Development of Rule-Based Expert System for Variable Cost and Gross Profit Calculations of Agricultural Products: A Case Study

Abstract

Cost and gross profit calculations of agricultural products are a comprehensive and difficult process. Many different parameters, such as soil cultivation, pruning, spraying, irrigation, storage, drying, harvesting, transportation, and marketing, need to be evaluated together. Currently, cost calculations of agricultural products are made with classical programs and simple mathematical methods. For this reason, the results vary depending on the person and organization making the evaluation. This creates some limitations, making cost planning, which is a dynamic process, unreliable. In the study, a rule-based expert system was developed for the cost and gross profit calculation of apricots. The expert system developed is called Apricot Information System (APRIS). The developed expert system aims to provide more accurate solutions by adding the precision and speed of the computer to the calculation process. The main contribution of this study is the development of a complete decision support set covering all processes from tillage to marketing and the design of rule-based user-system interaction. The designed system found the apricot variable cost calculation to be 1126.36 TL/da for 2020. This value largely overlaps with the values obtained from the field in the previous year. The developed expert system will be a platform that can be used in cost calculations of many agricultural products.