organization, suppliers, stores etc. • books and publications online • possibilities of GIS • multilingual support ! •
event calendar In the area of services, we evaluated whether web portal contains: • newsletter subscription • searchable database of articles, statistics and surveys • message board • FAQ section • personalize the home page • accommodation and event reservation • frequency of website updates Questions, score scale and evaluation are shown in Table 1.
The highest number of points (20 out of 27) got Posázaví (welcome in the tourist region around the river Sázava (www.posazavi.com)), which obtained full score for immediate updates, searchable databases, newsletter subscription, event calendar and capabilities of GIS.
The 2nd place went to official web of Switzerland Tourism Company (www.mojesvycarsko.com), which got 18 points out of maximal 27. This web portal stands out with its sophisticated booking system, capabilities of GIS and easy to use event calendar including various thematic categories (Family Trips, Cycling, Group excursions, Food and Wine etc.).
Some areas aren’t adequately addressed, which is evident from the data in the table. The message board is available only on Posázaví portal, FAQ section and possibility of adapting the site aren’t included on neither of them. ! Fig. 1. Regional touristic web Posázaví (www.posazavi.com) – demonstration of possible object selection for map view – accommodation, camps and camping sites, castle ruins, chateau ! Fig. 2. Swiss touristic portal – menu of interests ! 979
Genuine holidays on the farm in Austria
Austria – arrive and revive
Switzerland Tourism Company A B C D E F G H I J K
L Total points Legend:
0,1 0,1,2,3 0,1,2 0,1 0,1,2,3 0,1,2 0,3 0,1,2 0,1,2 0,3 0,1,2 0,1,2,3 1 3 0 1 2 2 3 0 0 0 2 1 15 0 2 0 0 0 3 3 0 0 0 0 1 9 1 2 3 1 3 3 3 1 0 0 0 3 0 2 1 1 3 0 3 0 0 0 2 1 0 2 0 1 3 2 3 0 0 0 2 2 1 1 3 1 3 2 3 0 0 0 2 2 20 13 15 18 A - Does the site provide information about regional representation, the municipality? B - Does the site offer documents, reports, or books (publications) online? C - Does the site have GIS capabilities? D - Does the site offer access in more than one language? E - Does the site offer a calendar of events? F - Does the site offer registration page newsletters? G - Does the site offer searchable databases of articles, surveys, statistics? H - Does the site provide a bulletin board for posting questions? I - Does the site provide a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) corner? J - Does the site allow users to customize the main city homepage? K - Does the site allow users to register accommodation, event? L - How often are the city's website updated? 4 Conclusion
Alongside the unofficial web portals, which points out a certain local attraction, official webs are made. An official site promotes certain geographical area, region or county. We devote our attention in this article to these web sites, evaluate them based ! on selected criteria in order that these sites will improve and their next versions will offer more useful information and possibilities for users.
We used methods of “Rutgers-SKKU E-Governance Performance Index”, which is used for evaluating portals of government administration across the world (Gaulé, Žilinskas, 2013). This issue is starting to appear in bachelor’s projects and master’s thesis at Czech universities (Kotala, 2010).
We modified 12 parameters for evaluating regional web sites and used these parameters for evaluation of 6 regional portals. Czech, Austrian and one Swiss web portal were represented. Evaluation brings insight in matter of increasing attractiveness and website traffic of concerned portals, which would lead to increase in visitors of concerned regions.
As it turned out during our model usage, which took into account only two of the important areas (content and services), level of regional web portals significantly differ. Some criteria are fulfilled across the all sites, but some of them are partly or completely missing. Individual solutions therefore often prefer different criteria, thus providing different perspectives on the region and its issues. If all criteria were met, the informational content and thus even usefulness of the individual portals would rise. Theoretically, this would lead to a "content compatibility" of individual solutions, which would ultimately bring profit to users and consequently the visitors of their respective regions.
We will continue to pursue this issue in order to develop methods for evaluating the regional web portals.
Acknowledgments. The results and knowledge included herein have been obtained owing to support from the following institutional grants.
