Group Decision Process for Evaluating a Mango Variety to Be Planted in New Agricultural Farms

Abstract

AbstractFruticulture is one of the most important sectors of Brazilian agribusiness, being a strategic segment for the country’s socio-economic development, with mango having significant participation. One of the most complex problems faced by this sector is the assessment of which variety of mango to grow in new farms, given the long period of time to have the first production and only then, to verify the result of the cultivation. Furthermore, this kind of choice may consider different technical aspects and stakeholders’ viewpoints. In that perspective, this paper presents a case study of an agribusiness organization, which is one of the greatest exporting company of Mango from Brazil, that needs to evaluate which variety to plant in new farms intending to double its cultivable area in the next five years. It was developed a group decision process, appropriate to the company’s organizational structure, with four phases: 1) definition of the actors, criteria, and identification of alternatives, 2) individual assessment by each decision-maker, 3) application of the framework for choosing a voting procedure; 4) collective result. Based on the results achieved, besides the recommendation of the mango variety to be planted, with this new approach of group decision, it was also possible to enrich the discussion in the process of analysis of the expansion of planted areas, in addition to fostering support for strategic planning for the company’s growth in a sustainable way.KeywordsMulticriteria group decision-making (MCGDM)Voting procedureMango cultureFITradeoffPromethee-ROCFramework for choosing VP