Smart Agricultural Technology 6 (2023) 100350

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Smart Agricultural Technology

journal homepage: www.journals.elsevier.com/smart-agricultural-technology

Integrating explainable artificial intelligence and blockchain to smart

agriculture: Research prospects for decision making and improved security
Hsin-Yuan Chen a, *, Komal Sharma b, Chetan Sharma c, Shamneesh Sharma c
a
Center for Digital Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Zhejiang University, China
b
Chitkara University Institute of Engineering and Technology, Chitkara University, Punjab, India
c
upGrad Campus, upGrad Education Private Limited, India

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Food safety hazards can be discovered and avoided using XAI and blockchain technology. The immutable and
Smart agriculture transparent ledger of blockchain technology can be used to maintain track of perishable food items, allowing for
Blockchain more rapid and precise detection of contamination and immediate removal from shelves. Using blockchain
Explainable AI
technology, smart agriculture can streamline the supply chain by connecting farmers directly with their cus­
Bibliometric
tomers. As a result, community members may be more confident in meeting their own dietary needs. Combining
XAI, blockchain, and smart agriculture has far-reaching societal and economic implications. More efficiency,
openness, and sustainability in the food chain might benefit farmers, consumers, and the world. This study
provides a detailed bibliometric overview and visualization of integrating two prominent and promising tech­
nologies, explainable AI and Blockchain, into Smart Agriculture. In this study, the author implemented analysis
in four phases, and for each phase, the author chose different strings, which provided different analysis results.
2479 articles are taken for “smart agriculture”, 103 articles for “Smart agriculture and blockchain”, 37 articles
for “blockchain and explainable,” and finally, seven articles for “smart agriculture and explainable AI”. In this
study, the mapping program VOSviewer is used for Network analysis. This study uses the co-occurrence, co-
citation, and bibliographic coupling employed in VOSviewer to uncover significant focus areas and prominent
authors and publications. By using a variety of publications, research was conducted on vital topics for this
integration; as a consequence, influence and collaborations began to take place, ultimately leading to
development.

1. Introduction sensors and drones that collect data on soil moisture, temperature, hu­
midity, and other environmental factors [3]. Artificial intelligence (AI)
Agriculture is cultivating land, raising animals, and producing food, and machine learning: These technologies are used to analyze the data
fiber, and other products for human use. It is a crucial industry for collected by IoT devices and predict crop growth and yield [4].
providing food and raw materials to support human life and economic Geographic Information Systems (GIS): These tools allow farmers to map
development. Smart agriculture, or precision agriculture, applies their fields and identify areas requiring special attention or treatment.
advanced technologies and data analytics to optimize agricultural pro­ Robotics: Robotic devices, such as automated tractors and harvesters,
cesses and increase productivity while reducing waste and environ­ can perform tasks more accurately and efficiently than human workers
mental impact [1]. Smart agriculture utilizes various tools such as [5].
sensors, drones, artificial intelligence, and machine learning algorithms The goal of smart agriculture is to enable farmers to optimize their
to monitor and manage crops, soil, and weather conditions. Farmers can operations and increase their productivity while reducing their envi­
make more informed decisions about crop management, irrigation, and ronmental impact. By leveraging data and technology, farmers can make
pest control using real-time data, leading to higher yields, lower costs, better decisions about managing their crops, leading to higher yields,
and greater efficiency [2]. Smart agriculture incorporates various better-quality produce, and reduced waste. Smart agriculture is chang­
technologies, including Internet of Things (IoT) devices. These include ing the way farming is done in several ways. For example, Increased

* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (H.-Y. Chen).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atech.2023.100350
Received 25 April 2023; Received in revised form 27 October 2023; Accepted 27 October 2023
Available online 1 November 2023
2772-3755/© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-
nc-nd/4.0/).
H.-Y. Chen et al. Smart Agricultural Technology 6 (2023) 100350