Internal grant agency of the Faculty of Economics and Management, Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, grant no. 20151053, “Development and use of information and communication technologies in rural areas”. ! Enhancement of Territorial Products and e-Commerce
Immacolata Viola1 1Fondazione Simone Cesaretti, via Casaraia, 12, 80049 Somma Vesuviana. Italy, e-mail: immacolata.viola@gmail.com.
Abstract. The Millennium Goal, namely to halve, between 1990 and 2015, the percentage of population living in extreme poverty and those who suffer from hunger, and the renewed international attention on the effects of the food crisis, have restored centrality to the theme of agriculture and agribusiness in general. It records, today, excessive attention to food production, without a focus on social, economic and environmental impacts of agricultural production and consumption of agricultural products in the face of human pressure1 (Cesaretti G.P. et al, 2015). Who today can, and should, play a key role in achieving a production that is sustainable socially and environmentally are small farmers2 and new forms of marketing of products such as short supply chain. The tool that can make a considerable contribution about the spread of information, such as the origin, the organoleptic quality and safety of food products, to the widest possible audience, is the ICT.
Keyword: short supply chain; information and comunication technology; ecommerce; security; traceability; made in Campania. 1 Introduction The agrifood system is highly developed and widespread and is, by tradition and importance, a distinctive element of the economic system of the Campania. The strength of this sector is due in large part to the wide variety and high quality of its typical products, as well as the importance of the sectors that make it up and holding a post of prime importance in the national economy. The agricultural cultivations, herds of cattle and pigs, the production of canned vegetables, fruit juices, milk, cheeses, meats and sausages, and also the technologies used in the food industry to create products recognized worldwide. While quality, safety and tradition are the characteristics of the sector.
The exceptional potential of agrifood system is finally enhanced by other positive factors, such as the differentiation of the finished products, the competitive prices on 1 www.fondazionesimonecesaretti.it 2 Small producers should receive support through investments in infrastructure, capacity building, knowledge transfer, social protection policies, organization and stabilization of demand. the market, the good technological level of companies, the wide availability of workers increasingly trained and qualified.
In the agri-food system in general, and in particular that of Campania, one of the main problems is that concerning the potential changes that may result in the creation of a product. The European Union in recent years, in order to make a greater contribution to the protection of the consumer, including in response to major crises of food security, has enacted a body of law very complex and stringent.
In support of this, it is to consider the commitment of the information society and new technologies to ensure and communicate to a wider audience as possible the source, the organoleptic quality and safety of food products and should be lived and used as a means to link the "producer" and "consumer". Today, thanks to ICT can computerize all this.
It is therefore necessary to reflect deeply on how it will change the agricultural world and more generally the agrifood in the passage from an economy of production in an economy mainly determined by the technology. 2
Made in…Campania The Campania agrifood boasts several firsts internationally.
The agricultural model field has, in fact, won the top positions not only in the quality and uniqueness of the production, but also in value added per hectare of land (Viola, 2014). Productions bells have also acquired also the primacy of food security, with a record 99% of regular samples of fruits, vegetables, wine and oil, with chemical residues below legal limits.
As for the leadership in the typical products, the food system of Campania is one of the most important components of the regional economy, boasting a broad basket of products, many of which are protected by national and international brand. Campania, in fact, is distinct from other regions of the South for the presence of about 28 products including DOC, DOCG and DOP, to which must be added another 300 traditional products of different territories. The number of food businesses registered with the Chamber of Commerce is very high. Firms in the sector, in the area, offer the best Italian, possessing, in their organization, notable features such as: experience, mastery, authenticity, traditions, ancient crafts, culture of doing, can create products high quality and tradition. Not surprisingly, many of the several quality products closely linked to the traditions and the specificity of the territories of origin have gained recognition of a community trade mark. The agrifood is characterized above all by highly specialized production both fresh and transformed: the mild climate enjoyed by the region generally, is, in fact, can get high quality products, competitive compared to national and foreign, with a calendar of very large offer made by the possibility of so many crops in open field and in protected environment. Most of the food Campania products are the stars of the culinary tradition typical of the countries of the Mediterranean basin and southern Italy in particular, universally known as the "Mediterranean diet". Linked to the sun, the sea and the land, this type of power is based on the consumption of simple products: bread, pasta, olive oil, wine, vegetables, fruit and vegetables, supplemented by small quantities of products of animal origin, such as milk, cheese, eggs, meat and especially fish, but rich in beneficial health properties, which for centuries have marked the kitchen of the rural populations in the South.
