Agricultural Data Mining in the 21st Century

Abstract

Data on the production, sale, repackaging, and transportation of fresh produce is scarce, yet with recent threats to national safety and security, forward and backward traceability of produce is mandatory. Recent advances in online marketing of fresh produce, a new international codification system and use of advanced technologies such as Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) and bar coding are working together to fill the gap, building a solid database of rich information that can be mined. While agricultural data mining holds much promise for farmers, with better indications of what and when to plant, and for buyers, giving them access to improved food quality and availability information, it is the world’s health organizations and governments who stand to be the biggest beneficiaries. This chapter describes the current state of fresh produce data collection and access, new trends that fill important gaps, and emerging methods of mining fresh produce data for improved production, product safety and public health through traceability.