Biological systems are surprising flexible in processing information in the real world. Some biological organisms have a central unit processing named brain. The human’s brain, consisting of 1011 neurons, realizes intelligent information processing based on exact and commonsense reasoning. Artificial intelligence (AI) has been trying to implement biological intelligence in computers in various ways, but is still far from real one. Therefore, there are approaches like Symbolic AI, Artificial Neural Network and Fuzzy system that partially successful in implementing heuristic […]

This paper intends to present some of the concepts of coordination of agribusiness systems (AGSs) and of competitiveness between chains, specifically meat chains (beef, pork and chicken meat). Then, some recent examples of different forms of coordination of AGSs are analysed and also how they affect competitiveness between the chains.

The MDA (Master Dairy Administration) system was created as a result of management practices developed by and effectively utilized in the industrial sector since the early 1990’s. It was designed by applying the five basic management principles to reach success in business. These principles, along with survival principles in the activity, delineated the features of the MDA System. It can be characterized as a strategic system which targets the ends from start, that is, the definition, a prior, of targets […]

This paper aims at exploring what is covered by « adapting to last » with a farming systems approach. Long term dynamics can be analysed as adaptive cycles, the system being permanently exposed to disturbances and shocks. Mobilizing the concept of resilience, we analyse the factors that differentiate the principles for long term action the livestock farmers have, principles which give consistency to the family – farms trajectories. With the concept of operational flexibilty, we qualify the sources of flexibility […]