XVI. International Conference on Logistics in Agriculture 2022 Conference Proceedings Editor Andrej Lisec November 2022 Title XVI. International Conference on Logistics in Agriculture 2022 Subtitle Conference Proceedings Editor Andrej Lisec (University of Maribor, Faculty of Logistics) Technical editor Jan Perša (University of Maribor, University Press) Cover designer Jan Perša (University of Maribor, University Press) Cover graphics Poti, photo: Rene Šešerko, 2022 Graphic material Authors & editor Conference XVI. International Conference on Logistics in Agriculture 2022 Date and location 10th November 2022, Novo Mesto, Slovenia Scientific Committee Maja Fošner (University of Maribor, Slovenia) Slobodan Antić (University of Belgrade, Serbia) Andrej Lisec (University of Maribor, Slovenia) Lea–Marija Colarič–Jakše (Landscape Governance Col ege GRM, Slovenia) Vita Petek (University of Maribor, Slovenia) Jože Podgoršek (GRM Novo mesto - Center of Biotechnology and Tourism, Slovenia) Advisory Committee Andrej Lisec (University of Maribor, Slovenia) Lea–Marija Colarič–Jakše (Landscape Governance College GRM, Slovenia) Borut Florjančič (Cooperative Union of Slovenia, Slovenia) Tone Hrovat (GRM Novo mesto - Center of Biotechnology and Tourism, Slovenia) Manca Zrinski (University of Maribor, Slovenia) Vid Mlejnik (University of Maribor, Slovenia) Srečko Ocvirk (Municipality of Sevnica, Slovenia) Publihed by University of Maribor University Press Slomškov trg 15, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia https://press.um.si, zalozba@um.si Issued by University of Maribor Faculty of Logistics Mariborska cesta 7, 3000 Celje, Slovenia http://fl.um.si, info.fl@um.si Edition 1st Publication type E-book Available at http://press.um.si/index.php/ump/catalog/book/733 Published Maribor, november 2022 © Univerza v Mariboru, Univerzitetna založba Besedilo/ Text / University of Maribor, University Press © Avtorji in Lisec, 2022 To delo je objavljeno pod licenco Creative Commons Priznanje avtorstva-Deljenje pod enakimi pogoji 4.0 Mednarodna. / This work is licensed under the Creative Commons At ribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. 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International Conference on Logistics in Agriculture 2022 [Elektronski vir] : conference proceedings, [10th November 2022, Novo mesto, Slovenia] / editor Andrej Lisec. - 1st ed. - E-publikacija. - Maribor : University of Maribor, University Press, 2022 Način dostopa (URL): https://press.um.si/index.php/ump/catalog/book/733 ISBN 978-961-286-663-1 (pdf) doi: 10.18690/um.fl.1.2022 1. Lisec, Andrej COBISS.SI-ID 128566531 ISBN 978-961-286-663-1 (pdf) DOI https://doi.org/10.18690/um.fl.1.2022 Price Free copy For publisher prof. dr. Zdravko Kačič, rector of University of Maribor Attribution Lisec, A. (ed.). (2022). XVI. International Conference on Logistics in Agriculture 2022: Conference Proceedings. University of Maribor Press. doi: 10.18690/um.fl.1.2022 XVI. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LOGISTICS IN AGRICULTURE 2022 A. Lisec (ed.) Table of Contents PROCEEDINGS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE 1 Design of an Autonomous Robotic System for Corn Field Works Vladimir Dam, Vladimir Poljančić 3 A Review of Rice Straw Utilization Opportunities as Low Cost Agriculture in Egypt 19 Ahmed Dabees, Mahmoud Ramadan, Andrej Lisec Impact of Digital Technology and Smart Systems on Mobility and Agriculture in Serbia 33 Drago Cvijanović, Katarina Stojanović, Suzana Borović Agriculture 4.0 Applications in Supply Chain Management for Food Safety– A Structured Literature Review 47 Marah Almelhem, László Buics, Attila Kurucz, Edit Süle Selecting the Logistics Service Providers: Towards a Mathematical Modeling Approach 59 Jabir Arif, Khaoula Azzouz, Fouad Jawab Free IT Applications and Platforms for the Improvement of Agriculture Ivan Miloš, Aleksandra Tošić 69 PROCEEDINGS IN SLOVENE LANGUAGE 75 Koncept za vzpostavitev samo-organizacijskega in so-naravnega podjetništva na podeželju v dobi digitalizacije 77 Tanja Balažic Peček, Lea - Marija Colarič - Jakše Dopolnilne dejavnosti na slovenskih kmetijah– ovira ali priložnost Jože Podgoršek 95 Hrana za zemljo – fermentirano organsko gnojilo Dušan Portatis Kovač, Jože Podgoršek 115 Potrošnja lokalno pridelane hrane v Sloveniji v času ukrajinske krize Primož Bencak, Andrej Lisec,Simona Šinko 125 DESIGN OF AN AUTONOMOUS ROBOTIC SYSTEM FOR CORN FIELD WORKS VLADIMIR DAM, VLADIMIR POLJANČIĆ Damko d.o.o, Samobor, Croatia vladimir.dam@puric.hr, vladimir.poljancic@puric.hr Abstract The task of vehicle-type product design has never been trivial. The paper shows the concept of a work in progress, a research work by a multidisciplinary team, ready to use the Keywords: agronomy, available and most modern automation equipment right where it logistics, is needed – down at the earth in this case. The project shal al ow robotics, precision for autonomous 0-24 presence of special y designed device – a agriculture, robot taking care of corn fields, eliminating weeds and laser, performing other usual y manual functions keeping the shape of herbicides, reduction, the field and ground at level and in extent freed of limitations drives, that can exist in case of a human labor. It is in the same time automation, bringing some fresh interests to agriculture as such, and may computer vision, artificial even bring some part of people back to this business, rather than intelligence, escaping to other nowadays more popular fields for some. machine learning DOI https://doi.org/10.18690/um.fl.1.2022.1 ISBN 978-961-286-663-1 4 XVI. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LOGISTICS IN AGRICULTURE 2022 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS 1 Introduction There are a few drivers introducing the need for automation in agriculture, but perhaps the strongest one comes from the side of effects of using agrochemicals for long periods, often indiscriminate and abusive, and the negative effect they bring on health and sustainability of natural resources1. While reverting to manual weeds removal and field works sounds like a part of solution, the problem of sustaining the manpower needed to maintain such approach as wel as efficiency of food production comes into focus. Therefore, the efforts of introducing automation to agriculture at all levels seems like a logical development, and this paper explains one and several of the approaches and possibilities, coming from a team of experienced automation experts. This paper describes the work in progress therefore mainly focuses to the design phase and interesting chal enges, while some details are not shown on purpose. 2 Robotics and automation approach 2.1 Industrial revolutions Through the history the industry has had declared a few important milestones also called industrial revolutions, invoked by invention of steam machine, electrical energy application and line type production respectively. The 4-th and 5-th industrial revolutions are relatively fresh and are related to automated lines implementing robotics and advanced automation using systems like the artificial intelligence (AI) or advanced computer vision (CV). There is no doubt that al of these had a great effect to agriculture as well, where in addition, internal combustion engines shall be added to the list of important technical inventions. 1 Ueta, J.; Pereira, N.L.; Shuhama, I.K.; Cerdeira, A.L. Biodegradação de herbicidas e biorremediação: Microrganismos degradadores do herbicida atrazine. 1 ed. Brasil: [s.n.] , 1997. 545p. V. Dam, V. Poljančić: Design of an Autonomous Robotic System for Corn Field Works 5. 2.1.1 The automation approach Every technical device that performs some industrial process without the need of human manipulation can be considered an automation element. The possibilities of automation grow scientifical y al the time and nowadays ranges al the way usage of advanced methods like the AI and CV, and also aims for mobility, compactness and energy efficiency, even the human collaboration. Automation is also usual y in relation to usage of programming, drives, actuators, and many mechanical components, therefore the field of operation is wide and often cal ed Mechatronics. When approaching towards the solution, there are many universal principles, which are similar in both industrial automation, and special branches like the precision agriculture field. Since laws of physics that apply are the same, it is possible to apply many paral el proven practices on both fields, as wil be shown in this paper. Figure 1: Ideation and multi-disciplinary design in industrial automatization Source: Damko R&D Centre internal Archives – Photograph / Project report 2020. In addition to visible part of an industrial automation project (like the production line, robotic arms) there is usually a complex invisible framework »backend« part containing of programs, interfaces, databases and many other elements, which can be considered as a software part of the project. 6 XVI. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LOGISTICS IN AGRICULTURE 2022 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS 3 Design of the robot for application in agriculture The design of every system shal start with defining the goals and afterwards researching the available technology, defining the possibilities to reach the goals under reasonable circumstances, not neglecting the economical dimension. In the moment of this project development (2020. – 2023.) the state of technology is such that following developments are highlighted and worth of considering and therefore considered in the project: − Computer vision application − Artificial intelligence − Lasers technology (positioning and weeds removal) − GPS and other positioning systems/methods − Advanced Battery systems − Communication protocols (BT, LoRa etc.) It is obvious that field works require movement through the field and therefore the robot for this application shal be a vehicle, where several traction options are available. The application of robot however must not be viewed only from the prism of currently most used technologies (e.g. wheels) as there are other options possible and some of them are shown below. Figure 2: Some of possible traction methods applicable for Agriculture robots Source: Websites: www.ZentaRobots.com ; www.global.agilex.ai – Commercial websites V. Dam, V. Poljančić: Design of an Autonomous Robotic System for Corn Field Works 7. Since one of the automation design principles is also to think of the box, the project in subject is also about to seek the selection of ideal platform for the system. 