An EU-Mexican panel discussing the needs of creative industries mid- and post-pandemic, and how the cultural sector is fundamental for the health and wellbeing of society. Discussions touched on employment, policy, and education, along with sector-specific opportunities and cross-sectoral challenges. The name 'creative industries' was challenged for its divergent uses: many cultural sector workers believe it encompasses them, but policy often regards 'creative industries' as a branch of industrial design. There was significant criticism of social organisation that orients purely towards 'productivity' and the generation of revenue, while ignoring happiness as a goal.
Active sachets can be used to manage postharvest losses associated with phytopathogens in fruit and vegetables. Diseases associated with phytopathogens are the principal causes of avocado losses postharvest. This study was performed to develop antifungal active sachet-based oregano oil microencapsulated with starch/agave fructans that allows in vivo and in vitro control of phytopathogens associated with avocado decay. In addition, avocado-sachet interactions were studied. Oregano oil sachets inhibited 100% of the in vitro growth of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Colletotrichum acutatum, Diaporthe passiflorae, and Neoscytalidium hyalinum at 30 °C for 12 d The efficacy of the oregano oil sachets was confirmed on avocados inoculated with C. gloeosporioides. Active sachets reduced the injury area of anthracnose infection in avocado without negative effects on the color or firmness of the fruit, compared to untreated control. Treatment also caused significantly higher (p < 0.05) phenylalanine ammonia-lyase, chitinase, β-1,3-glucanase, catalase and peroxidase activities compared to the control fruit. In addition, antifungal sachets significantly enhanced the contents of total flavonoids and phenolic compounds in treated avocados.
The the agriculture sector in developing countries has a large production share in the global fresh fruit market. Yet, in many cases, the land production yield indices at the orchard level are lower than the values related to more technologically developed countries. This situation leads to economic losses due to poor performance in productivity, efficiency and quality, which in turn is related to a technological and managerial gap. In this chapter, an operations management framework is proposed that tries to balance the market requirements (i.e. quality and quantity) with the capacity of the production system. This is performed through a multi-objective optimization approach that helps orchard managers synchronize the production yields with market demand and quality requirements. The model also allows the production managers to have a forecasting tool based on historical data. The model integrates the full supply chain through a set of sub-models for each stage of the production life cycle. The objective of the model is to minimize cost while maximizing sales. The optimization strategy involves a variant of the so-called NSGA II algorithm. The case study of an exporting lime packaging company is developed to illustrate the proposed framework and its possible impact on performance.