efficiency: Smart agriculture allows farmers to use resources more effi­ 1.2. Explainable AI for smart farming
ciently, reducing waste and saving money [6]. Using sensors to monitor
soil moisture levels, farmers can apply water only when needed, In smart farming, Explainable AI (XAI) can be beneficial over tradi­
reducing water waste and saving on irrigation costs. Improved crop tional AI because it helps to build trust in the technology and ensures
yields: By using data analytics to identify patterns in crop growth and that farmers can understand the recommendations provided by AI sys­
environmental conditions, farmers can optimize growing conditions, tems [16]. In traditional AI models, such as deep neural networks, the
leading to higher yields and better-quality crops [7]. Reduced environ­ decision-making process can be complex and challenging, even for ex­
mental impact: Smart agriculture can help reduce the use of harmful perts. This lack of transparency and interpretability can make it difficult
chemicals and fertilizers, improving soil health and reducing pollution. for farmers to trust the recommendations provided by AI systems and
Increased profitability: By reducing costs and increasing yields, smart make informed decisions based on them. However, XAI techniques can
agriculture can increase profits for farmers [8]. Overall, smart agricul­ help to address this issue by providing precise and interpretable expla­
ture has the potential to revolutionize the way we produce food, making nations of how AI-based decisions are made [17]. For example, XAI can
it more efficient, sustainable, and profitable. help farmers understand why certain crop management practices are
recommended based on weather patterns, soil moisture, and pest pres­
1.1. Blockchain technology for smart agriculture ence. XAI can also help to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of
AI-based recommendations by identifying biases and errors in the un­
In Smart Agriculture, Blockchain technology significantly enables derlying data or algorithms. By explaining how these issues were iden­
smart farming by providing a secure, transparent, decentralized plat­ tified and addressed, XAI can help farmers make more informed
form for recording and sharing data [9]. The traditional agricultural decisions and optimize their crop yields [18]. XAI has the potential to
supply chain involves multiple intermediaries, each handling different significantly improve the adoption and effectiveness of smart farming
aspects of the supply chain, from production to processing, packaging, technologies by providing transparent and interpretable AI-based rec­
and distribution [10]. This can result in a lack of transparency and ommendations that farmers can trust and understand. Explainable AI
accountability, making it difficult to trace products back to their origin can be used in smart agriculture to give farmers insights and explain how
or verify their quality and safety. Blockchain technology provides a AI-based recommendations are generated [17]. Some ways that XAI can
secure, decentralized, and tamper-proof platform for recording and be used in smart agriculture: Crop health and disease management: XAI
sharing data across the supply chain [11]. By recording data on the algorithms can analyze sensor data to detect early signs of crop disease
blockchain, such as the date and location of planting, fertilizers, pesti­ and provide farmers with an explanation of the recommended course of
cides used, and the date and location of harvest, farmers and other action, such as applying specific pesticides or adjusting irrigation. Yield
participants in the supply chain can ensure that products are of high optimization: XAI can be used to analyze data on soil quality, weather
quality and safe consumption. In addition to traceability and security, conditions, and other factors to recommend when to plant, irrigate, and
blockchain technology can streamline agricultural transactions and harvest crops for maximum yield. By providing clear explanations of the
reduce costs by automating payments, contracts, and insurance [12]. underlying models and data, farmers can make informed decisions about
Smart contracts can automatically trigger payments or other actions crop management [19]. Livestock management: XAI can be used to
based on predefined conditions, reducing the need for intermediaries analyze data on livestock behavior, health, and feed intake to provide
and reducing transaction costs. Overall, blockchain technology has the farmers with recommendations on how to optimize animal nutrition,
potential to revolutionize the way we produce, distribute, and consume detect early signs of disease, and improve animal welfare. Climate risk
agricultural products, making the supply chain more transparent, effi­ management: XAI can analyze weather data and other environmental
cient, and sustainable. In the context of smart farming, blockchain factors to provide farmers with recommendations on adapting to
technology can be used in the following ways: Supply chain trans­ changing climate conditions, such as adjusting planting schedules,
parency: Blockchain can help improve transparency and traceability switching to drought-resistant crops, or implementing more efficient
throughout the agricultural supply chain, from farm to fork [13]. irrigation practices. Overall, XAI can help farmers use the vast amounts
Farmers can record information about their crops on the blockchain, of data generated by smart agriculture systems, leading to more effi­
such as planting dates, fertilizer and pesticide use, and harvesting times cient, sustainable, and profitable farming practices [20]. Bibliometric
[9]. This information can then be accessed by other participants in the analysis is a research methodology that employs quantitative techniques
supply chain, such as processors, distributors, and retailers, to ensure the to evaluate the influence, trends, and interconnections within a partic­
quality and safety of the food. Certification and verification: Blockchain ular corpus of scholarly literature. This approach involves the mea­
can help farmers verify their compliance with regulatory standards and surement and assessment of numerous bibliographic components. The
certifications, such as organic or fair-trade certifications. By recording process encompasses various components, including the gathering and
this information on the blockchain, farmers can provide a transparent cleansing data, examination of bibliographic elements, analysis of cita­
and verifiable record of their practices to consumers and other stake­ tions, assessment of co-authorship patterns, examination of keywords,
holders. Smart contracts: Blockchain can automate agricultural trans­ analysis of journals and sources, identification of publication trends,
actions, such as buying and selling crops or leasing land. Smart contracts visualization techniques, and utilization of statistical analysis [21].
are self-executing contracts that automatically trigger a payment or Integrating Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) and Blockchain
other action when certain conditions are met. This can help reduce into Smart Agriculture can significantly benefit from applying biblio­
transaction costs and streamline agricultural transactions. Crop insur­ metric analysis. This tool facilitates the identification of research trends,
ance: Blockchain can automate and streamline the crop insurance pro­ the mapping of research networks, the assessment of research impact on
cess, making it more efficient and transparent [14]. By recording Smart Agriculture, the identification of new technologies, the bench­
information about crop yields, weather conditions, and other factors on marking of research outputs, the provision of information for strategic
the blockchain, insurers can more accurately assess risk and provide planning, and the creation of a systematic literature review [22].
coverage to farmers. Overall, blockchain technology has the potential to The initial stage of the process involves collecting data, which may
enhance the transparency, efficiency, and security of agricultural be sourced via academic databases or research libraries. Data cleaning is
transactions and data management, enabling more effective and sus­ an essential process that involves eliminating duplicate entries and
tainable smart farming practices [15]. enhancing data quality. Using bibliometric analysis facilitates the
comprehension of the scholarly environment, patterns, and study in­
fluence in these domains, thereby guiding the advancement and
execution of inventive remedies within the agricultural sector [23].

