System Dynamics of Agroparks

Level: MSc

Research area/discipline: Information Systems

Prerequisites: Information Systems for Engineers and Managers (INF31306)

Short description:

Agroparks, or agroproduction parks are defined as a clustering of agroproduction and non-agroproduction functions at an industrial land or in a specific area. Agroparks provide several advantages including support for circular economy, optimizing use of scarce space, and reducing cost of transport logistics. On the other hand, the spatial concentration implied by agroparks can also cause an accumulation of emissions, huge flows of regional transport and even damage to the environmental area.

Hence agroparks require a proper design approach in which the key quality factors are identified and the design is optimized with respect to the stakeholder concerns. Agroparks may include many different combinations of agrosectors and non-agrosectors. Each design may differ with respect to the envisioned objectives. Designing an optimal architecture that balances the different quality factors is a challenging task.

Agroparks are typically non-linear, complex systems which are difficult to analyze. An approach for understanding and analyzing the behavior of such systems is System dynamics (SD), an aspect of systems theory as a method to understand the dynamic behavior of complex systems.

In this assignment we will focus on (1) identifying the behavioral patterns and systems variables of Agroparks (2) mapping these to system dynamic models (3) developing a method for analyzing Agroparks using system dynamics.

For more information: bedir.tekinerdogan@wur.nl