Congress Description:

The 2nd International Congress on Artificial Intelligence (CIIA) seeks to bring together experts, researchers and practitioners to explore and discuss innovative applications of artificial intelligence in the agri-food chain. This congress is a unique opportunity to share knowledge and advances in areas such as AI platforms for crops, smart irrigation, winery technologies, farm-to-table traceability, AI in animal welfare, and food safety.

The agri-food chain, also known as the agri-food value chain, encompasses all the steps and processes involved in the production, processing, distribution and consumption of agricultural and food products. Its main stages are detailed below:

Primary Production:

• Agriculture: Cultivation of fruits, vegetables, grains and other crops.
• Livestock: Raising animals for meat, milk, eggs and other products.
• Fishing and Aquaculture: Capture and breeding of fish and shellfish.

Processing and Transformation:

• Primary Processing: Includes activities such as cleaning, grading and packaging of fresh produce.
• Secondary Processing: Transformation of raw materials into more complex food products, such as bread, cheese, preserves, etc.

Storage and Preservation:

• Storage: Use of facilities such as silos, cold stores, etc., to store agricultural products.
• Preservation: Methods to prolong the shelf life of the product, such as refrigeration, freezing, drying, canning, etc.

Transport and logistics:

• Involves the movement of products from their place of production or processing to points of sale or consumption.
• It includes logistics management to maintain product quality and safety during transport.

Marketing and Sales:

• Wholesalers and Distributors: Intermediaries between producers and points of sale.
• Retailers: Supermarkets, specialised shops, local markets, etc.
• Direct Sales: Farmers' markets, subscriptions to produce boxes, etc.

Consumption:

• Final stage where consumers purchase and consume food products.
• Also includes food preparation in households, restaurants, and other food services.

Services and Support:

• Research and Development: Innovation in cultivation techniques, processing, etc.
• Financial Services and Insurance: Credit, agricultural insurance, etc.
• Regulation and Policy: Food safety regulations, labelling, etc.

Waste Management and Sustainability:

• Includes the management of waste generated at all stages of the chain.
• Sustainable practices to minimise environmental impact.

Each of these links is crucial to ensure that food products are safe, nutritious and accessible to consumers, while seeking efficiency and sustainability throughout the process. The 2nd Congress will delve deeper into the agri-food chain and the application of artificial intelligence in it. 

Call for Papers:

We invite original and high quality papers in the following thematic areas, but not limited to:

• AI Platforms Applied to Crops, Primary Production: Innovations in crop monitoring, analysis and optimisation using AI.
• Smart Irrigation with AI: Automated and efficient irrigation systems based on AI.
• Wineries and AI: Automation and optimisation of winery processes using AI.
• Farm to Fork Traceability: AI solutions for traceability and quality assurance of food products.
• AI in Animal Welfare: AI applications to improve the conditions and treatment of animals in agriculture.
• Food Safety and AI: Using AI to ensure food safety and quality.
• Data, Legal and ethical aspects of AI. 
• Metaverse and AR/VR/MR environments. 
• Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence applied to food safety.
• Others not included in the above . 

 Types of Contributions:

1. Research. Scientific contributions in any area related to artificial intelligence applied to the agri-food chain in the areas outlined above.

Contributions are solicited in the form of:

 (1) Articles (Up to 8 pages): original scientific papers with results or under development; 

 (2) Extended abstracts (2 pages): scientific papers published during 2023. The title and reference of the publication must be indicated.

2. Transfer: Contributions describing patent applications/patents, prototypes, products and, more generally, work transferred to the business world or to society, highlighting its innovative nature. Also work carried out in collaboration with companies, either by means of a contract or financed by a competitive public call. The thematic areas are those included in the research track. Contributions are requested in the form of articles of up to 8 pages.

3. Training. Contributions in the field of training and educational innovation in the field of AI applied to the agri-food chain of various kinds and, in particular, the following: 

(i) educational or teaching innovation projects/actions on AI applied to the agri-food chain (CAG) for the improvement of students' academic performance and personal development; 

(ii) AI applied to GAC talent recruitment actions/activities, e.g. AI applied to GAC

(iii) innovative proposals for GAC AI academic placements, indicating subject matter, learning objectives, design or planning, assessment criteria and methods, as well as expected learning outcomes; and

(iii) innovative proposals for academic practices in AI in GAC, indicating the subject matter, learning objectives, design or planning, assessment criteria and methods, as well as the expected learning outcomes; and

 (iv) in general, papers oriented to the design, methodologies, tools or experiences of training and education in AI applied to GAC, at any educational level, especially those already implemented. Contributions are solicited in the form of Articles of up to 8 pages.

Deadlines and Important Milestones :

Deadline for submission of contributions: 5 September 2024

Notification of acceptance: 9 September 2024

Submission of Contributions :

Papers should be submitted through the administracion@smartagrifood.org platform http://openaiagrifood.org . All articles must be written in Spanish or English and follow APA format.

Publication:

Papers accepted and presented at the congress will be published in the Congress Proceedings Book. In addition, the best papers will be considered for publication in specialised journals or special editions related to the theme of the congress.

All participation in the International AI Congress is subject to the acceptance of the rules and regulations. The decisions of the Scientific Committee of the Congress are final. Authors of research and educational training and innovation contributions undertake to present the accepted papers during the Congress and their presentation implies acceptance of the rules. 

AWARDS

The Congress will also host the SembrAI Awards for Research in AI applied to GAC, for which Master's theses and doctoral dissertations on AI applied to GAC may be submitted in accordance with these rules and dates.