4 Project goals The goals of the project are based on the current needs in agriculture, as wel as on the technology state and possibilities, and can be roughly described as: − Reduction of weeds presence with minimum human labor − Reduction of agrochemical usage − Increasing the crop output − Design of an autonomous self-sufficient system concept If goals are to be described in a sentence, it would be to al ow for manual like operation by a robot, providing significant reduction of unwanted elements like herbicides usage and pollution in general, aiming for eco production. The selection of crop to be planted for the project was defined early in the project, where corn has been selected. 5 Project resources The resources needed for such an R&D project consist of human researcher’s manpower, hardware, software, and specifical y for agronomy – a test field with polygon – a corn field. Figure 3: A test polygon during planting and in it’s ful growth phase Source: Damko R&D Centre internal Archives – Photograph 2022. 8 XVI. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LOGISTICS IN AGRICULTURE 2022 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS Table 1: Project resources Item Resource type App. Quantity Duration 1 Researchers & admin 8 – 12 3 yrs 2 External cooperants 4 3 yrs 3 PC & other computers 5 3 yrs 4 Microcomputers 25 1,5 yrs 5 Other equip. and materials 50 3 yrs 6 Prototyping equipment - 2,5 yrs 7 Test fields (with works and services) 100 Ha 2,5 yrs Source: Damko R&D center's internal work reports / resource planning system for IRI 2 Project (estimation) The most important resource are the qualified researches in field of automation and agronomy with competence in field of mechatronics, agronomy experts inside team or outside in form of cooperation. 6 The initial project progress It has been realized from the start of development that many samples used to test wil be required, and there is a chal enge about that since crops growing depends on the time of the year. Therefore, the focus is put on the efforts to record useful footage in as early phases as possible. This has been achieved in the first year by creating an initial platform vehicle – camera carrier, which also served for initial vehicle properties and performance definitions. Figure 4: The initial platform used for creation of initial videos and photos Source: Damko R&D Centre internal Archives - Photograph 2020. V. Dam, V. Poljančić: Design of an Autonomous Robotic System for Corn Field Works 9. The initial footage has been taken on the borrowed fields already in ful growth, and later on in the season the designed platform is used for driving and taking footage during the growth in the purposely prepared polygons. Having the useful footage at the disposal, the initial computer vision analyses become possible, as well as initiating the machine learning applications. While developing the computer vision and main software parts, the possibilities opened to design the next prototype version, drives, and all the subsequent systems. Since achieving autonomy is the important part of this project, combined with economy, every bit of design had to be considered from this side as wel . Also, since there are clear timelines to be meet, there was no place for mistakes performance-vise, and therefore to select any component a lot of researching time is spent and al the critical parts were tested before becoming part of the next prototype. Figure 5: Test setups for testing drives (left) and batteries/battery packs (right) Source: Damko R&D Centre internal Archives - Photograph 2021. The intensive research, trail, selections and testing shown many interesting results, especial y important since the supply chains have been broken in 2020. and many characteristics cannot be trusted, and some of them are even not defined for this kind of application. Batteries, for example often hold much smal er capacity than declared, and such details are critical for a prototype like this one to be proven. 10 XVI. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LOGISTICS IN AGRICULTURE 2022 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS Initial results of computer vision (and machine learning) part of the project emerged very early in the project, and also defined the type of specific equipment to be onboarded to the next prototype. And the type of components and the specification natural y changed during the project due to the new findings coming out as a result from a detailed research work. Some of the first results emerged form computer vision / machine learning field of the project. Models created had been able to detect and recognize corn plants very soon. It however took a lot of time to develop the system that can recognize effectively using a lot of different hardware and software platforms to be optimized and fitted into autonomous robot had to be tested. Figure 6: Visualization of the corn crops recognition on half-grown plants Source: Damko R&D Centre internal Archives – Reports 2021. In al the cases, the machine learning algorithms are used, creating the various models with certain number of labeled images, selected by a human, and training the respective model with certain number and type of images. V. Dam, V. Poljančić: Design of an Autonomous Robotic System for Corn Field Works 11. Figure 7: Average recognition accuracy vs. Number of training repetitions Source: Damko R&D Centre internal Archives – Reports 2021. The training efficiency depends on number, quality and timing of selected images, as wel as on hardware performance. Therefore, it can typical y wary from a few hours to a few weeks of training time. In addition to machine learning type recognition, the other computer vision possibilities are observed and researched as wel , like the contour’s detection, colors and shapes types etc. As the goal of the project is to dissect weeds from the useful plant, all these can be useful. Figure 8: Corn crop isolated in the picture based on computer vision methods Source: Damko R&D Centre internal Archives – Reports 2022. 12 XVI. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LOGISTICS IN AGRICULTURE 2022 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS 7 The second prototype design After initial tests, the properties and selection of equipment needed to be driven on the autonomous robot became much more defined. Therefore the approx. weight to be taken to the field also became known and equaled to 75 kg together with the vehicle as the initial approximation. The requirement to achieve the autonomy goals in the first place and the experience with the initial prototype led to the important decision that the next prototype shal not be a wheel type but a tracks type vehicle. Figure 9: The initial assembly of track type vehicle as a second prototype platform Source: Damko R&D Centre internal Archives – Photograph 2022. The next steps consisted of defining the rest of equipment and fitting the complete system into the newly designed prototype, for the goal of having reliable autonomy tests to be performed. Other than autonomy, the driving characteristics and the weight handling characteristics had to be tested this way, since this type of prototype is the last step before the final testing to be performed in last phases of the project – in order to provide a practical proof of concept. V. Dam, V. Poljančić: Design of an Autonomous Robotic System for Corn Field Works 13. The vehicle is design as a prototype, but in the same time needed to provide for easy maintenance, and modifications and extensions to be done in the future, since at the time of vehicle design, not al the project circumstances could be known, especially the ones requiring field tests to be determined. In addition to drive and main controls, mentioned so far, the concept needed to provide for an effective communication with the external control systems, so that tests can be done properly, so that is one other system to be fitted and antennas to be considered. Localization at the field to be combined with autonomous driving is another field that is researched in details. Both GPS and other technologies are observed and planned to aid the main system. Figure 10: Navigation technologies testing during the fal time and the recorded map of polygones to be used Source: Damko R&D Centre internal Archives – Photograph / Reports of IRI 2 Project 2021. After the definitions are determined, the second prototype has final y been assembled and put to some test drives in the last season before the final testing, assuring the quality research work during winter period. The autonomy goals are achieved, and the rough preliminary data shows that only 35% of the energy is presumed to be consumed on traction, while 25 % shal be consumed on the computing power and the rest 40% remains for the execution elements, like lasers 14 XVI. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LOGISTICS IN AGRICULTURE 2022 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS or other, sensing, communication and localization systems. The shares shall be final y determined at the final season tests, and the complete system adjusted accordingly. Figure 11: The second prototype operating in the field – test drive with computer vision Source: Damko R&D Centre internal Archives – Photograph 2022. The prototype in this phase already consists of al the main components, and is able to drive, operate, receive and send information in basic procedures. Also, there are initial successful tests of autonomous driving done, while completion is the subject of winter research works, programming and final tests on a fresh plants to be planted. The prototype now looks as shown on the Figure 10. 