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H.-Y. Chen et al. Smart Agricultural Technology 6 (2023) 100350

The bibliometric analysis serves as a robust methodology for factors contributing to crop yield and make more informed decisions
acquiring valuable insights into the current state of research and facil­ about crop management [35]. Another study explored the potential of
itating informed decision-making processes about integrating Explain­ XAI to improve pest detection in agriculture by enabling more trans­
able Artificial Intelligence (XAI) and Blockchain technologies within the parent and interpretable machine learning models. The authors argue
domain of Smart Agriculture. This aids in comprehending the topog­ that XAI can help improve the accuracy and reliability of pest detection
raphy, patterns, and consequences of study in various domains, hence models and increase trust among farmers and other stakeholders [36].
directing the advancement and execution of inventive resolutions for the The authors also discussed the various aspects of XAI to improve soil
agriculture industry [6]. mapping in agriculture by enabling more transparent and interpretable
machine learning models. The authors argue that XAI can help improve
2. Literature review the accuracy and reliability of soil mapping models and provide more
detailed and valuable information to farmers and other stakeholders
In a recent research, authors discussed the potential of smart irri­ [37]. Despite extensive research on XAI to improve livestock manage­
gation systems to improve water efficiency and increase crop yields. The ment by enabling more transparent and interpretable machine-learning
authors argue that IoT-based irrigation systems can help farmers better models, there is a notable gap in our understanding of using XAI and
monitor and manage water usage and improve crop quality and quantity blockchain to smart farming. The authors argue that XAI can help
[24]. In another research, researchers examined the potential of smart improve the accuracy and reliability of machine learning models used in
pest management to improve crop health and reduce the use of pesti­ livestock management and increase trust among farmers and other
cides. The authors argue that AI-based pest management systems can stakeholders [38].
help farmers more accurately detect and diagnose pest infestations and The process of selecting research questions plays a critical role in
reduce harmful pesticides [25]. Notably, the research explored the po­ delineating the extent and emphasis of a study. The following questions
tential of smart crop monitoring to improve yield prediction and opti­ center around intelligent agriculture, blockchain technology, and
mize crop management. The authors argued that big data analytics and research on explainable artificial intelligence. The first research ques­
AI could analyze crop data in real-time and provide farmers with tion investigates the publishing patterns during one year, aiming to
actionable insights for optimizing crop management [26]. Previous discern prevailing trends and changes in research emphasis. The second
research shows smart livestock management can improve animal wel­ question investigates the respective contributions made by nations, or­
fare and increase productivity. The authors argued that IoT-based ganizations, and scholars in smart agriculture, blockchain technology,
monitoring systems can help farmers better monitor animal health and and explainable artificial intelligence (AI) research. The third question is
behavior and improve overall productivity and profitability [27]. The to ascertain prominent scholarly journals within these disciplines,
literature indicated that the potential of smart supply chain manage­ assessing the significance and dissemination of research articles pub­
ment to improve traceability and transparency in agriculture is another lished in those publications. The fourth inquiry investigates the signifi­
area of research that needs to be explored. The authors argued that cance of writers’ keywords in advancing smart agriculture, blockchain,
blockchain-based supply chain management systems can help reduce and explainable artificial intelligence research. These studies offer a
food waste, improve product quality and safety, and increase stake­ comprehensive perspective of the terrain in various domains, guiding
holder trust [28]. A comprehensive literature review discussed the po­ research endeavors and informing the decision-making process for
tential of blockchain technology to improve food safety by enabling further inquiries. Through analyzing these inquiries, scholars can ac­
more efficient tracking of food products throughout the supply chain. quire valuable insights pertaining to the most pertinent subjects and
The authors argue that blockchain technology can help prevent food­ issues within their respective domains.
borne illness outbreaks and improve consumer trust in food products RQ1: Over a year, what patterns do you see concerning publication
[29]. The authors examine the potential of blockchain technology to output and specific subject areas?
improve payment processing in agriculture by enabling more efficient RQ2: In what ways have countries, institutions, and authors helped
and secure transactions between farmers, distributors, and other stake­ with smart agriculture, blockchain, and explainable AI research?
holders. The authors argue that blockchain technology can help to RQ3: Which journals in the smart agriculture, blockchain, and
reduce transaction costs and improve payment security [30]. Re­ explainable AI research field have the most significant citations and
searchers explored the potential of blockchain technology to improve impact on researchers?
crop insurance by enabling more efficient and transparent claims pro­ RQ4: How authors’ keywords are contributing to smart agriculture,
cessing. The authors argue that blockchain technology can help to blockchain, and explainable AI?
reduce fraud and increase trust between farmers and insurance com­
panies [31]. Building upon the gaps identified in the literature, another 3. Methodology
research seeks to examine the potential of blockchain technology to
improve traceability in agriculture by enabling more efficient tracking Various analytical methods are available for a comprehensive
of product origin and processing history. The authors argue that quantitative and qualitative literature study [39]. A scientometric re­
blockchain technology can help to improve supply chain transparency view is a type of scientific mapping used to investigate and identify
and reduce the incidence of food fraud [32]. Researchers explored the unusual patterns and developments within a given field [40,41]. In
potential of blockchain technology to improve sustainability in agri­ Webometrics/cybernetics studies, the information related to websites,
culture by enabling more efficient tracking of environmental impact and webpages, or any web content is provided for any specific field [42,43].
resource usage. The authors argue that blockchain technology can help Altmetrics, also known as alternative metrics, is a technique for
promote sustainable farming practices and increase consumer trust in measuring the influence of a topic on social media by examining user
sustainably produced food products [33]. activity on several social media platforms [44], like Twitter and Face­
Authors explored the potential of XAI to improve decision-making in book [45]. Finally, bibliographic analysis is a statistical method for
precision agriculture by enabling more transparent and interpretable cataloging, examining, and ranking scholarly works [46]. This study
machine learning models. The authors argue that XAI can help farmers focuses on bibliometric analysis for smart agriculture, blockchain, and
understand better the reasoning behind machine learning models used explainable artificial intelligence and proposed methodology is repre­
in precision agriculture and increase trust in these models [34]. Previous sented in Fig. 1.
studies have defined XAI’s potential to improve crop yield prediction by This study uses Excel and Vosviewer to display the visualization
enabling more transparent and interpretable machine learning models. networks and the visual analysis results, which help clarify research foci
The authors argue that XAI can help farmers better understand the and growth trends [47,48]. Vosviewer is a widely available software tool

