A Multi-Stakeholder Optimization of Food Supply Chains: an Undernourishment Reduction Strategy

Abstract

Food supply has become one of the most important problems and challenges that the world faces nowadays due to the tremendous population growth and resource depletion around the world. In developing countries, where this problem is more noticeable, governments have implemented assistance programs to ensure food supply to disenfranchised people. However, these programs do not guarantee individual food security; besides, the local economic development is not promoted. In this paper, an optimization formulation for the strategic planning of food supply networks in disenfranchised communities is proposed, which includes the use and exchange of local resources between different communities to improve the local economy and satisfy specific nutritional needs according to age and gender, taking into account that the government should coordinate these activities. Since the strategic planning involves multiple interests and priorities, a multi-stakeholder optimization formulation to get trade-off solutions, useful for decision makers, is considered. A case study from Mexico involving 14 of the poorest communities from the State of Michoacan is presented. The results indicate that it is possible to meet nutritional needs of all the considered communities using the local resources and enhancing the local economy, avoiding this way government dependence. An initial inversion of MMUS$27.7 to supply 5 × 106 t of vegetable products and 6552 t of animal food is needed.