FARM-PLANNING WITH RESOURCE UNCERTAINTY - A SEMI-SEQUENTIAL APPROACH

A formulation is developed to allow the simple adaptation of non-sequential multi-state LP models into a semi-sequential framework describing problems with stochastic resource supplies and input and output coefficients. The method is illustrated by a peasant farm management example and compared with discrete stochastic programming, whose adoption has often been limited by its tendency to impose restrictions on problem formulation. It is suggested that the semi-sequential formulation provides a useful alternative modelling approach where stochastic variation is important but analytical and data collection resources are limited.