Campania has surely a wealth of food only for variety and quality, rightly recognized since ancient times: the Greeks and Romans recognized the superiority of the wines and the purity of olive oil from Campania Felix.
The enhancement of local products is an effective strategy for achieving multiple objectives of both economic (revitalization of traditional crops, diversification of production, acquisition of new markets, etc.) and socio-cultural (recovery of traditions and culture local, strengthening local, etc.). It is based on specific potential of an area know-how, traditions and cultures that give the products their specific image (typical) and an economic activity that requires precise identification of potential market outlets, the definition and 'implementation of business strategies and compliance with a requirement: quality. 3 The Short Supply Chain and Enhancement of Territorial Production
The Campania agrifood has an unquestioned commitment to quality. This is true not only for the considerable reputation of the gastronomic traditions, but also thanks to agricultural commodities and their great variety, due to a mix particularly happy and diverse environmental conditions and historical and cultural sedimentation (Carbone A., 2006). In particular, the richness and variety of gastronomic traditions bells represent undoubtedly the strengths on which to leverage, in a growing appreciation of the traditional products, diversified and with a strong content of typicality. It is commonly accepted that, for the agri-food system in Campania, to focus on quality - from time to time in an agreement or in some of its multiple meanings - is an obvious choice to regain a competitive edge in terms of productivity (Carbone A., 2006).
The establishment of quality and typical food products by consumers is largely conducted at the time of consumption. Of course, consumers prefer to make their own choices in the presence of as much information as possible in order to restrict the margin of uncertainty about the quality of the goods purchased and the sourcing of raw materials. This implies that for the promotion and enhancement of the quality agro-food enterprises bells must activate specific forms of communication and promotion (Verbeke, 2005).
An alternative route for the exploitation of certain food products is that they are marketed on so-called short chains. Short supply chains, in the various forms in which it declines, are expressions of the will of the actors involved to build different forms of sales compared to conventional circuits of production-consumption, aggregating and involving different subjects around values, principles, goals and meanings which environmental, cultural and ethical (Whatmore e Thorne, 1997; Marsden et al., 2000; Hinrichs, 2000; Holloway e Kneafsey, 2000; Goodman e DuPuis, 2002; Sage, 2003a,b; Renting et al., 2003; Ilbery e Maye, 2005; Kirwan, 2004 e 2006; Brunori, 2007). A common feature of these circuits is the willingness / ability to give the food a significance that goes far beyond that of simple consumer goods. Examples of short supply chain are: the direct sales company, shops collectives of farmers, farmers' markets, the various forms of buying groups, ecommerce. By examining these configurations we realize that it is not easy to define it unique. In fact, the concept of short supply chain incorporates at least three dimensions of proximity: geographic proximity, social and economic (Galli, Brunori, 2013).
Short supply chains were identified originally as examples of farmers' resistance to modernization and then globalization of the food system (Van der Ploeg et al., 2000). Through greater proximity with consumers, farmers can develop autonomous strategies of marketing based on differentiation, which allow to keep it this way a larger share of added value within the company or the local economy. These strategies are often based not only on proximity, but also on the transmission of values 'alternative' incorporated into the product, such as sustainability (environmental, but not only), biodiversity, cultural tradition, solidarity. In recent years, these initiatives are proving more and more interest on the part of individual producers and producer groups but also by consumers for a number of reasons, such as the fact that the short channels have the merit to have suffered a minor number of passes through intermediaries that lengthen the time between the completion of the production process and consumption. The long supply chains, in fact, make it necessary to make storage and keeps reducing the freshness of the product and may adversely affect the organoleptic and nutritional properties and, in extreme cases, the healthiness.
A result not least, the long and complex route taken by the products along the traditional industries, is also the least clarity on the origin of products, and sometimes it is less certainty of raw materials (Lamine, 2005). The opportunity to know directly the producers and the geographical origin of the product is seen by some segments of the question, as a form of indication to quality assurance of the goods. In addition, some consumers appreciate the opportunity to support, in this way, local small businesses.