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H.-Y. Chen et al. Smart Agricultural Technology 6 (2023) 100350

Fig. 1. Proposed Methodology.

for visualizing and analyzing bibliometric data. It is commonly used in investigates the importance of these keywords through a broad focus on
research and academia to create maps and visual representations of important aspects, specifically the efficiency and effectiveness of their
relationships between scientific articles, authors, and keywords, helping publications based on a variety of bibliometric indicators such as (i) a
researchers identify trends and connections in their field of study [49]. total number of publications, (ii) a total number of citations, and (iii) the
The method has found widespread application thanks to its adaptable average citations per publications. This paper also presents the visual
mapping visualization and robust user graphic interface [50,51]. The analysis results of the smart agriculture, blockchain, and explainable AI
methodology used in this study is shown in Fig. 1. literature using Vosviewer, including the identification of the most cited
Scopus database was used to do Bibliometric Analysis [21]. Scopus authors, (ii) the countries that have made significant contributions, (iii)
represents a string of top journals, an internationally recognized the journals that have published the research, (iv) the keywords used in
benchmark for quality publications. This research focuses on how smart the research, and (v) the authors who have worked together on the
agriculture grows with time and how blockchain comes into existence research [52,53].
for security. In addition, the author focuses on finding the relationship
between smart agriculture and blockchain collaboration with explain­ 4. Result analysis
able artificial intelligence to make smart agriculture more smart and
secure. To elaborate on this whole concept, the author divided its The result analysis process followed by the authors in this research is
methodology into four major parts in which initially, authors provided shown in Fig. 2.
deep insight analysis of smart agriculture. In the second phase, the smart
agriculture keyword is combined with blockchain, and deep analysis is 4.1. Phase I: smart agriculture
provided to correlate their relationship. In the third phase, blockchain is
mixed up. Explainable AI and Analysis show the growth and analysis of In the first phase, as mentioned in the methodology section, the
the combined string. Finally, the smart agriculture keyword is combined “smart agriculture” keyword is selected to extract the data from the
with explainable AI to seek how smart agriculture models can be made Scopus database, considered one of the largest and most reliable data­
smarter according to new-era requirements. The authors have con­ bases. In the first pass, 3451 articles were extracted from the database.
ducted a Scientometric literature survey. Therefore, the current study Then, the authors applied inclusion/exclusion criteria to the extracted

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H.-Y. Chen et al. Smart Agricultural Technology 6 (2023) 100350

Fig. 2. Result Analysis Process.

