Selection of an index system for evaluating the application level of agricultural engineering technology

Determining the application level of agricultural engineering technology is essential for formulating regional development strategies. The objective of this work is to establish an index system for evaluating the application of agricultural engineering technology and develop an algorithm for selecting appropriate indicators. Primarily, indicators are selected based on a literature study and the specific situation of Shouguang city, leading to 24 indexes across eight criteria. In this study, a four-layer architecture is designed for the index system, and indicators are optimized according to the relationship between the layers and an objective function. The results indicate that the relation matrix, criteria matrix, and optimization method are effective. In the process of optimization, the average age, technical satisfaction, and acceptance of new technologies are discarded. Subsequently, an index system including 21 indicators is shown to have an integrity level of 88.6%, which is sufficient for practical applications. (C) 2017 Published by Elsevier B.V.