Finally, the limitation of transport and the number of steps can have a restraining effect on prices, which grow progressively as we approach the final ring of sectors, namely the distribution which, in virtue of the power marketIt owns, manages to capture a substantial portion of the added value created in the chain.
As for manufacturers, product placement on short chains, therefore, has the advantage of allowing the acquisition of a larger share of added value. Next to this, there is also the possibility that a more direct contact, and in a sense more personalized, with consumers is a prerequisite for a relationship of trust and longlasting that helps to increase the stability of commercial outlets.
Evidently, next to some advantages, these modes of commercialization also meet some significant difficulties, especially for the purpose of the adaptation of the requirements of demand - both as regards the definition of the quality profile of the product with regard to the temporal synchronization between supply and demand and for all services to be incorporated in the product - but also for the organization of the functions of sale and / or delivery of goods.
The pooling of some of these functions with other manufacturers may be an opportunity to overcome the difficulties that arise, as well as to increase the visibility of individual firms, it is a necessary condition for the enhancement of quality by consumers. Increasingly in recent years, groups of farmers manage in common the relationship with customers along the short supply chain thus increasing the range of the offer and offering a joint service of delivery, or in the workplace, which simplifies the management of purchases from customers. 4 Strategy Digital Business: e-Commerce
Among the most advanced types of short supply chain, there is no doubt ecommerce.
The term e-commerce refers to the exchange of goods and services through the use of Internet. Understood in the strict sense, e-commerce is expected that the transaction is that the payment should be sent electronically; understood in a broad sense however, there even if the order is done online but the payment is offline (A. Foglio, 2010).
According to the European Commission: Electronic commerce covers many different activities, such as the sale of goods and services electronically, the online distribution of digital content, electronic transfer of funds, (...) the online selection of suppliers, marketing direct services for the consumer, as well as the after-sales service. In e-commerce includes both products and services that new activities”.
Depending on whether the operators of the interaction are commercial company, a private or public entity, defining different types of e-commerce. In particular: • Business-to-business (B2B): includes commercial transactions between companies in the network involving services and industrial goods. Transactions of this type are implemented via extranet, a private network that allows you to extend the boundaries to other selected companies, thanks to connections via the Internet protected and for the exchange of information and cooperation;
• Consumer-to-consumer (C2C): it consists of the transactions between consumers through the network.
The set up of an e-commerce is the activation of a new sales channel that has two additional advantages compared to the traditional ones: a head, as the site is active 24 hours a day, seven days a week and a advantage of geographical, as a site allows you to sell to consumers in any part of the world. The customer also has the option to access a wide and diverse choice both in terms of product characteristics for both the price: you can find unusual products, specialist, amateur, niche simply by using search engines. As we have said, with e-commerce buying process is changed, switching from a linear, one-way to a multi-channel, characterized by a network of interdependent activities. Another success factor for e-commerce are the tools of CRM (Customer Relationship Manager), which help in the collection and analysis of quantitative and qualitative data, allowing the user profile to include consumer choices, buying preferences and behaviors. The data collected allow the mapping of the purchasing behavior of our customers and better identify their needs, enabling the company to take advantage of this information to target supply and after sales service. 4.1 e-Commerce and Traditional Products of Campania
According to P. Cuccino, 2007, compared to the products, e-commerce reveals a double reality: on the one hand, products must be flexible enough to allow some adaptation to the tastes of different consumers; on the other, as it allows to operate globally via the Internet, e-commerce is a strong stimulus to the expansion of currently reduced percentage of products sold anywhere without adaptations.
In this dual context, various types of local products in category Made in ... Campania, are particularly suited to e-commerce, such as consumer goods brand easily identifiable. Made in ... Campania must therefore express their excellence to exploit the opportunities arising from e-commerce and acquire leadership positions undoubtedly within his reach in an international context characterized by a still incomplete exploitation of the potential of electronic commerce.
Build an interactive platform, e-commerce, it has many advantages including: promoting and spreading towards the Italian and foreign consumers the great food tradition territorial bell; promote the internationalization of the operators from Campania; encouraging networking initiatives between local agri-food businesses in order to give support to the creation of the critical mass required to successfully compete in the international markets.