data, like considered articles written in English and articles published in 4.1.3. Journal wise analysis
journals and conferences, and excluded those in which information is The network graph for the research publishing based on the Journals
missing, like the author, year, title, etc. Finally, 2479 articles are is depicted in Fig. 5. The link strength of the journals can also be un­
considered for the experiment after applying these criteria. derstood through this approach. According to link strengths, the best
In this study, the authors provide a deep Analysis to answer the journals are Sustainability in Smart Agriculture and Sensors.
formulated research question.
4.1.4. Author wise analysis
4.1.1. Year wise growth in publication In Table 1, the author, Jat m.l. from “International Maize and Wheat
Fig. 3 represents a year-wise rising trend since the first paper’s Improvement Center,” has published 21 documents in the field of smart
publication in the Smart Agriculture field. In the era of smart agricul­ agriculture. Jat m.l. from India led the publications on smart agriculture
ture, there are very few publications as in 2008, there was only 01 paper with 21 publications, and wang y. from “The Chinese Academy of
published, but the general trend is towards an overall increase. In 2022, Agricultural Engineering” China with 20 publications, each shown in
the maximum number of publications was 754, which is 30.42% of total Table 1. Jat m.l. has 301 citations, followed by wang y. with 184 cita­
publications. More articles may be published after the timeline taken by tions. Li x. is in third place with 171 citations. Dougall a.j. from “Sus­
the authors. tainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment,
University of Leeds” has minor publications, which are 15, but has the
4.1.2. Subject area wise analysis highest number of citations, 333.
Fig. 4 represents a subject-wise rising trend. Here in this Figure, it is
evident that research in the Health professions using smart agriculture is 4.1.5. Country wise analysis
significantly less. Still, the general trend is towards an overall increase in In India, the total number of publications is 546 based on smart
different subjects, as shown below in Figure. The subject computer sci­ agriculture, which is the highest compared to other countries. However,
ence saw the maximum number of publications at 1271. In engineering, it is the lowest in the United Kingdom, 113, as shown in Table 2. Based
it is 941. More articles may be published after the timeline taken by the on Citation, in India, it is 6659, followed by the US, 4269; in the
authors. Netherlands, it is the lowest, 2243.
Fig. 6 represents the network graph of countries based on their
research documents. A positive numerical value is assigned for each link,

Fig. 3. Year-Wise Publication Analysis of Phase I.

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H.-Y. Chen et al. Smart Agricultural Technology 6 (2023) 100350

Fig. 4. Subject Area Analysis of Phase I.

Fig. 5. Journal Wise Analysis of Phase I.

described as link strength. The stronger the connection, the higher this
Table 1
number should be. The amount of times two keywords appear together
Top Author Analysis of Phase I.
in a publication is reflected in the total link strength. This analysis states
Author Documents Citations Country Affiliation that India has the most significant publications of 546, the highest
Jat M.L. 21 301 India “International Maize and Wheat number of citations of 6659, and a link strength of 213, as shown in
Improvement Center” Fig. 6. China is a distant second, with 334 publications and 3430 cita­
Wang Y. 20 184 China “Chinese Academy of
tions with a link strength of 197. The United States is in third place with
Agricultural Engineering”
Li X. 18 171 China “College of Information Science
251 publications, and China is in third place regarding Citations.
and Technology, Zhongkai
University of Agriculture and 4.1.6. Keyword analysis
Engineering” Fig. 7 provides a visual representation of the most commonly used
Liu Y. 17 91 USA “Department of Electrical,
search terms. With 797 occurrences and a link strength of 2265, "smart
Computer, Software, and
Systems Engineering, Embry- agriculture" tops the list, followed by "internet of things" with 294 oc­
Riddle Aeronautical University” currences and a link strength of 951. The article’s keyword network is
Dougill 15 333 UK “Sustainability Research depicted in Fig. 8 as well. Smart agriculture, the Internet of Things, and
A.J. Institute, School of Earth and
IoT are the three most popular search terms measured by link popu­
Environment, University of
Leeds”
larity. This demonstrates the prominence and usefulness of these terms
by utilizing anchor text abundant with those terms. When discussing
keywords, "link strength" can mean the quantity and quality of inbound
links to a given document, the "keywords" of that material appearing in
Table 2
the linked text. In addition, a wide range of colors is used in the graph to
Countries’ contribution based upon Publication and Citation of Phase I.
draw attention to specific data points or trends or to help visually
Ranking based on publication Ranking based upon citation distinguish between the various data sets. There’s a chance this might
Rank Country TP Rank Country TC make the data displayed on the graph less complicated to read and
1 India 546 1 India 6659 evaluate. To put it another way, terms like "available nutrients,"
2 China 334 2 United States 4269 "biomass," "business model canvas," and "etc." are just some of the 1137
3 United States 251 3 China 3430 author keywords that have been used exactly once and have one link
4 Italy 153 4 Italy 2443 strength.
5 United Kingdom 113 5 Netherlands 2243

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H.-Y. Chen et al. Smart Agricultural Technology 6 (2023) 100350

Fig. 6. Screenshot of Network Analysis Based upon Document and Citation of Phase I.

Fig. 7. Word Cloud of Keyword Analysis of Phase I.

4.2. Phase II: (“Smart agriculture”) and (“Blockchain”) 4.2.1. Year wise growth in publication
Fig. 9 represents a year-wise rising trend since the first paper’s
In the second phase, as mentioned in the methodology section, the publication in the Smart Agriculture and Blockchain field. In the era of
“smart agriculture” and “blockchain” keywords are selected to extract Smart Agriculture and blockchain, there are very few publications as in
the data from the Scopus database, considered one of the most extensive 2018, there were only 02 papers published, but the general trend is
and reliable databases. In the first pass, 128 articles are extracted from towards an overall increase. The year 2022 saw the maximum number of
the database. Then, the authors applied inclusion/exclusion criteria to publications at 54, and More articles may be published after the timeline
the extracted data, like considered articles written in English and articles taken by the authors.
published in journals and conferences, and excluded those in which
information is missing, like the author, year, title, etc. Finally, 103 ar­ 4.2.2. Subject area wise analysis
ticles are considered for the experiment after applying these criteria. Fig. 10 represents a subject-wise rising trend. Here, in Fig. 8, it is
In this study, the authors provide a deep Analysis to answer the apparent that research in Neuroscience using smart agriculture and
formulated research question. blockchain is significantly less. Still, the general trend is towards an
overall increase in different subjects. The subject computer science saw

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H.-Y. Chen et al. Smart Agricultural Technology 6 (2023) 100350

Fig. 8. Network Connection of Keywords of Phase I.