8 Plant Recognition & Weed removal research results During the development of vehicle, the focus of machine learning is also put on the plant’s recognition, in order to find the other plants that are competing with the crops – the weeds. As already explained, the recognition of crops has been very successful and some results demonstrating the performance are visually shown at Figures 11 and 12. V. Dam, V. Poljančić: Design of an Autonomous Robotic System for Corn Field Works 15. Figure 12: Plants recognition in later stages – on smal emerging plants Source: Damko R&D Centre internal Archives – Reports 2022. Figure 13: The details of 10 plants recognized by a computer on the image Source: Damko R&D Centre internal Archives – Reports 2022. The images on the Figure 13 have a noticeably low resolution, and it is interesting to observe the ability of the algorithm to correctly detect the corn plants even in such conditions (Picture shows the real resolution feed into the system and the video compression is the reality to be dealt with). It may be subjective and arguable, but it may also be chal enged if human could do such a task better than a machine if presented to this sequence of images. To further demonstrate the power of algorithms, it may also be said that some middle-performing algorithms researched have so far been able to make more than 25 recognitions of 10 or more plants on the moving image (video) – each second. 16 XVI. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LOGISTICS IN AGRICULTURE 2022 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS For the needs of both detection and removal of weeds, both indoor setups and outdoor sites have been used for research. Figure 14: Indoor preparation and growing of various plants for testing Source: Damko R&D Centre internal Archives – Photographs 2022. There are many executive elements planned to be researches, main of which are related to laser technology. Therefore, lasers have been extensively tested on various plants. Timings and plant recovery observations are some of the research focuses. Figure 15: Exposing a plant to a laser beam – indoors Source: Damko R&D Centre internal Archives – Photographs 2022. There is a wide range of laser selection available today, and there are cons and pros of using a laser for this purpose. However, due to the nature and possibilities to turn on and off quickly, lasers remain the main removal method in this project where economy and compactness are important goals. V. Dam, V. Poljančić: Design of an Autonomous Robotic System for Corn Field Works 17. Figure 16: The laser cutter attachment mounted on the second prototype Source: Damko R&D Centre internal Archives – Photographs 2022. 9 Conclusions The paper shows the status of research in progress, in which results are already visible proving that possibilities exist to use the explained methods in Agronomy. Robotics in Agronomy already emerge at many fields, and this one shows its unique approach to some details. The concept is proven so far, at the possible areas as the prototype is already operating and some concepts are ful y researched. The project is scheduled to be finished by the fal of 2023, by when the rest of the tests and complete functional test are expected to be finalized. Notes The project described in the paper is financed by European Regional € Fund under the code of KK.01.2.1.02.0008 (IRI2 cRobot project) References Ueta, J.; Pereira, N.L.; Shuhama, I.K.; Cerdeira, A.L. Biodegradação de herbicidas e biorremediação: Microrganismos degradadores do herbicida atrazine. 1 ed. Brasil: [s.n.] , 1997. 545p. Majdak, T.; Petrov V.; Hrgović S. Agrotehnika proizvodnje kukuruza. Hrvatski zavod za popoprivrednu savjetodavnu službu: [s.n.] , 2016. 18 XVI. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LOGISTICS IN AGRICULTURE 2022 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS Dam V., Poljančić V,. Official Reports and photographs for KK.01.2.1.02.008 IRI 2 cRobot project, Purić d.o.o. Samobor, Croatia (Damko R&D department) Temporary internal content. A REVIEW OF RICE STRAW UTILIZATION OPPORTUNITIES AS LOW COST AGRICULTURE IN EGYPT AHMED DABEES,1 MAHMOUD RAMADAN,1 ANDREJ LISEC2 1 Arab Academy for Science & Technology and Maritime Transport, Faculty of Logistics, Alexandria, Egypt ahmed.dabees@aast.edu, mahmoud.barakat@aast.edu 2 University of Maribor, Faculty of Logistics, Celje, Slovenija andrej.lisec@um.si Abstract Rice production is associated with vast quantities of straw, which have historical y been eliminated through the practice of burning fields in the open. However, the burning of agricultural leftovers, particularly rice straw in Egypt (about 4.4 million tons per year), results in what is called locally as Black Cloud, reverse process and utilization for rice straw a major challenge due to technical, social, institutional, and socioeconomic constraints, what was once a valuable resource is now being burned as a waste. Rice Straw could be used properly to create bioethanol, mushrooms, pulp, biofuels, paper, fertilizers, and animal feed, as well as conservation for agriculture. This article examines the composition of rice straw Keywords: agricultural and husks, the procedures involved in the manufacturing of waste, valued products, and the different applications for these rice straw, materials. These include agricultural additives, energy generation, rice husk, sustainable environmental adsorbents, building materials, and a variety of environment, products. silica and cellulose DOI https://doi.org/10.18690/um.fl.1.2022.2 ISBN 978-961-286-663-1 20 XVI. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LOGISTICS IN AGRICULTURE 2022 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS 1 Introduction Rice is a main grain for the majority of the world's population, particularly in Africa but its annual production generates enormous volumes of straw (estimated as ∼8 ×1011 kg) and husks (∼1.5 ×1011 kg) 1. Rice straw is presently used for practical reasons, such as the manufacturing of biofuels, paper, fertilizers, and animal feed. Rice is the primary cereal crop for more than fifty percent of the world's population. Rice production is recognized as a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions, particularly methane, due to rice management practices and the burning of rice straw after harvest. After harvest, the majority of rice straw is either burned in situ, integrated into the soil, or used as mulch for the next crop. Straw incorporated into the soil degrades slowly and may harbor rice il nesses, but burning is becoming socially unacceptable due to considerable atmospheric pollution2, which includes greenhouse gas emissions and smoke. As noted, al of the components from the rice production cycle can be utilized despite efforts to discover economical y and social y acceptable uses for agricultural waste3. Broken rice and rice bran are fully utilized by the food industry and are therefore not considered in this review4. However, it is worth noting that rice bran has potential applications as a functional food due to its ability to inhibit Salmonel a colonization of the gastrointestinal tract5, in addition to being a source of oil with a variety of reported beneficial health properties and a high smoke point. Many studies showed the possibility of using rice straw for the production of fuel and other products. Due to the fact that rice husks are created off-site during grain processing, a greater proportion of them are utilized, despite the fact that they were historical y regarded as waste and frequently thrown or burned6. However, rice husk is readily available and inexpensive; therefore, it has long been used as a source of energy for minor applications. In recent years, a variety of rice husk derived goods, such as polymeric composite resins and polymeric lumber as a substitute for natural wood, have been created by blending ground rice husks with polymer resins, energy-generating pel ets can be created too. This study presents the status of the rice straw burning practice in Egypt and examines current 1 Arai, H., Hosen, Y., Pham Hong, V. N., Thi, N. T., Huu, C. N., & Inubushi, K. (2015). 2 Liu, C., Lu, M., Cui, J., Li, B., & Fang, C. (2014). 3 Ray, D. K., Ramankutty, N., Muel er, N. D., West, P. C., & Foley, J. A. (2012). 4 Conrad, R. (2007). Microbial Ecology of Methanogens and Methanotrophs. 5 Jiang, Y., Qian, H., Huang, S., Zhang, X., Wang, L., Zhang, L., Shen, M., Xiao, X., Chen, F., Zhang, H., Lu, C., Li, C., Zhang, J., Deng, A., Jan van Groenigen, K., & Zhang, W. (2019). 6 Li, Z., Unzué-Belmonte, D., Cornelis, J. T., Linden, C. vander, Struyf, E., Ronsse, F., & Delvaux, B. (2019). A. Dabees, M. Ramdan, A. Lisec: A Review of Rice Straw Utilization Opportunities as Low Cost Agriculture in Egypt 21. procedures for utilizing rice production's waste straw and husks to expand its full usage7. The rice straw recycling system was able to change the negative perception towards agricultural waste, after the crucial chal enge of burning rice straw and its emissions from fires beside the black smoke caused an environmental imbalance that threatened the lives of all living creatures for many years. burning it, as well as its contribution to creating job opportunities for many laborers that can generate income for them that improves their standard of living through the process of collecting, pressing and selling straw, as the optimal use of agricultural residues helped fil the shortage of organic fertilizers, achieve clean agriculture and protect the environment from Pollution and providing job opportunities in rural areas8, thus improving the economic and environmental situation in the Egyptian countryside. In order to make full use of rice straw, it is now recycled in designated sites using shredding and baling machines, to make pel ets used to obtain industrial organic fertilizer, and to produce biogas to obtain organic fertilizer and energy, and to use it as an unconventional feed for livestock by adding urea and ammonia injections, and germinating barley seeds on Rice straw and its use as green and dry fodder for livestock, production of mushrooms as human food, and in poultry farms as a bedding for the farm floor with a mixture of sawdust, pressed and sold to paper mil s and brick factories, and used in the manufacture of concentrated feed for animals, the manufacture of building bricks, furniture and housing construction9. 2 Scalable Solutions for Sustainable Rice Straw Management Rice straw and rice husk fiber are underutilized agricultural leftovers that have the potential to be used in polymer composites that would conserve wood and petroleum. R12 Traditional y, much of the produced rice straw has been burned in the field, as a quick and easy method of disposal. However, this results in the generation of atmospheric pollution from smoke and greenhouse gases; the latter are affected by moisture which enhances emission of CO2, CH4 and other organic carbons, whilst inhibiting N2O emission10. In addition to rice straw as shown in 7 Abdelaal, H. S. A., & Thilmany, D. (2019). 