An example of e-commerce for the enhancement and promotion of the typical products of a territory, such as that of Campania, is the portal "Agribusiness of the Campania Region." The portal space is managed by the industry in order to tell their own reality, their own productions and events that organize the territory. A meeting place, then, to know the products, their history, those who produce them and where they can find and the quality of the productions themselves, the raw materials, the culture, the organoleptic qualities and finally security. Among the products promoted and valued on the portal there are cheeses, spirits and liqueurs, fresh pastries and bakery products, vegetable products, etc., which are the result of a complex evolutionary process of contraction and interaction between local producers, and between they and the local population and with consumers and local citizens when the system opens to distant markets (Belletti et al, 2006). 5
Conclusions
Focus on quality and the close link with the territory, it is increasingly the first choice for businesses agribusiness Campania, which implies the adoption of strategies aimed at enhancing and promoting. This involves a number of difficulties are not trivial, especially when those involved are numerous and heterogeneous between them, in terms of structural and production specialization.
In other words, the different strategies of commercial promotion of food quality, not always turn out optimal in providing adequate safeguards for consumers, or in ensuring a better market position and better economic performance for operators. Hence a possible solution is to take in the short chain, is e-commerce. The ecommerce is that particular form of exploitation and promotion of local products aimed at consumers "sensitive" to the product that counts among its features a strong bond with the territory of origin.
Acknowledgments. The work was carried out within the project "New Ortho Chain", coordinated by Prof. Cesaretti and developed in partnership between research institutions, Di.SEG - Parthenope University and Simone Cesaretti Foundation, and businesses OP Earth Gardens, F.lli Esposito and Azienda Agricola Morella. The project has received funding of measure 124 of the RDP 2007-2013 of the Campania Region.
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ICT as a Catalyst for Innovation Diffusion
John Dalrymple1, Barry O’Mahony2, Elizabeth Levin3 and Steven Greenland4 1Swinburne Business School Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia, e-mail: Jdalrymple@swin.edu.au 2Swinburne Business School Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia, e-mail: bomahony@swin.edu.au 3Swinburne Business School Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia, e-mail: Elevin@swin.edu.au 4Swinburne Business School Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia, e-mail: Sgreenland@swin.edu.au Abstract. The availability of water is a global issue which is predicted to become more pronounced in the future. As a large and relatively dry continent Australia is presented with a series of challenges within the agriculture sector. As a result, the adoption of appropriate, efficient and effective irrigation systems is an important element for future sustainability. In various Australian growing regions different modes and types of irrigation are utilized. However, in many cases the preferred system has been selected based on tradition and local norms rather than on the basis of effective water management. Consequently, there is a socio-psychological element in the adoption of new or alternative systems. This study reports on a project that identifies how the introduction of technology within a variety of irrigation systems types has improved water efficiency, reduced wastage and improved product adoption. In particular the study discusses how technology has improved the use of flood and micro irrigation systems as well as more recent developments in satellite assisted irrigation. The findings of the study suggest that the enhancement of existing irrigation systems through the addition of information communications technology can overcome some traditional barriers by adding specific features that are attractive to growers.
Keywords: Irrigation, extension management
workers, innovation diffusion, water 1 Introduction Australia is a large land mass with a current population of just over 22 million people. However, the agricultural sector is frequently challenged by drought and a general lack of available water, which has led to the need to irrigate vast holdings of land using a variety of methods. These include Flood, Centre Pivot, Sprinkler and Surface and Sub-surface Drip irrigation systems. The selection of the most appropriate system has been found to depend, to some extent, on crop type, however, barriers to the uptake of the most efficient and effective systems have also been found to be based on traditions and local norms. In some cases this has meant that wasteful irrigation methods have prevailed such as flood irrigation where evaporation accounts for up to 30 per cent of wasted water.
At the same time, Australia has a well-developed agricultural sector, with farmers deemed to be extremely innovative in the methods they have used to overcome the harsh local growing environment (Sheehy, 2012). The Australian agricultural sector is also among the least subsidised in the world which has hastened the introduction of innovations in line with the world’s best practice, particularly in the production of commodities. This has resulted in a surplus of food year on year (Keogh, 2012). However, the adoption of efficient irrigation systems such as drip irrigation has been relatively poor despite many benefits such as less water used or wasted, uniform targeted water delivery and higher crop yields.