Fig. 9. Year-Wise Publication Analysis of Phase II.

Fig. 10. Subject Area Analysis of Phase II.

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H.-Y. Chen et al. Smart Agricultural Technology 6 (2023) 100350

Fig. 11. Journal Wise Analysis of Phase II.

the maximum number of publications at 89. In engineering, it is 66.

Table 4
More articles may be published after the timeline taken by the authors.
Countries’ contribution based upon Publication and Citation of Phase II.

4.2.3. Journal wise analysis ranking based on publication ranking based upon citation
The network graph for the research publishing based on the Journals Rank Country TP Rank Country TC
is depicted in Fig. 11. The link strength of the journals can also be un­ 1 India 42 1 India 557
derstood through this approach. According to link strengths, the best 2 China 21 2 China 546
journals are Sensors in Smart Agriculture and the Blockchain, then 3 United States 12 3 Algeria 312
Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems. 4 Saudi Arabia 8 4 United Kingdom 312
5 Australia 7 5 Saudi Arabia 234
5 Pakistan 7
4.2.4. Author wise analysis
In this Table 3, the author, kougianos e., from the USA, has published
a comprehensive 04 documents in smart agriculture and blockchain. On to specific data points or trends or to help visually distinguish between
the other hand, Das a.k. from India, led the publications on smart the various data sets. There’s a chance this might make the data dis­
agriculture and blockchain with 03 publications. Therefore, the ranking played on the graph less complicated to read and evaluate. To put it
based upon Citation is 363 of the author Kumar n. from India. The lowest another way, terms like development path, agri-food security system,
is 275, which is of the author from the UK. agricultural data sharing, etc." are just some of the 284 author keywords
used precisely once and have limited link strength.
4.2.5. Country wise analysis
In India, the total number of publications is 42 based on smart
agriculture and blockchain, which is the highest compared to other 4.3. Phase III and IV
countries. On the other hand, in Pakistan, it is the lowest, which is 07, as
shown in Table 4. Based on Citations, in India, it is 557, followed by In the third and fourth phase, as mentioned in the methodology
China at 546, then in Saudi Arabia, it is the lowest, 234. section, the “smart agriculture” AND “explainable AI,” “blockchain,”
AND “explainable AI” keyword is selected to extract the data from the
4.2.6. Keyword analysis Scopus database. For string III, authors receive 37 articles from journals,
Fig. 12 provides a visual representation of the most commonly used conferences, book series, etc. For string IV, authors receive 7 articles
search terms. With 69 occurrences and a link strength of 365, "block­ from all types of sources. These results show that these are emerging
chain" tops the list, followed by "smart agriculture” with 49 occurrences areas where researchers are starting to work and explore the field.
and a link strength of 258. blockchain, smart agriculture, and IoT are the The detailed analysis of years, country, source type, and subject areas
three most popular search terms, as measured by link popularity. This is represented in Fig. 13 and Fig. 14.
demonstrates the prominence and usefulness of these terms by utilizing In Fig. 13, the author represented the detailed Analysis of String III.
anchor text abundant with those terms. When discussing keywords, "link The number of articles considered for string III is 37, as the number of
strength" can mean the quantity and quality of inbound links to a given articles is much less than for string I and String II. However, analysis
document, the "keywords" of that material appearing in the linked text. shows that the article count is increasing with the year as researchers are
In addition, a wide range of colors is used in the graph to draw attention exploring the field. Moreover, most articles are published at confer­
ences, and many are published in journals. In countrywide analysis, it is
concluded that India has the highest number of publications, and its
Table 3
contribution is 13.5%.
Author Analysis of Phase II.
In Fig. 14, the author provided a comprehensive analysis of String IV.
Ranking Based on Publication Ranking Based upon Citation
A total of seven articles were considered for inclusion in string IV. It is
Rank Author TP Country Rank Author TC Country worth noting that the number of articles available for analysis is rela­
1 Kougianos 4 USA 1 Kumar N. 363 India tively small. However, it is essential to highlight that the investigation
E. into the development of smart agriculture with explainable AI is a recent
1 Mohanty S. 4 USA 2 Ferrag M. 312 Algeria phenomenon, commencing in 2021. Consequently, only two relevant
P. A.
papers were identified during the research process.
2 Das A.K. 3 India 2 Shu L. 312 China
2 Ferrag M.A. 3 Algeria 3 Tanwar S. 296 India In comparison, five articles have been discovered for 2022, indi­
2 Kumar N. 3 India 3 Mistry I. 296 India cating a notable growth trend. Academic Article Three articles were
2 Ray C. 3 USA 3 Tyagi S. 296 India published at the conference, while two pieces were published in the
2 Shu L. 3 China 4 Maglaras 275 UK journals "Computers, Materials and Continua" and "Journal of Experi­
L.
mental and Theoretical Artificial Intelligence". France and Italy are at

9
H.-Y. Chen et al. Smart Agricultural Technology 6 (2023) 100350

Fig. 12. Word Cloud of Keyword Analysis of Phase II.