8 Abdelaal, H. S. A., & Thilmany, D. (2019). 9 Singh, G., Gupta, M. K., Chaurasiya, S., Sharma, V. S., & Pimenov, D. Y. (2021). 10 Arai, H., Hosen, Y., Pham Hong, V. N., Thi, N. T., Huu, C. N., & Inubushi, K. (2015). 22 XVI. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LOGISTICS IN AGRICULTURE 2022 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS Figure 1, various other substrates can be digested to produce biogas, including food waste, animals waste, poultry manure, and cow manure, among others. The expense of instal ing biogas systems is a barrier to the widespread adoption of biogas technology. Figure 1: Summary of main options for use of rice straw. Source: (Goodman, 2020) 11 2.1 Incorporation Incorporating rice straw into the soil is a typical method of management, but sufficient time must be al owed for its breakdown to maintain effectiveness and production efficiency12. In addition, after soil inclusion, straw management considerations must be considered for greenhouse gas emission (GHGE)13. Rice straw has a slower decomposition rate; hence, some farmers avoid incorporating it into the soil, particularly in intensive cropping systems. Rice straw composting is done by adding animal manure and enzymes to rice straw and mixing by a turner and ensilage, in order to homogenize the mixture. The biophysical processes of decaying matter can drastical y improve thru mechanized composting. In turn, the compost can serve as fertilizer for growing vegetables and other crops, or can be used directly as soil conditioner. As soil conditioner, it improves the nutrient and organic matter content of the soil. R13 Straw integration is a typical approach for 11 Goodman, B. A. (2020). 12 Gummert, M., Nguyen, ·, Hung, V., Chivenge, P., & Douthwaite, B. (2020). 13 Sander, B. O., Samson, M., & Buresh, R. J. (2014). A. Dabees, M. Ramdan, A. Lisec: A Review of Rice Straw Utilization Opportunities as Low Cost Agriculture in Egypt 23. boosting soil fertility14, however its influence on increasing methane emission is a cause for worry15. Rice straw could be pyrolysis under control to make biochar. Combining biochar soil aids in carbon sequestration, reduces GHG emissions, and promotes sustainable soil management. Biochars generated from rice straw as wel as husks can be used to enhance soil characteristics. Significant increases in rice seedlings substance were noted after biochar amendment, In soils with low silica content, use of xerogel silica produced from micronized rice husk ash has been reported to boost rice crop yields16. However, soil type has a substantial impact on the value of biochar as a soil amendment for enhancing soil properties. 2.2 Energy Production Rice is a main food for the majority of the world, its production is extensive. Nonetheless, it also produces vast quantities of non-food biomass, primarily in the form of straw and husks. Although they have been underutilized and most rice straw is being burned, these cellulosic materials have the potential for significant use. These include agricultural additives, energy generation, environmental adsorbents, building materials, and a variety of specialized products. This article investigates employing rice straw and husks to produce clean energy, the procedures involved in the manufacturing of valued products Although pyrolysis and gasification can be used to make bio-diesel, rice husk pellets are also a viable alternative to diesel oil and coal for small-scale electricity generating17. The large generation of ash including silica and alkali might damage combustion equipment and cause agglomeration. However, there are potential y beneficial applications for the ash18. have presented a reactor that uses rice husk mixed with sawdust or charcoal to produce high-quality fuel. Rice husk briquettes made using starch or gum arabic as binders offer superior combustion qualities to firewood19. Carbonization of rice husk yields char with a somewhat high heating 14 Liu, C. , Lu, M. , Cui, J. , Li, B. , Fang, C.M. , (2014). 15 Conrad, R. (2007). 16 Rambo, M. K. D., Cardoso, A. L., Bevilaqua, D. B., Rizzetti, T. M., Ramos, L. A., Korndörfer, G. H., & Martins, A. F. (2011). 17 Quispe, I. , Navia, R. , Kahhat, R. , (2017). 18 Wu, H.C. , Ku, Y. , Tsai, H.H. , Kuo, Y.L. , Tseng, Y.H. , 2015. 19 Yahaya, D.B. , Ibrahim, T.G. , 2012. 24 XVI. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LOGISTICS IN AGRICULTURE 2022 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS value, with the addition of starch as a binder and ferrous sulphate or sodium hypophosphite to improve ignitability. As with other organic wastes, rice straw can be utilized for energy production, including the production of ethanol, biogas, and bio-oil, as well as direct burning. Although ethanol is the most often utilized biofuel for transportation, manufacturing of ethanol from lignocel ulose sources is stil in its infancy20. Rice husk briquettes or pellets can be used as a substitute for fossil fuel in the gasification process to convert rice husk synthesis gas in a reactor with controlled air; this gas can be used as fuel or in a power generating system to generate electricity. In the past decade, rice straw has attracted the utmost interest of scientists as a potential source of energy in the form of bio oil. Several organizations have successful y recovered oil from straw using thermo-chemical techniques, and pyrolysis is one of these promising methods. Rice straw was pyrolyzed on a fluidized bed equipped with a mechanism for char separation. The optimal temperature for bio-oil extraction The oil was rich in oxygenated hydrocarbons21. Rice Utilization Biomass is a unique resource for the sustainable manufacture of bio-derived chemicals and fuels to replace products obtained from fossil fuels. Although lignin is a significant component of lignocel ulose materials, its complex cross-linking polymeric network renders it intractable to present chemical methods, and alternative catalysts are being developed for its deploy medication22. 2.3 Rice straw silage for livestock feed Utilization of Rice Straw as a low cost natural food of rice straw for animal feed, There growing demand for animal source foods which consider a major concern for Egyptian population therefore rice straw affordable source of food for livestock feed. Rice straw includes 65.5% holo-cellulose (34.2% cellulose and 27.9% hemi-celluloses) and 10.2% lignin. Thus it was suitable for feeding ruminants. Previous research by Tengerdy and Szakacs23 revealed that, because ligno-cellulosic crop residues include substantial amounts of cellulose, hemi-celluloses, and lignin, they may be suitable substrates for the manufacture of single cel protein for use in animal feeds. However, the biggest issue with dry rice straw is its low protein level of 20 Balat, M., (2011). 21 Biswas B, Pandey N, Bisht Y, Singh R, Kumar J, Bhaskar T (2017). 22 Pineda, A. , Lee, A. , (2016). 23 Tengerdy, R.P. and Szakacs, G. (2003). A. Dabees, M. Ramdan, A. Lisec: A Review of Rice Straw Utilization Opportunities as Low Cost Agriculture in Egypt 25. approximately 2%. According to El-Haggar et al., 24 the chemical treatment approach using urea or ammonia is more practical than the mechanical treatment method. Adding 3 percent ammonia (or urea) to the entire mass of garbage produced the best results. Rice straw is the most plentiful form of feed for ruminants in Vietnam, particularly during the dry season25. Ammonization techniques employing urea or anhydrous ammonia to increase a crop's nutritional content are wel - established and utilized in a number of Asian nations. When urea is used in the wet ensiling technique, the suggested amount is 4 kg of urea per 100 kg of air-dried straw little more than half of this amount remains in the straw when it is fed to the animal. 2.4 Exploitation of paddy straw for the fabrication of pulp and paper The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported in 2018 that the worldwide forest area decreased by 3.2 mil ion hectares (0.1% per year) between 2010 and 2015. Global urbanization and rising demand for wood and wood products are the primary causes. As a result of the high cost and limited supply of wood, many developing nations have begun to rely on non-wood based pulps (bamboo, corn straw, bagasse, flax, jute, sisal, etc.) for paper manufacture. Particularly in India and China, 70% of the pulp industry's raw materials come from non-wood plants, including wheat straw, cereal straw, and bagasse26. There are numerous advantages to utilizing non-wood resources in the pulp and paper business. The use of non-wood pulps will reduce deforestation. Use of agricultural leftovers in the paper sector wil reduce wood and cel ulose fiber imports in wood-shortage nations. Customer satisfaction wil grow as a result of their desire for paper made from recycled or non-wood fibers. Agricultural leftovers are simpler to pulp than wood pulps27. In 2013, the global demand for paper was 402 million tons per year28; by 2021, the demand reaches 521 million tons per year. Increasing demand for paper does not indicate an increase in the literacy rate, but paper is in great demand for wrapping and packaging of goods and commercial products. Despite the various advantages of exploiting rice straw in the paper industry, it is not regarded a profitable biomass due to its high silica concentration (10 to 17 percent). 24 El-Haggar, S. M.; Mounir, G. and Gennaro, L. (2004). 25 El-Dewany,G,Awad,F,. (2018). 26 Liu et al., 2018; Singh et al. (2019). 27 Rodriguez et al. (2008). 28 Kulkarni, A. (2013). 26 XVI. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LOGISTICS IN AGRICULTURE 2022 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS 2.5 Mushroom Production The rice straw mushroom species is often utilized because it grows quickly and has a 14-day growth period. The species develops in tropical climates at temperatures between 30 and 35 degrees Celsius during the mycelia development stage and between 28 and 30 degrees Celsius during the fruiting body production stage which fit in Egyptian climate especially in summer. Rice straw spawn, labor, and water are the key inputs for mushroom cultivation. Typical y the mushroom harvest begins in the third week fol owing inoculation and concludes one week afterwards29. In Vietnam's Mekong River Delta, outdoor mushroom farming is widespread crop. The minimal cost of investment is a benefit of this firm that generates income. It yields 0.8 kg of mushrooms every 10 kg of dried straw, resulting in a net profit of USD 50–100 per tons of straw. Due to increased investment requirements and the need for stringent control over growing conditions, indoor cultivation is a less prevalent technique. On the other hand, the yield per 10 kg of dry straw is around 2 kg higher for mushroom cultivation indoor. 3 Africa Context In notwithstanding the of Asia's dominance in rice production and consumption, the importance of rice in other regions of the world is not diminished. It is the primary food crop in the majority of African nations. Population growth over the past two decades has increased the demand for the crop that is currently the second most important source of energy in Africa. In fact, the current rate of rice consumption in Africa exceeds its rate of production, which is balanced with the help of effortless and sustainable imports from Asia. Egypt, Madagascar, and Nigeria are the leading rice producers in Africa, fol owed by Mali, Tanzania, Sierra Leone, and Senegal. It is primarily grown in countries along the western and eastern coasts of Africa and has become a crop of paramount political significance. The 2007–2008 rice crisis in Africa is a classic example of the extent of public unrest caused by its shortage or price fluctuations, illustrating its significance30. 29 Singh, G., Gupta, M. K., Chaurasiya, S., Sharma, V. S., & Pimenov, D. Y. (2021) 30 Abdelaal, H. S. A., & Thilmany, D. (2019). A. Dabees, M. Ramdan, A. Lisec: A Review of Rice Straw Utilization Opportunities as Low Cost Agriculture in Egypt 27. 3.1 Local Context The total cultivated area reached 1.3 million acres of rice. Figure 1 show the rice production and total rice cropping area in Egypt from 2006 to 2019.Study show that Dakahlia Governorate is the largest governorate of rice cultivation, where the rice area reached 369 thousand acres, 29.3%, and rice production reached 1.1 million tons, or 30.3%, followed by the Eastern Province, with an area of 278 thousand acres, at a rate of 22, 1%, and the amount of production amounted to 868 thousand tons, at a rate of 23.0%.Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate, with an area of 266 thousand acres, representing 21.2%, and the amount of production amounting to 742 thousand tons, or 19.7%. Then, Al-Bahira governorate has an area of 192 thousand acres, at a rate of 15.3%, with a production amount of 511 thousand tons, at a rate of 13.5%. Al-Gharbia comes with an area of 100 thousand acres, 7.9%, a production amount of 342 thousand tons, at 9.1%, and finally Damietta, 53 thousand acres, 4.2%, with a production amount of 167,000 tons, at a rate of 4.4%. 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 2019/ 2017/ 2015/ 2014/ 2013/ 2012/ 2011/ 2010/ 2009/ 2008/ 2007/ 2006/ 2018 2016 2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 Production in Mil ion Tons 4,8 5 5,3 4,8 5,5 5,7 5,9 5,7 4,3 5,5 7,3 6,9 Cropping Area 1,3 0,9 1,3 1,4 1,2 1,4 1,4 1,5 1,4 1,1 1,4 1,8 Figure 1: Rice annual Production Amount and Cropping Area Source: Egyptian Statistical Authority31 31 https://www.capmas.gov.eg/ 28 XVI. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LOGISTICS IN AGRICULTURE 2022 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS Table 1: Average productivity of rice in major Egyptian Cities 2019 Item Average quantity Cultivated area (Ton / Acre) Rice straw Barley rice with rice Barley (Tons) (Tons) Governorates Rice straw Rice Acre Damietta 1.65 3.18 86590 167064 52613 Dakahlia 1.89 3.1 697970 1143287 368756 Sharkia 1.59 3.13 441430 867976 277658 Kafr Al sheikh 1.56 2.79 413492 741713 265903 Gharbia 1.64 3.43 163107 341931 99588 Behera 1.39 2.66 267127 510665 192147 Total 1.65 3.0 2069716 3772636 1256665 Source: Egyptian Statistical Authority32 2.1 million tons of rice straw produced in 2019, with a productivity of 1.65 tons of straw/Acre, was planted with rice. 43.9 thousand tons of straw were burned out of the total amount of straw produced, cultivated area with rice and Average quantity rice straw per ton as shown in Table 2 . 3.2 Egyptian Disposition Practices Disposition style rice straw is crucial topic attract attention from Egyptian Government Table 2 shows the main practices by Egyptian Farmers The percentage of farmers who used straw as animal feed reached 65.9% of the total number of farmers and given what the state has done in the form of the Ministry of Environment to spread awareness among farmers the importance of making use of rice straw by using it in many fields to obtain a reasonable return. Table2: Distribution disposal methods of rice straw in major Egyptian Cities 2019 Item Disposition style rice straw Governorates Burning oven Burning Converted to animal feed Sel ing Buried in the land Damietta 0 0 3075 3123 0 Dakahlia 969 9509 104422 12809 0 Sharkia 3853 483 33451 29703 370 Kafr Al sheikh 1486 122 28709 39883 1410 Gharbia 812 2772 8094 37844 0 Behera 208 0 7583 24145 0 Total 7327 12886 185333 147507 1780 Source: Egyptian Statistical Authority33 32 https://www.capmas.gov.eg/ 33 https://www.capmas.gov.eg/ A. Dabees, M. Ramdan, A. Lisec: A Review of Rice Straw Utilization Opportunities as Low Cost Agriculture in Egypt 29. The percentage of farmers who sold straw reached 23.4%. As for burning straw, it was followed by two types of farmers, one of whom burns it in the home oven and reached 5.1%. as for the other one, he started and started burning straw on the ground, and their rate was (0.5%), which is negligible, because the farmers were aware of the possibility of sel ing and benefiting from it. The percentage of Gharbia Governorate farmers who burned was 54.9%, while the farmers of Kafr El- Sheikh Governorate accounted for 30.5% of the total farmers who did by burning. It became clear that 12.5% of the farmers had disposed of straw by placing it under a mattress under livestock. As for the method of disposing of straw by (burying the land), it reached 0.2% of the total, because the farmers who bury straw on the ground are the area. Rice planted with a smal rice planting area. 3.3 Government Initiatives Government of Egypt is pursuing a strategy plan aiming to achieve a contribution of renewable energies by 20% of the total electricity generation by the year 2030, and to diversify its energy source through the development of new and renewable energy resources. Egypt has a good potential for biomass resources but very limited work has been done to quantify this potential for power generation. The main sources of biomass waste in Egypt are agricultural waste (crop residues), fol owed by municipal solid waste, animal waste, and sewage waste. 4 Conclusion and future research Improving the value chain of rice straw byproducts and implementing sustainable straw business practices are the key to persuading farmers not to engage in open-field burning and avoiding the resulting negative environmental and health impacts. Rice straw incorporation into the soil is an option; however, it must be careful y required to ensure timely degradation and minimize GHGE emissions. The stash of rice straw with balers plays a crucial role in its sustainable utilization. In the remaining chapters of the book, alternative straw management options such as straw-based mushroom and feed production, mechanized composting to produce organic fertilizer, etc. are debated. This study focuses on the scalable options that wil increase the economic value of Egyptian rice production. Information that has been reviewed and updated, as wel as scientific evidence regarding the sustainable operations of rice straw, will be useful for future improvements and relevant 30 XVI. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LOGISTICS IN AGRICULTURE 2022 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS regulations. How rice straw can be used to produce biofuel and high-end materials such as bioplastics, bio fibers, and silica could be the subject of another publication. It is crucial to consider whether burning straw should keep going or whether it should be converted into a variety of valuable products. In addition to providing sustainable solutions for managing large quantities of straw, the technologies discussed above have the potential to improve the socio – economic status of farmers. The most important requirement is the ful participation of the federal and state governments in the development of schematics detailing how cleaner technologies can be implemented at the root level for the proper management of biomass. Despite the progress of using rice straw Study show there stil gap of local practices and lack of awareness of agriculture’s uses potentials to fully exploitation of rice straw and husks. References Abdelaal, H. S. A., & Thilmany, D. (2019). Grains production prospects and long run food security in Egypt. Sustainability, 11(16). https://doi.org/10.3390/su11164457 Abdelhady, S., Borello, D., Shaban, A., & Rispoli, F. (2014). 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Energy potential from rice husk through direct combustion and fast pyrolysis: a review. Waste Manag. 59, 200–210. Rambo, M. K. D., Cardoso, A. L., Bevilaqua, D. B., Rizzetti, T. M., Ramos, L. A., Korndörfer, G. H., & Martins, A. F. (2011). Silica from rice Husk Ash as an additive for rice plant. Journal of Agronomy, 10(3), 99–104. https://doi.org/10.3923/JA.2011.99.104 Ray, D. K., Ramankutty, N., Muel er, N. D., West, P. C., & Foley, J. A. (2012). Recent patterns of crop yield growth and stagnation. Nature Communications, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms2296 Sander, B. O., Samson, M., & Buresh, R. J. (2014). Methane and nitrous oxide emissions from flooded rice fields as affected by water and straw management between rice crops. Geoderma, 235– 236(2014 ), 355–362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geoderma.2014.07.020 Singh, G., Gupta, M. K., Chaurasiya, S., Sharma, V. S., & Pimenov, D. Y. (2021). Rice straw burning: a review on its global prevalence and the sustainable alternatives for its effective mitigation. In Environmental Science and Pol ution Research, 28(25), 32125–32155. Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-14163-3 32 XVI. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LOGISTICS IN AGRICULTURE 2022 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS Sui, F., Wang, J., Zuo, J., Joseph, S., Munroe, P., Drosos, M., Li, L., & Pan, G. (2020). Effect of amendment of biochar supplemented with Si on Cd mobility and rice uptake over three rice growing seasons in an acidic Cd-tainted paddy from central South China. Science of the Total Environment, 709, 136101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.136101 Wu, H.C. , Ku, Y. , Tsai, H.H. , Kuo, Y.L. , Tseng, Y.H. , 2015. Rice husk as solid fuel for chemical looping combustion in an annular dual-tube moving bed reactor. Chem. Eng. J. 280, 82–89. Xiang, L., et al., (2020). Effects of rice straw biochar on sorption and desorption of di-n-butyl phthalate in different soil particle-size fractions. Sci. Total. Environ. doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134878. Yahaya, D.B. , Ibrahim, T.G. , (2012). Development of rice husk briquettes for use as fuel. Res. J. Eng. Appl. Sci. 1, 130–133. IMPACT OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY AND SMART SYSTEMS ON MOBILITY AND AGRICULTURE IN SERBIA DRAGO CVIJANOVIĆ, KATARINA STOJANOVIĆ, SUZANA BOROVIĆ University in Kragujevac, Faculty of Hotel Management and Tourism, Vrnjačka Banja, Serbia drago.cvijanovic@kg.ac.rs, katarina.stojanovic@kg.ac.rs, suza.borovic@gmail.com Abstract As mobile device location data becomes more available, new analyzes reveal significant changes in the way you navigate when an unplanned event occurs. With different control policies from local and state governments, the outbreak of Covid-19 has dramatically changed travel behaviour. In particular, the necessity of fundamental changes in certain sectors was noted, some of which are mobility and agriculture. Not only the pandemic, but also urbanization, climate changes, ecology and especial y the ongoing War in Europe, marked these two categories as very important and connected, crucial for future survival in unpredictable new circumstances. Examples of agriculture in the Netherlands and Serbia were analyzed, as a Keywords: possibility for the application and implementation of new mobility, solutions. The concept of precision agriculture, connecting new precision technologies and a traditional branch of the economy such as agriculture, technology, agriculture, enables functioning even in extreme conditions, such smart systems, as limited movement during the pandemic and locking. Serbia DOI https://doi.org/10.18690/um.fl.1.2022.3 ISBN 978-961-286-663-1 34 XVI. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LOGISTICS IN AGRICULTURE 2022 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS 1 Introduction For most of the 20th century, it was believed that increased traffic safety was achieved by separating vehicles from other road users. In order to apply the principle of common space, streets must be special y planned and equipped for slower traffic. In the new circumstances, it is necessary to predict movement and logistics for specific conditions, such as the pandemic. This requires the application of various project solutions, before various researches had carried out. The negative impacts of today's traffic, is a growing initiative for change in terms of improvement. There is a global need for implementation new ideas and systems that would change the negative impact of traffic in the future (Cvitković et al. 2021). Smart technologies and systems have proven as the most adequate and universal solution for all conditions. During the first wave of the pandemic, mobility decreased sharply across Europe. The effect was stronger in countries with stricter lockdown policies, while countries with politically oriented or partial lockdowns also significantly reduced mobility. Until now the Covid-19 pandemic had an unprecedented impact on traffic in general, but also on the sector as a whole, the consequences of which are felt in the reduced number of passengers, and therefore also in the financial consequences. As mobile device location data become more available, new analyzes reveal significant changes in the way you navigate when an unplanned event occurs. With different control policies of local and national authorities, the outbreak of Covid-19 has dramatical y changed the movement behavior in the affected cities. Many countries have closed their borders and imposed curfews in a sharp reduction in transport demand both regional y and continental y. Different countries have dealt with these chal enging circumstances in different ways – and, in some cases, directives differ from city to city. Cities in developing countries and emerging economies face greater chal enges than ever before. At the beginning of the Corona virus (Covid-19) pandemic, Google and Apple started col ecting detailed statistics about people's movements using location data from mobile devices. The paper analyzed the data obtained for different areas of movement such as shops, recreation areas, parks, public transport, etc. D. Cvijanović, K. Stojanović, S. Borović: Impact of Digital Technology and Smart Systems on Mobility and Agriculture in Serbia 35. Also, as these digital data were very important in the coordination of the crisis, so also a very important sector such as agriculture had to be adapted to the new circumstances. In conditions of lack of food due to global challenges such as the pandemic, energy crisis, wars, digitalization of agriculture and the use of smart technologies and solutions, they are inevitable. The example of agriculture of Netherlands, as one of the leaders in this field, turns out to be useful for a country like Serbia, which has a huge natural potential. 2 Using Digital Technologies in Order to Obtain Mobility Data During the Pandemic The Coronavirus pandemic has a significant impact on countries around the world and many countries have imposed restrictions on transportation. Different countries have dealt with these chal enging circumstances in different ways, in some cases, directives differ from city to city. How effective these guidelines have been in reducing people's movement can be seen from the data Google presents in its Covid-19 mobility reports. Using anonymized data provided by apps like Google Maps, the company created a regularly updated dataset that shows how people's movements have changed during the pandemic (Badr et al. 2020). This mobility data can provide useful insights to local governments and health authorities, and colud be used as a basis for new public policies by showing the change in the extent of mobility of people in their communities. We can learn about this from the data that Google presents in the report on community mobility. The United Nations and other organizations source and categorize data into the following categories: social distancing, movement restrictions, public health measures, social and economic measures, and blockades (Lapatinas 2020). 36 XVI. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LOGISTICS IN AGRICULTURE 2022 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS Table 1: Policy measures considered in the analysis Category Measure Description Cancelation of public events. Limit to the number of people that can meet in public and private spaces. Public services Public services and facilities are closing access to the public. closure In some countries, services are available online. Changes in prison Change in policies around prisons to mitigate the spread of policies the disease. This may include early release but also Social distancing Limit public gatherings suspension of day-release programs, suspension of visits etc. Schools closure Authorities have closed schools. Partial lockdown includes: 1. The population cannot leave Partial lockdown their houses apart for specific reasons that they have to communicate to the authorities. 2. Al stores that are not n related to alimentation or pharmacies are not open. dow Full lockdown includes: 1. The population cannot leave their Full lockdown houses apart for specific reasons that they have to Lock communicate to the authorities. 2. Al non-essential services closed and production stops. Lockdown of Limitations to the population living in camps and/or camp refugee camps like conditions. Source: (Cvitković et al. 2021). Google has published reports on community mobility that show trends in movement by region, in different categories of places. For each category in the region, the reports show changes in two different ways. Compares the mobility for the report date with the base day. Calculated for the report date and displayed as a positive or negative percentage. The reports show trends over time by geography, in various place categories such as retail and recreation, grocery and pharmacy, parks, transit stations, workplaces and residential. Table 2: Description of mobility reports categories Category Description Data Source Retail and Restaurants, cafes, shopping centres, theme parks, museums, recreation libraries, and movie theatres. Google Grocery and Grocery markets, food warehouses, farmers markets, pharmacy specialty food shops, drug stores, and pharmacies. Google Parks National parks, public beaches, marinas, dog parks, plazas, and public gardens. Google Transit stations Public transport hubs such as subway, bus, and train stations. Google Workplace Places of work. Google Residential Places of residence. Google Source: (Cvitković et al. 2021). D. Cvijanović, K. Stojanović, S. Borović: Impact of Digital Technology and Smart Systems on Mobility and Agriculture in Serbia 37. Using anonymous data provided by apps like Google Maps, the company has created a regularly updated dataset that shows how people's movements have changed during the pandemic. This data set measures the number of visitors to specific categories of sites on a daily basis and compares this change to the initial day before the outbreak. 