A novel optimization approach for rural development based on sustainable agriculture planning, considering the energy and water consumption nexus

Abstract

In today's world, there are many changes and transformations in different sectors of the economy, and today's world economy has become more dependent on each other. The economy of many developing countries is highly dependent on agriculture. In addition, in developed countries, the agricultural sector is of special importance, so they are currently turning to the production of more organic and healthy products. One of the reasons that caused the agricultural sector to receive more attention in the economy is the existential importance of this sector in providing the raw materials of a part of the industry and the food industry needed in that country. Accordingly, in this research, the optimal cultivation pattern is determined using a linear multi-objective mathematical model, including economic, social, and environmental objectives. Moreover, the uncertainty in the input parameters of the proposed model is considered, and a robust optimization approach is applied to deal with this uncertainty. After collecting the research data for the crop year 2021-2022, the proposed robust counterpart formulation is optimized using GAMS software. The numerical results show that increasing the level of conservatism in the robust model cause to decrease in the profit of agriculture as well as increasing the total consumed water. Moreover, the results of the current research can help the decision-makers of the agricultural sector in achieving the goal of obtaining the highest profit.