Multidisciplinary Advances in Agricultural Engineering for Sustainable Agri-Food Systems

Dear Colleagues,

Agricultural engineering plays a pivotal role in addressing some of the most pressing challenges facing society in the twenty-first century, including climate change, water scarcity, food security, environmental sustainability, digital transformation, and the efficient use of natural resources. Addressing these challenges requires innovative engineering solutions that enhance agricultural productivity while ensuring the long-term sustainability and resilience of agri-food systems. In this context, multidisciplinary approaches such as precision agriculture, digitalization, automation, smart irrigation, renewable energy integration, and resource-efficient production systems are becoming increasingly important. These advances also contribute to improving the interactions between water resources, energy use and food production, an increasingly important perspective reflected in the Water–Energy–Food (WEF) Nexus framework.

The scientific rationale underpinning this Special Issue is that agricultural engineering provides the integrative framework needed to address the increasing complexity of modern agri-food systems. Rather than relying on isolated technological developments, future progress depends on multidisciplinary engineering approaches that combine digital technologies, efficient resource management, environmental stewardship, and resilient production systems. Despite the diversity of application areas, all contributions share the common objective of advancing engineering-based knowledge and technologies that improve the sustainability, resilience and efficiency of agri-food systems. This shared scientific perspective provides the overarching theme that connects the diverse topics covered by the Special Issue while preserving the multidisciplinary nature of contemporary agricultural engineering.

Building upon this common scientific framework, this Special Issue aims to bring together high-quality original research papers, review articles, and case studies that present scientific advances, innovative technologies, and practical engineering applications for sustainable agri-food systems. Particular attention will be given to studies integrating engineering, environmental sciences, digital technologies, and agricultural production, as well as contributions addressing the efficient management of water, energy, and food resources within the framework of sustainable agricultural development.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Precision Agriculture, Sensors and Remote Sensing;
• Digitalization, Automation, Robotics and Artificial Intelligence;
• Agricultural Machinery, Rural Buildings, Infrastructure and Energy Systems;
• Irrigation, Drainage, Soils and Water Management;
• Livestock Engineering;
• Greenhouse Technology and Protected Cropping Systems;
• Postharvest Technology, Food Quality and Preservation;
• Water–Energy–Food Nexus and Resource Efficiency;
• Projects, Environment, Land Planning and Sustainability.

The Special Issue is also connected to the XIV Iberian Congress of Agricultural Engineering, to be held in Cartagena (Spain) in June 2027, which is jointly organized by the Spanish Society of Agricultural Engineering (SEAgIng) and the Secção Especializada de Engenharia Rural of the Portuguese Society of Agricultural Sciences (SCAP). Continuing a long-standing tradition, this biennial congress serves as a meeting point for researchers, engineers, professionals, and industry stakeholders from Spain, Portugal, and the wider international community working in agricultural and biosystems engineering. The congress regularly attracts more than 200 participants, the majority of whom are researchers and academics from universities, research centers, and technological institutions, making it one of the leading scientific events in Agricultural Engineering in the Iberian Peninsula.

Although this Special Issue is promoted in connection with the XIV Iberian Congress of Agricultural Engineering, manuscript submission is open to the entire international scientific community. Submitted papers must present original and unpublished research. Manuscripts based on conference presentations are welcome, provided they present substantial additional scientific content beyond any work previously presented at the congress. All manuscripts will undergo the journal's standard rigorous peer-review process.

The Special Issue welcomes interdisciplinary contributions that advance scientific knowledge, technological innovation, and practical applications aimed at developing more sustainable, resource-efficient, climate-resilient, and digitally enabled agricultural systems.

Prof. Dr. Jose Francisco Maestre-Valero
Prof. Dr. María Dolores Gómez-López
Dr. Adélia Sousa
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• agricultural engineering
• precision agriculture
• irrigation and drainage
• sustainable agriculture
• greenhouse technology
• livestock engineering
• postharvest
• water–energy–food nexus