Among the issues related to the availability of water in the future is an expected increase in global food needs based on population growth which is expected to reach over nine billion by 2050 (Food and Agriculture Organization). Australia is a major food exporter and has aspirations to be a significant player in the supply of food to the Asian region in the future (Mascitelli and O’Mahony, 2014). Indeed, Australia has been tipped to become the future ‘food bowl of Asia’, a phrase that recognises the importance of the food and wine industries as a major driver of future foreign exchange income (Maher, 2014). In Australia there are opportunities for further growth in food production through the opening up of new land to farming, however, this would require significant improvements in agricultural practices as well as in land and water management.
The aims of this study were first to gain a deeper understanding of the influence of publicly available information on the adoption of the most efficient and effective irrigation systems. The second aim was to examine how technology has been used to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of some traditional systems by reducing water wastage. The final aim was to establish how contemporary information and communications technology could enhance the adoption of more efficient and effective irrigation systems.
Methodology
The first phase of the study involved a desk top review of both academic and practitioner literature, together with government reports and websites that offer advice on the choice of irrigation systems. In this review a number of barriers to adoption of agricultural products and practices were identified.
The second phase involved site visits to explore how the technology enhanced irrigation systems were operating in various farming regions as well as a series of qualitative interviews with government agricultural advisers. These advisers, who are also known as extension workers, are technically trained, holistic thinkers who are able to deal with complex technical situations. Their role involves farmer education relating to the application of scientific research to agricultural practice. The final phase was to examine how information and communications technology was helping to overcome some of the barriers to innovation in the use of the more efficient and effective irrigation methods. 3 Findings
The content analysis conducted in the first phase of the study found that tradition has a strong impact on the irrigation system types that are presented to those accessing information and there are distinctions between states, regions and soil types. The emphasis on what is generally practiced in various regions has meant that some psychological barriers would need to be overcome in order to convert farmers to different systems that might be more efficient and/or effective for their crop and soil type. For drip irrigation for example, issues highlighted within this review included the cost and complexity of system installation and a lack of information about the return on investment and a series of other advantages of these systems.
The review also highlighted a number of factors that impede the adoption of sustainable practices in farming. Among these are barriers relating to available information, which includes general information, such as information about the product, product benefits, economic benefits and technical information. In summary, it was found that there are four key influencers and trusted sources of information about irrigation for farmers. These are other farmers, agronomists, field days and the Department of Primary Industries (Bates et al., 2008).
In the second stage of the study, it was discovered that he Victorian Government has provided incentives for famers to prepare ‘whole farm plans’ for their properties, so farmers have a better understanding of the way water is used and retained within their farms. Extension workers assist farmers to develop, enact and update these plans. The Victorian State government and the Australian Federal Government have also invested heavily in water distribution infrastructure for flood irrigation and technology which supports a reduction in the footprint of irrigation. Whilst the benefits of connecting to the new infrastructure have been clearly demonstrated, joining the new system is voluntary.
The government investment has been, for the most part, investment in open channel water distribution systems. That is the traditional method used to deliver water to flood irrigation systems. The investment involved funding the repair and improvement of the distribution channels, which, of itself, would not have provided farmers and growers with greater utility. However, the deployment of modern ICT systems together with the careful application of solar generated electricity has significantly enhanced the utility of the government investments for farmers and growers. This is because, with modern, well designed systems of gates and valves, sufficient power can be generated by modest solar generating systems to establish autonomous systems that are not dependent on mains power. In one region of Northern Victoria, this has resulted in the deployment of flume gates that integrate sensors and flow meters which, when combined with a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) systems, enable accurate flow measurement, flow control , power supply and radio telecommunications to be integrated into a single device that can be controlled from the water authority computer. The farmers and growers can program their irrigation from their desktop or tablet via the water authority ICT systems.
These farmers are predominantly growing pasture crops. The technological advancements that have been installed have provided a significant advantage to flood irrigation over more modern irrigation methods. This sort of automation is not, however, restricted to open channel flood irrigation systems that are controlled by the water authority and their sophisticated ICT systems. Any of the fixed irrigation systems, such as drip irrigation and subsurface drip irrigation that involve pumps and valves can, with appropriate sensors and interfaces, be automated through the use of modern ICT systems. For example, young, tech savvy farmers who are interested in improved lifestyles as well as being environmentally conscious are keen to adopt the latest technology which can provide them with real-time information relating to water availability as well as moisture content of the soil on their farms.
