Title: Planning models for floriculture operations

Authors: Alex J. Ruiz-Torres; J. Rene Villalobos; Marcelo Salvador-Jijon; Nelson Alomoto

Addresses: Facultad de Administración de Empresas, Universidad de Puerto Rico – Rio Piedras, P.O. Box 23332, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 00931-3332, USA. ' School of Computing, Informatics and Decision Systems Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, 85287-9309, USA. ' Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito, 17-01-2759 Ecuador. ' Facultad de Ciencias Administrativas, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Quito, 17-01-2759 Ecuador

Abstract: This paper proposes planning models that will assist a flower grower with the land and flower variety allocation decisions in such a way that the revenues (or profits) are maximised over a given planning period. In particular, this paper presents models where the mix of flowers is modified throughout the planning horizon to accommodate market fluctuation such as changes in demand and price for the different varieties being planted and harvested. The problem considers capacity and workforce constraints and demand, yield, and price variability across time. The models developed are applied to a case study of flower growing in Ecuador. The results of these models are presented, including one based on a heuristic strategy that renders in most cases rapid and close to optimal solutions.

Keywords: floriculture; agriculture; production planning; mathematical programming; Ecuador; flower growers; flower varieties; land allocation; modelling.

DOI: 10.1504/IJAMS.2012.046206

International Journal of Applied Management Science, 2012 Vol.4 No.2, pp.148 - 164

Published online: 06 Aug 2014 *

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