A Farm‐To‐Fork Framework to Assess the Scope and Limitations of Agricultural Data Structures
ABSTRACT Farming methods efficiency, agrifood systems sustainability, food traceability, and supply chain transparency depend on robust data management systems. However, current agricultural data structures (schemas, models, frameworks, file systems, etc.) and infrastructures remain disjointed across pre‐ and post‐harvest processes, often focussing on certain supply chain stages. This paper contributes an assessment of the scope and limitations of current agricultural data structures through a new proposed framework named AgrIMAF (Agricultural Information Model Assessment Framework). AgrIMAF is a three‐layered framework composed of (a) supply chain stages, (b) stakeholders, and (c) data flows produced and required by stakeholders across the chain, each serving as a criterion to assess agricultural data structures identified through a systematic literature review. We assessed 30 data structures with AgrIMAF, revealing a predominant emphasis on preharvest stages, while postharvest stages are markedly underrepresented. Stakeholders such as customers, insurers, dietitians, and waste managers were predominantly neglected in the investigated data structures. The analysis indicates extensive coverage of crop, weather, and soil data, however post‐harvest categories such as traceability, marketing, consumption, and waste are frequently absent. Sustainability initiatives and biodiversity metrics are infrequently acknowledged. AgrIMAF provides a diagnostic instrument to evaluate information systems and enhance sustainable, transparent supply chains.
Authors
- Alain N. Rousseau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3439-2124)
- Paul Célicourt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9297-6593)
- Herlest B. Lovince
- Cheikh M. M. Thiaw
- Louis R. E. Asie (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4194-0408)
Institutions
- Université du Québec à Rimouski (CA)
- Institut National de la Recherche Scientifique (CA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Modern Agriculture
- Published
- 2025-08-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/moda.70022
- Primary Topic
- Food Supply Chain Traceability
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- Institut national de la recherche scientifique
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada