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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Dealing with the game-changing technologies of Agriculture 4.0: How do we manage diversity and responsibility in food system transition pathways?
TL;DR: More attention is needed for the inclusion and exclusion effects of Agriculture 4.0 technologies, and for reflection on how they relate to diverse transition pathways towards sustainable agricultural and food systems driven by mission-oriented innovation systems.
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The future(s) of digital agriculture and sustainable food systems: An analysis of high-level policy documents
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigate what roles are being imagined for digital technologies by international actors with the ability to influence the future of food systems and suggest that evaluations of how digital agricultural technologies might affect the delivery of ecosystem services must begin by considering what visions of future food systems are take into account in science, technology development and policy making.
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Digitalisation of agricultural knowledge and advice networks: A state-of-the-art review
TL;DR: In this article, the authors review trends within agricultural knowledge and advice networks both internationally and in Australia, to anticipate and prepare for potential transformations in these networks and come to three key conclusions regarding the state-of-the-art.
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Supporting food systems transformation : The what, why, who, where and how of mission-oriented agricultural innovation systems
TL;DR: It is argued that a mission-oriented Agricultural innovation systems (MAIS) approach can help understand how agricultural innovation systems at different geographical scales develop to enable food systems transformation, in terms of forces, catalysts, and barriers in transformative food systems change.
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Agriculture 4.0: Making it work for people, production, and the planet
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors highlight the need to incorporate social sustainability (or simply "people") into technological trajectories and outline a framework of multi-actor co-innovation to guide responsible socio-technical transitions.
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Monchi Lio,Meng-Chun Liu +1 more
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The role of communication and co-operation in the adoption of precision farming
TL;DR: In this article, the importance of farmers' communication and co-operation strategies in the adoption of PF and their relation to farm attributes was analyzed, and it was revealed that farms differ in their communication strategies depending on farm size.
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What good are unmanned aircraft systems for agricultural remote sensing and precision agriculture
TL;DR: In this paper, remote sensing from unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) was expected to be an important new technology to assist farmers with precision agriculture, especially crop nutrient management, and there a...
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Transition towards sustainability in agriculture and food systems: Role of information and communication technologies
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored the contribution of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to transition towards sustainability along the food chain (production, processing, distribution, consumption) in precision agriculture.