2.1 The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on changing mobility People increase their activity at home and reduce their mobility at workplaces in the first months. The results confirm the assumption and show that, in the early phase of the pandemic, workers in the subsectors reduce their activities at workplaces and increase their activities at home when the number of new daily cases increases. This suggests that people tend to increase their activities at home and decrease their activities at the workplace. Until the pandemic, home jobs were general y considered a non-standard, flexible work arrangement, where the workplace was the employer's place. Of course, during the pandemic, employees worked from home out of necessity rather than choice, and the formalized flexible working regime fel somewhat. Many employers are also considering long-term downsizing of office space and moving to hybrid working, al owing employees to split their time between working from home and working in the office. The analysis suggests that the blockade has the strongest causal influence on increasing presence at home and decreasing visits to workplaces, public transport hubs, groceries, pharmacies, open public spaces. The impact of closing public services and closing schools is significant, but on a smaller scale. The results show that the most effective COVID-19 policies to reduce mobility are closure of public services and facilities, partial closure and full closure. 3 The necessity of change as a consequence and introduction of smart systems A clearly visible side effect of the Covid-19 pandemic is a reduced need for daily mobility. This can mainly be attributed to the expansion of telecommuting, the movement restrictions that have been imposed in countries and the decreasing sense of safety in public transport. Long-term changes to telecommuting or virtual mobility might be result in time changes, including less frequent travel. Improving 38 XVI. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LOGISTICS IN AGRICULTURE 2022 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS cycling and walking accessibility could improve traffic safety, health and the environment. During the pandemic, many cities began to expand existing cycling and pedestrian infrastructure, first as temporary solutions, to gradually, wherever possible, make them permanent. Continuing the trend, many regulators wil focus on environmental issues when adopting mobility guidelines. Urban mobility and, in particular, its management are undergoing a period of profound change to enable sustainable mobility in small and large cities. After the COVID-19 pandemic, we appreciated living with better air quality and less noise. Movement restrictions have shown us the extent to which streets and public spaces in our neighborhood are essential to community cohesion. By suddenly entering the »new normal« we learned the hard way that behavioral change at the community and individual level can happen at a much faster pace than we thought. According to Kotler and Bloom (1984) intangibility was defined as everything that cannot be seen, tasted, heard or smel ed (Vujić, et al., 2020), so sometimes we don't see all the hidden changes. The environment is exposed to the negative impact of business activities, which is reflected in extensive exploitation of natural resources and pollution of nature. Based on this research, it was determined that drastic changes in mobility during the pandemic affect various spheres of life and economy, including agriculture. The concept of smart agriculture is already being applied in Serbia, but after the pandemic and changes in mobility, the need for the concept was seen as inevitable. 3.1 Smart traffic Smart traffic and smart mobility are two intertwined concepts, and they are unthinkable without each other, because mobility is a service, and the biggest service and need today is traffic. By applying smart technologies and smart solutions, traffic is regulated, which affects the reduction of costs and the increased satisfaction of passengers, pedestrians, or drivers. Al IoT solutions are based on the application of smart and environmental y sound cars, and their connection to traffic infrastructure and infrastructure facilities such as gas stations, parking lots. Apart from communication, more modern solutions of IoT technology lead us to communication between vehicles, with each other (Inić 1997). D. Cvijanović, K. Stojanović, S. Borović: Impact of Digital Technology and Smart Systems on Mobility and Agriculture in Serbia 39. One of the services and smart solutions of modern technologies is the monitoring of traffic at a given moment (in real time), and these are vehicle navigation systems, as wel as systems for locating cars, enabling the provision of information on the distance from other traffic participants, information on the current state of the car, as wel as the condition of the roads and potential accidents on the roads. Smart traffic consists of: − Smart vehicles; − Smart infrastructure (Stojkov & Resanović 2016). 3.2 Smart agriculture In London, the sewage network had done only after the cholera pandemic in 1850, perhaps now is the time to adopt the best technology and infrastructure for smart cities and villages. The digital revolution is underway and agriculture has not been bypassed. On the contrary, new technologies have also found application in agriculture. Integrations between agriculture and new technologies, mainly from the IT industry and others, are cal ed by one name – smart agriculture (Faculty of Agriculture 2022). Earth observation by remote sensing (EO) is the interpretation and understanding of measurements made by airborne or satel ite instruments of EMR that is reflected or emitted by objects on the Earth's surface, ocean or ice surface, or in the atmosphere, together with establishing the relationship between these measurements and the nature and distribution of the phenomenon on surface of the Earth or in the atmosphere (Mather 1999). In this way, we can use the recordings for various purposes of the functioning of villages and cities, as shown in the previous example of tracking via google mobility during the pandemic. Today, around 70% of the world's population lives in cities, and that percentage will probably increase more and more, so it is necessary to use al agricultural potentials to ensure enough land, food, meat, fruit and vegetables, etc. (Figure 1). For this reason, we should invest in agriculture, help the rural population, and protect water and the environment, in order to ensure the healthiest and highest quality products. In Serbia, modern agricultural production that also takes care of environmental 40 XVI. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LOGISTICS IN AGRICULTURE 2022 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS protection has become the present. ICT provide precise mechanization and an Internet network in which machines, objects, people and animals are networked, as wel as data analysis collected by drones and robots. The biggest problem for farmers in Serbia is how to bridge the gap between traditional farmers and scientists, how to use all the technical devices and technological possibilities of today? The Government of the Republic of Serbia and the Ministry of Agriculture often organize various forums, seminars, conferences in order to attract young people not to leave the village but to advance in agricultural activities. The future of agrarians is family farms equipped in a technical and technological sense, and united in cooperatives (Kostić 2005). Availability of land resources per inhabitant in the time domain, Bruinsma, J. 2009. Figure 1: Human population growth with forecast of further trend, Ganivet E. 2019. Source: (Kostić, 2021) 4 Serbia's potential for smart agriculture Rural areas are riched by ecosystems and biodiversity, natural rarities, various activities, cultural and historical heritage (Borović et al., 2022). Serbia is a country with a diverse geographical structure: varied relief, pleasant climate, wealth of natural resources, fertile plains in the north, hilly and mountainous area south of the Sava and Danube, the Pester plateau. All these factors tell us that Serbia is a country with great agricultural potential. The types of land in Serbia are numerous, with huge areas that are not fully utilized, or uncultivable. More than a million hectares of Vojvodina are chernozem, while in the southern regions there is a lot of uncultivable land that can be used for organic agriculture, because organic fruits, medicinal herbs, and vines thrive even on poor quality land. Serbia also had potential for traditional agriculture, but the performance can be many times better and greater when agriculture is also D. Cvijanović, K. Stojanović, S. Borović: Impact of Digital Technology and Smart Systems on Mobility and Agriculture in Serbia 41. modernized and digitized, so that in the future it can be one of the leading countries in Europe in the agricultural and food industry (Ristić, Barbarić, 2019). The process of modernization of agriculture is represented, in the north smart farming, and in the south smart animal husbandry and smart farms. The state must build the entire chain, from the first step and til ing the land, to the processing and production of finished products. One link in the chain has stopped, Serbia exports wheat, corn and other basic products of agricultural production, but imports finished agricultural products. This is a characteristic of poorer countries, they are rich in natural resources, but the processing industry has »failed«. 4.1 Necessity in using smart systems and mobility in agriculture in Serbia 4.1.1 A positive example of the Netherlands The best example for farmers should be the Netherlands and it’s agriculture. Compared to that relatively smal country, Serbia has 3 times more arable land and 76% more available fresh water. However, on our fertile land, the income is 3t of grain from one hectare, and farmers from the Netherlands, as much as 8.5t from one hectare. In addition, they have developed the entire chain of the food industry, from seeds, through processing to the finished product, so the Netherlands is the second country in the world in terms of food exports, right after the USA. The government of the Netherlands invests a huge amount of money in projects it cal s »sustainable, smart and circular agriculture« In the absence of fertile land, the Government of Netherlands is dried a part of the sea, cultivated that land and made it fertile (Kostić, 2005). Farmers use sensors, drones, and farmers use drones and robots, and in al sectors, from cultivation to processing and packaging of finished products, they use automated processes. Because of these smart and sustainable solutions, the Netherlands is a leader in efficient and sustainable agriculture in the world, even though it has limited natural resources (Figure 3). With the introduction of IoT technology, smart and innovative solutions, modern sensors are available for farmers to use. This system helps us get real-time data and make the right decisions. With the help of sensors and IoT technology, farmers monitor the water level in the reservoirs, thus increasing the efficiency of water supply, i.e. irrigation. Using sensors 42 XVI. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LOGISTICS IN AGRICULTURE 2022 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS and smart technology, farmers monitor the growth of seeds, that is, they measure the consumption of resources and the time it takes for the seed to grow into a plant ready for processing or picking. By applying modern techniques, the yields are many times higher, less labor is required, a great saving of time, and almost no losses from drought or floods, because systems against droughts, i.e. protection against floods and natural disasters, were created (Polovina, Kostovski, Popadić, Milijašević, 2019). 5 Precision agriculture There is no clear difference in the interpretation of the concept, as synonyms such as site-specific farming; smart farming and digital farming appear. On the official website of the University of Lleida, researchers from the AgroTIC department gave 27 different interpretations of the term precision agriculture (Lleida University, 2018). It is not clear what is meant by the term precision agriculture technology (Kostić, 2021). Precision agriculture is anything that makes the farming process precise (accurate and control ed) when it comes to raising livestock and crops and growing crops. One of the most famous and important applications of IoT in agriculture is precision agriculture (another name is satellite agriculture). The goal of precision agriculture is to analyze the data obtained by sensors, and react based on them, i.e. make intelligent and faster decisions, as well as monitoring the operation of machines and quality analysis of samples. This makes farming precise and controlled. The concept of precision agriculture enables many times higher yields, using fewer resources, on a smal er area. The advantages of modern technology are that things can be managed remotely; farmers or farmers do not have to be physical y present. In this way, greater efficiency and precision are achieved, while reducing costs, money and time (Kostić, 2014). Smart technologies and sensors provide information about weather conditions, pests, soil quality. Modern agriculture takes place with the help of artificial intel igence, smart IoT sensors and robotics, and the aim is to show how technology can make agriculture and industry more efficient and productive. D. Cvijanović, K. Stojanović, S. Borović: Impact of Digital Technology and Smart Systems on Mobility and Agriculture in Serbia 43. 5.1 Agricultural drones An agricultural drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle that has multiple purposes and functions: − Yield optimization; − Irrigation efficiency; − Pest and disease control; − Cattle control. With the combination of IoT technology and drones, great progress can be made in the agricultural sector. Using drones, precise 3D maps can be placed when planting seeds and crops. Such drones recognize parts of the land that are dry or require fertilizer. The advantages of using drones: until now, there was no machine that performed functions like drones. Tractors with tanks were used for guidance, mostly human resources for monitoring. − Speed. Spraying soil is 50 times faster with a drone than the traditional way. − Savings. During spraying or irrigation, 90% of water and about 40% of pesticides are saved. − It also saves crops, because the drone flies above the crops, it does not trample the crops like a tractor. − Security. The drone does pollination, no one has contact with chemicals-pesticides and − herbicides (Kostić, 2014). 5.2 A smart farm The Internet of Things (IoT) in animal husbandry also has a large application; it is used to monitor the movement and health of animals. Also, smart technology al ows insight into the complete supply chain of hay, water and nutritional supplements, from the entry of feed into the warehouse until the moment the cows eat the feed. IoT devices are placed in the collar and monitor the movement of the animal, as wel 44 XVI. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LOGISTICS IN AGRICULTURE 2022 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS as its advertising, the animal's activity is also measured. The animal's collar contains sensors that measure temperature, pressure, physical activity, heart rate, need for food or water (Zoranović, Bajkin, Vujić, 2009). Based on that data, classifications are made among them, they are sorted by categories, and their medical condition is monitored. With the help of IoT technologies, a sick animal is identified, separated from the herd and treated. The goals of smart farms are: increasing milk and the quality of milk products, reducing the volume of labor, identifying livestock diseases, providing healthy food and correct water. Modernization of farms has started in Serbia, we have several examples on the Pešter Plateau, where family farms have technical y and technological y improved their stables and farms, we have a case of milking cows using robots. The Milka robot, which is the only one in Serbia, milks 6 cows at the same time, squeezes the milk and directly delivers the milk in a tanker ready for sale. After milking the cows, the robot goes around the stal s where the cows are housed and distributes food to them, based on their needs (Kostić, 2014). 6 Disadvantages of the implementation of smart agriculture in serbia A rural area could be defined as „an environment with a smal population concentration, whose main occupation is agriculture, characterized by a special way of life, work, customs and village identity. According to the traditional approach, rural areas in Serbia include 70% of the total territory with 43% of the total population, and according to the OECD definition, rural areas include 85% of the territory and 55.5% of the population with an average population of 63 inhabitants per km²“ (Cvijanović, et al., 2009). Agriculture in the Republic of Serbia, in addition to the great age of farm owners, is also affected by the fact of a very low level of education, where generally only 6% have higher education, and even 49% without any formal education. A prerequisite for transitioning to modern technology is understanding the effects of application, which requires basic knowledge of natural and technical sciences. All of the above is largely absent and it is realistic to expect that, if there is no insistence D. Cvijanović, K. Stojanović, S. Borović: Impact of Digital Technology and Smart Systems on Mobility and Agriculture in Serbia 45. on the education of farmers, it is questionable how quickly the agricultural practices of Serbia will adapt to current trends. 7 Conclusion The rapid advancement of technology in the field of agricultural production is significant, because the need for food is increasing day by day. Due to this rapid progress of technology and technique, in the future, a staff wil be needed who wil know how to manage and maintain the technique and technology of agriculture (Faculty of Agriculture, 2022). Among the priorities, it is necessary to include a new methodology of development, based on local subjects while using the advantages offered by the given region. Novaology improves and ennobles the environment, promotes development and gives new chances for young people who are leaving. Considering that there is little research that deals with this relatively new topic for the needs of regional development, a number of new researches should be conducted and a special dimension should be given to the development of specific regions. As in other sectors, agricultural producers inevitably turn to technological achievements in order to produce more profitably. Due to the high investment prices of smart agriculture and the problems that Serbia has in the purchase prices of products and the departure of young people from the countryside, there are stil no significant investments in the development of new systems. There is a global tendency to apply the most modern technology, ICT systems, then the systematization of agronomy knowledge, but the fact is ignored that farmers are a population of people who, by tradition, in all countries of the world have the lowest level of education (Kostić, 2021). The necessity of multidisciplinarity is recognized, which is lacking in scientific circles as a result of individualism and specialization in only one field. Also, the spread of the COVID-19 virus pandemic changed perceptions and movements and highlighted the previous thesis of abandoning individualism. Social distancing and lockdowns have affected mobility globally. The necessity of using digital tools, artificial intelligence (Sridhar, et al., 2022), in general precise, smart agriculture as a platform to overcome the crisis of modern chal enges, from pandemics, wars to climate change and lack of food on the planet, has been established. 46 XVI. INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON LOGISTICS IN AGRICULTURE 2022 CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS References Badr, H. S., Du, H., Marshal, M., Dong, E., Squire, M. M., & Gardner, L. M. (2020). Association between mobility patterns and COVID-19 transmission in the USA: a mathematical modelling study. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 20(11), pp. 1247-1254. Bruinsma, J. (2009). The resource outlook to 2050: by how much do land, water and crop yields need to increase by 2050?. In How to feed the World in 2050. Proceedings of a technical meeting of experts, Rome, Italy, 24-26 June 2009 (pp. 1-33). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Cvijanović, D., Katić, B., & Kljajić, N. (2009). 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