Fig. 13. Analysis of the String III (Blockchain and Explainable AI).

the forefront regarding their respective countries’ contributions. The as it may be. Limitations in search terms, synonyms, string construction,
entirety of the article pertains to the discipline of computer science. search engine variety, and the correct rejection of results for which the
Based on a comprehensive analysis, the authors conclude that this field search string is insufficient all contribute to a poor retrieval of the
is emerging. literature corpus. Remembering that search terms and phrases may
initially eliminate valuable functional research is vital. The next step is
5. Limitations of the study for authors to use these terms to determine the most valuable classifi­
cations for readers in the research, academic, and practical commu­
Searching Scopus with the four strings taken into consideration by nities. There may be additional data and comparisons of methods in the
the authors may not have returned all of the papers related to smart future as authors try to keep up with the exponential data growth. The
agriculture, blockchain, and explainable AI. Regardless of how large the work hints at plans to compare many databases, including Scopus and
sample was, there is a chance that the current study is not as trustworthy the Web of Science. The Scopus tool is lacking, though. Using many data

10
H.-Y. Chen et al. Smart Agricultural Technology 6 (2023) 100350

Fig. 14. Analysis of String IV (Smart Agriculture and Explainable AI).

sets that employ bibliometric analysis will help with the larger-scale of the fields will increase, there will be less waste, and farming will
investigation. It has been found that the greater the number of scienti­ become more environmentally responsible. Integrating XAI, blockchain,
fic publications used in a study, the more credible the study’s overall and smart agriculture could improve the sustainability and openness of
findings. An innovative classification approach for researching labor the agricultural sector. Farmers can reduce their harmful effects on the
trends and advancements needs further investigation. Since just one environment, boost their productivity and efficiency, and keep their
Vosviewer application was employed in this study, future investigations food supply safe and trackable by utilizing these technologies. Tech­
may benefit from using different bibliometric analysis techniques. nology progresses when integrated into society, so its presence is un­
obtrusive and natural.
6. Discussion Keeping the objective of integrating these three different technolo­
gies, the current research focuses on retrieving data from a research
Employing technological improvements in the agricultural industry database and applying statistical analysis. The findings indicate that
to enhance output while minimizing inputs and extending harvest life­ much effort has been invested in "smart agriculture," which provides
time will lead to better outcomes in agriculture. Integrating new tech­ safety via blockchain technology and integrates blockchain with
nologies into intelligent agriculture, such as blockchain and explainable explainable AI to enhance decision-making. The findings of this research
artificial intelligence (XAI), has the potential to increase both the effi­ also indicate that further research is required to investigate the inte­
ciency and accessibility of the practice. The blockchain is an irreversible gration of these three technologies for the benefit of humanity.
and permanent digital database that is decentralized, transparent, and
resistant to tampering. It may record transactions between members in a 7. Implications and conclusion
manner that cannot be changed. It can be utilized in "smart agriculture"
to monitor crops from when they are planted until when they are har­ To summarize, the combination of XAI, blockchain technology, and
vested, ensuring that every facet of producing food is considered. The intelligent agriculture has the potential to bring about profound changes
quality of the soil, the amount of irrigation, and the type of fertilizer are in the manner in which food cultivation, transportation, and consump­
just a few examples of the growing process that can be monitored and tion. By combining artificial intelligence, blockchain technology, and
recorded using blockchain technology. This provides customers with the "smart" agriculture, researchers can develop a food system that is more
ability to make more educated purchasing decisions. efficient, more open, and more environmentally friendly. XAI may be
Explainable AI is of the utmost consequence in intelligent agricul­ able to boost the possibility that farmers will adopt and employ AI
ture, as algorithms driven by artificial intelligence analyze vast quan­ technology by assisting farmers in comprehending the process by which
tities of data to maximize agricultural productivity while minimizing AI models arrive at their findings. The safe and transparent transport of
waste. By making the models used to train AI technologies more trans­ agricultural products from the farm to the consumer’s table can be
parent and explicable, it is possible to boost farmers’ and other stake­ tracked using blockchain technology, which can also be used to build
holders’ confidence in these technologies and encourage them to use decentralized markets that link consumers directly with farmers.
them more widely. Integrating XAI with intelligent agriculture may lead Blockchain technology can also build markets that link consumers
to farming methods that are less harmful to the environment and more directly with farmers. The capacity of blockchain to develop secure and
open to public scrutiny. For instance, data about the environment, the privacy-preserving systems for exchanging data is crucial for both
soil, and irrigation systems may be put into AI models to forecast future farmers and customers. It is fundamental to the success of smart agri­
harvests. If farmers fully appreciate the logic behind these models, they culture, which relies heavily on the collection and analysis of data. In
will be in a better position to make decisions regarding the management addition, AI models may analyze data obtained from various sources to
of their crops. It is possible that as a consequence of this, the production guide farmers on how to raise crop yields.