Whilst the government provides incentives and support to improve irrigation practices, there still remain those who are risk averse and reluctant to automate their irrigation systems. This may be addressed by the development of soil moisture measurement devices and wetting front detectors that can make measurements that can be transmitted using modern ICT devices. The incorporation of these developments can provide confidence to the farmers and growers by field testing the systems and observing their performance before progressing to rely on the systems to perform reliably. Once that confidence is achieved, farmers and growers will be more likely to use ICT controlled systems to manage their irrigation systems.
Confidence is obviously a major issue in the adoption of new approaches and methods to farming practice. In California, researchers have developed satellite imaging systems that have been coupled with terrestrial sensors and on farm crop data to provide an integrated system that provides decision support to farmers and growers in their quest to provide irrigation water in the correct quantity in the correct location and at the correct time. Developments in all areas of information and communications technologies as well as many other technologies have clearly been essential to enable this development to be achieved.
In Australia, a project is currently underway to continue a development program that will build on the crop measurement capability (Abuzar, et al., 2015). The Victorian State Department of Environment and Primary Industries (DEPI) has funded this project to integrate the satellite data, weather data from the Australian Bureaux of Meteorology and ground level data from lysimeters, soil moisture meters and rain gauges (Whitfield, et al., ).
The integration of these measurements through sophisticated ICT systems has the potential to enable a full picture of the crop water requirements. This information system can then be linked to efficient irrigation systems that can deliver the irrigation water in the correct quantity, at the correct time to the correct location. The system is designed to provide information to the Eastern Seaboard of Australia with the ability to deliver at the level of an individual paddock. Once this system is fully developed, a phase of confidence building will be required that assures growers that the system delivers enhanced production and reduced running costs on a reliable basis. The building of such confidence will, of course, place a heavy burden on the reliability of the ICT information supply chain that drives action in the paddock.
Previous studies have shown that the social infrastructure of the Australian agricultural environment has an impact on new product adoption and that a farming subculture generally develops within regions which influence farming styles. These developed norms can be difficult to change despite evidence of improvements provided by new products. As a result, the key issues that need to be overcome when introducing new products in the farming context include both economic issues (profitability) and peer acceptance.
While, change agents have been found to be particularly important in addressing the culture and traditions of farming, there is some evidence to suggest that the novelty and ingenuity of innovations in ICT can help to overcome cultural norms while improving the efficiency and effectiveness of irrigation systems especially when these improvements have a positive impact on individuals’ lifestyles.
Important networks influencing change include federal and state level agencies and the scientific community who support various land care programs, as well as local agencies, interpersonal networks, industry and community groups and farmers/growers. Membership and participation in formal and informal groups has also been shown to have an influence on individuals. Within these groups farming styles, which have been described as a cultural repertoire, take hold and are communicated between farmers and this directly influences agriculture practice. Addressing these groups may lead to positive changes in the adoption of irrigation products.
This has highlighted the need to engage other stakeholders to test these assumptions and to modify the research approach to gain the most comprehensive information possible. The ultimate payoff will be to open up new swathes of arable land for the production of food crops and dairy and livestock production. The capability of the Australian continent to produce much more food is not limited by the available land, nor the available water, but by the distribution of the available water and its management and use. The development of reliable information supply chains based on the integration of reliable ICT systems that can contribute to the management of the available water resources and irrigation systems will be a major contribution to the fulfilment of the potential of Australia as a major food producer for the rest of the world.
References 1. Abuzar, M, McAllister, A, Whitfield, D and Sheffield, K. (2015) Mapping Irrigated Farmlands Using Vegetation and Thermal Thresholds Derived from Landsat and ASTER Data in an Irrigation District of Australia. Photogrammetric engineering and remote sensing. Vol.81, No.3, p.229. 2. Bates, L. E., Bishop, B. J., Dzidic, P. L., Green, M. J., Leviston, Z., Nicol, S. C., Price, J and Tucker, D. I. (2008) Partnerships and Understanding Towards Targeted Implementation: Identifying factors influencing land management