{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,15]],"date-time":"2026-04-15T20:08:11Z","timestamp":1776283691353,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,4,12]],"date-time":"2021-04-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1618185600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100008530","name":"European Regional Development Fund","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["0123_IOTEC_3_E"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["0123_IOTEC_3_E"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100008530","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Applied Sciences"],"abstract":"<jats:p>The agro-industrial sector consumes a significant amount of natural resources for farming and meat production. By 2050, population growth is expected, generating more demand and, consequently, more consumption of scarce resources. This challenging scenario is a concern of the European Commission, revealed in the Green Deal commitment and by the United Nations\u2019 12th goal of sustainable development. Thus, organizations must increase productivity and be more sustainable as soon as possible. Internet of Things (IoT) is introduced as a solution to facilitate agro-food companies to be more eco-efficient, mainly facing difficulties on farms, such as food loss and waste, best efficiency in management of resources, and production. The deployment of this technology depends on the stage of maturity and potential of implementation. To assess and characterize companies, with respect of IoT implementation, a survey was applied in 21 micro, small and medium agro-food companies, belonging to milk, honey, olive oil, jams, fruticulture, bakery and pastry, meat, coffee, and wine sectors, in the central region of Portugal. As results, this paper reveals the stage of maturity, level of sophistication, potential, opportunities, solutions, and barriers for implementation of IoT. Additionally, suggestions and recommendations to improve practices are discussed.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/app11083454","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,4,12]],"date-time":"2021-04-12T11:05:06Z","timestamp":1618225506000},"page":"3454","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":41,"title":["Development of Technological Capabilities through the Internet of Things (IoT): Survey of Opportunities and Barriers for IoT Implementation in Portugal\u2019s Agro-Industry"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1691-1709","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pedro D.","family":"Gaspar","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Deparment of Electromechanical Engineering, University of Beira Interior, Rua Marqu\u00eas d\u2019\u00c1vila e Bolama, 6201-001 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"},{"name":"Centre for Mechanical and Aerospace Science and Technologies (C-MAST), Rua Marqu\u00eas d\u2019\u00c1vila e Bolama, 6201-001 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Carlos M.","family":"Fernandez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Deparment of Electromechanical Engineering, University of Beira Interior, Rua Marqu\u00eas d\u2019\u00c1vila e Bolama, 6201-001 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8057-5474","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Vasco N. G. J.","family":"Soares","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco, 6000-084 Castelo Branco, Portugal"},{"name":"Instituto de Telecomunica\u00e7\u00f5es, 6201-001 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"},{"name":"InspiringSci, 6000-767 Castelo Branco, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5830-3790","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jo\u00e3o M. L. P.","family":"Caldeira","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Polytechnic Institute of Castelo Branco, 6000-084 Castelo Branco, Portugal"},{"name":"Instituto de Telecomunica\u00e7\u00f5es, 6201-001 Covilh\u00e3, Portugal"},{"name":"InspiringSci, 6000-767 Castelo Branco, Portugal"}]},{"given":"H\u00e9lio","family":"Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Evox, 6000-767 Castelo Branco, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,4,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"117","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-environ-101718-033228","article-title":"Food Loss and Waste: Measurement, Drivers, and Solutions","volume":"44","author":"Spang","year":"2019","journal-title":"Annu. Rev. Environ. Resour."},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"FAO (2020). 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