Digitalisation in agri-food sector

摘要

The progress of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (called Industry 4.0) is driven by the development of cutting-edge digital technologies. Digital transformation is changing not only the manner of production, but also the definition of quality and the manner of quality management. The idea of Quality 4.0 refers both to the development of new technologies for quality assurance and control, as well as to changes in the culture of quality management. Industry 4.0 technologies are increasingly used in food production, leading to the development of Agri-food 4.0. They serve, for example, to control and implement production using automatic machines and robots. Invasive or remote sensors are used to monitor the environment, crops, farming conditions, processing operations and products throughout the entire supply chain. The use of the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, big data and cloud computing enables advanced planning, control and optimisation of production. The use of digital technologies in the agri-food industry positively affects the quality and safety of food and has a positive impact on the efficiency of enterprises. At the same time, digital transformation is an opportunity to develop sustainable practices throughout the food supply chain. In this chapter, we present the idea of Industry 4.0 and Quality 4.0 as well as examples of the use of digital technologies in the agri-food sector.