11
H.-Y. Chen et al. Smart Agricultural Technology 6 (2023) 100350

Ultimately, the combination of XAI, blockchain technology, and Table 5

smart agriculture could cause a significant shift in agriculture by raising Future Direction.
output while reducing waste and enhancing sustainability. This would Sr. Potential research areas Description
be a welcome development. Future research may concentrate on no.
developing these technologies further and assessing their potential to 1 Developing XAI models for Using XAI in smart agriculture may assist
contribute to the establishment of a food distribution system that is smart agriculture farmers in comprehending the decision-
open, secure, and environmentally friendly. The intersection of making process of AI models, which may
explainable artificial intelligence (XAI), blockchain technology, and lead to an increase in the farmers’ level of
trust in and adoption of the technology. In
smart agriculture can potentially help many facets of agriculture and the future, research might concentrate on
society. Farmers may be able to boost their productivity and profit with developing XAI models tailored to the
the assistance of XAI, which can enable them to make better-informed agricultural sector, with the ability to
decisions and enhance the efficiency of their operations. This can help explain how the models arrive at their
suggestions or forecasts.
farmers raise their productivity and profit. Because blockchain tech­
2 Building blockchain-based Tracking the transit of food goods from the
nology can increase efficiency while reducing costs associated with traceability systems farm to the consumer’s table can be made
tracking, certifying, and transacting food, it paves the way for a better safer and more transparent with the help of
supply chain. The implementation of blockchain technology in smart blockchain technology. Researchers have
agriculture has the potential to enhance visibility by maintaining an the opportunity to investigate the use of
blockchain technology in developing
immutable record of the origin of a product, its manufacturing pro­ traceability systems that can verify the
cesses, and its distribution. Because consumers now have access to this authenticity of food products, ensure the
information, it is feasible for them to have greater trust and confidence product’s safety, and provide information
in the food system. XAI and smart agriculture help a more ecologically to consumers about the product’s origins
and the production methods used.
friendly and sustainable agricultural sector by assisting farmers in
3 Enhancing data privacy and The collecting and processing of data from
reducing their use of resources such as water, fertilizer, and pesticides. security various sources, including sensors, drones,
The technology behind blockchain can also be used to construct supply and satellite imaging, are critical
networks that are both transparent and environmentally friendly. With components of what is known as "smart
XAI and blockchain technology, questions regarding food safety can be agriculture." As a result, there is a need to
build secure and privacy-preserving
discovered and subsequently avoided. Food products can be tracked
systems for data sharing to preserve the
using the immutable and transparent ledger blockchain technology of­ privacy of both farmers and customers. In
fers. This enables the quicker and more accurate detection of contami­ the future, the research could concentrate
nated food, which leads to the product being removed from distribution. on establishing data-sharing platforms
based on blockchain technology that
By cutting out the intermediaries and bringing farmers and consumers
would enable the safe sharing of
closer together, blockchain technology may make it possible for smart agricultural data.
agriculture to improve the efficiency of the supply chain. 4 Developing decentralized Blockchain technology can facilitate the
Consequently, local communities may experience an increase in their marketplaces for smart development of decentralized markets that
confidence regarding their capacity to provide an adequate supply of agriculture connect farmers and consumers directly,
thereby removing intermediaries and
food for themselves. The combination of XAI, blockchain technology,
cutting prices. The potential of blockchain
and intelligent agriculture has wide-ranging implications for society and for creating such markets that allow
the economy. It has the potential to build a food system that is more farmers to sell their produce directly to
favorable for farmers, consumers, and the environment as a whole by consumers and provide consumers with
access to fresh and locally produced food
boosting efficiency, transparency, and sustainability. The implementa­
can be investigated by researchers.
tion of blockchain technology might accomplish this. 5 Exploring the use of AI for The application of technology in
precision agriculture agriculture is known as "precision
8. Future directions agriculture," Its goals are to maximize
agricultural productivity, cut down on
waste, and improve sustainability. By
Integrating explainable artificial intelligence (XAI), blockchain, and
analyzing data from sensors, weather
smart agriculture can revolutionize how we produce and consume food. forecasts, and soil samples with AI
The potential research directions in this field are described in Table 5. algorithms, farmers can obtain
Ultimately, combining XAI, blockchain technology, and smart agri­ recommendations on improving their
operations and making their businesses
culture can revolutionize the agricultural sector by increasing produc­
more profitable. Future research could
tivity, reducing waste, and making the industry more environmentally focus on developing AI models that can
friendly. Therefore, research in the future could concentrate on the explain their recommendations to farmers,
further development of these technologies and the investigation of their boosting their confidence in the
potential to produce a food system that is more open, secure, and technology and encouraging them to use it
more widely.
environmentally friendly.

9. Ethics statement Hsin-Yuan Chen reports financial support was provided by Zhejiang
University.
Not applicable
This manuscript does not include human or animal research. Data availability
If this manuscript involves research on animals or humans, it is
imperative to disclose all approval details. Data will be made available on request.

Declaration of Competing Interest

The authors declare the following financial interests/personal re­

lationships which may be considered as potential competing interests:

12
H.-Y. Chen et al. Smart Agricultural Technology 6 (2023) 100350

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