A review of social science on digital agriculture, smart farming and agriculture 4.0: New contributions and a future research agenda
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In this paper, the authors present seventeen articles dealing with social, economic and institutional dynamics of precision farming, digital agriculture, smart farming or agriculture 4.0, and reveal new insights on the link between digital agriculture and farm diversity, new economic, business and institutional arrangements both on-farm, in the value chain and food system, and in the innovation system.Abstract:
While there is a lot of literature from a natural or technical sciences perspective on different forms of digitalization in agriculture (big data, internet of things, augmented reality, robotics, sensors, 3D printing, system integration, ubiquitous connectivity, artificial intelligence, digital twins, and blockchain among others), social science researchers have recently started investigating different aspects of digital agriculture in relation to farm production systems, value chains and food systems. This has led to a burgeoning but scattered social science body of literature. There is hence lack of overview of how this field of study is developing, and what are established, emerging, and new themes and topics. This is where this article aims to make a contribution, beyond introducing this special issue which presents seventeen articles dealing with social, economic and institutional dynamics of precision farming, digital agriculture, smart farming or agriculture 4.0. An exploratory literature review shows that five thematic clusters of extant social science literature on digitalization in agriculture can be identified: 1) Adoption, uses and adaptation of digital technologies on farm; 2) Effects of digitalization on farmer identity, farmer skills, and farm work; 3) Power, ownership, privacy and ethics in digitalizing agricultural production systems and value chains; 4) Digitalization and agricultural knowledge and innovation systems (AKIS); and 5) Economics and management of digitalized agricultural production systems and value chains. The main contributions of the special issue articles are mapped against these thematic clusters, revealing new insights on the link between digital agriculture and farm diversity, new economic, business and institutional arrangements both on-farm, in the value chain and food system, and in the innovation system, and emerging ways to ethically govern digital agriculture. Emerging lines of social science enquiry within these thematic clusters are identified and new lines are suggested to create a future research agenda on digital agriculture, smart farming and agriculture 4.0. Also, four potential new thematic social science clusters are also identified, which so far seem weakly developed: 1) Digital agriculture socio-cyber-physical-ecological systems conceptualizations; 2) Digital agriculture policy processes; 3) Digitally enabled agricultural transition pathways; and 4) Global geography of digital agriculture development. This future research agenda provides ample scope for future interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary science on precision farming, digital agriculture, smart farming and agriculture 4.0.read more
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Digitally Enabled Decission Making in Big Crop Farms: Inspiration for a Balanced Decision Making Metaphorical Model
TL;DR: In this paper , a metaphoric model is proposed to illustrate the interdependence of resources usage in big crop farms. And the value creation diamond (VCD) model is used to visualize and assess the balance between the scaled heights of the two adjoined pyramids (financial height vs ESG height).
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Developing a Strategy for Sustainable Rural Development in the COVID-19 Pandemic
Rasul Gusmanov,Alexander Semin,Eugene Stovba,Nabi Dalgatovich Avarskii,Zariya Zalilova,Niaz Faizov +5 more
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors developed a methodological approach to the implementation of sustainable rural development strategy in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Bashkortostan.
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Agricultural Social Networks: An Agricultural Value Chain-Based Digitalization Framework for an Inclusive Digital Economy
Ronald Tombe,Hanlie Smuts +1 more
TL;DR: In this article , a transdisciplinary framework for the digitalization of the agriculture value chain (AVC) is proposed to enable an inclusive digital economy by unearthing the roles of agricultural social networks in AVC digitalization.
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Digital platforms as common goods or economic goods? Constructing the worth of a nascent agricultural data platform
TL;DR: In this paper , the authors present a qualitative study on the valuation of a data-sharing platform in the agri-food sector. And they show that initially, the platform founders consider a number of values (accessible and transparent data, profitability, sustainability and innovation) that are defined through common good and economic good aspects.
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Achieving Agriculture 4.0 Through Modernization and Enhancement with Mechanization, Automation and Advanced Technologies
TL;DR: In this article , the authors explore the possibility to enhance the existing practices in agricultural sector through the mechanization, automation and the application of advanced technologies, particularly the research works from Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) into the new era of Agriculture 4.0.
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