IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/oup/erevae/v50y2023i4p1277-1309..html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Digital innovations for sustainable and resilient agricultural systems

Author

Listed:
  • Robert Finger

Abstract

Digitalisation is rapidly transforming the agri-food sector. This paper investigates emerging opportunities, challenges and policy options. We show that digital innovations can contribute to more sustainable and resilient agricultural systems. For example, digital innovations enable increased productivity, reduced environmental footprints and higher resilience of farms. However, these optimistic outcomes of increasing digitalisation of the agricultural sector will not emerge on their own, but this development comes with several challenges, costs and risks, e.g. in economic, social and ethical dimensions. We provide policy recommendations to explore opportunities and avoid risks. Moreover, we discuss implications for future research in agricultural economics.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert Finger, 2023. "Digital innovations for sustainable and resilient agricultural systems," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 50(4), pages 1277-1309.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:erevae:v:50:y:2023:i:4:p:1277-1309.
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/erae/jbad021
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. J Blasch & B van der Kroon & P van Beukering & R Munster & S Fabiani & P Nino & S Vanino, 2022. "Farmer preferences for adopting precision farming technologies: a case study from Italy," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 49(1), pages 33-81.
    2. Fuentes, Christian & Cegrell, Olivia & Vesterinen, Josefine, 2021. "Digitally enabling sustainable food shopping: App glitches, practice conflicts, and digital failure," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    3. Jorge Sellare & Jan Börner & Fritz Brugger & Rachael Garrett & Isabel Günther & Eva-Marie Meemken & Edoardo Maria Pelli & Linda Steinhübel & David Wuepper, 2022. "Six research priorities to support corporate due-diligence policies," Nature, Nature, vol. 606(7916), pages 861-863, June.
    4. Shang, Linmei & Heckelei, Thomas & Gerullis, Maria K. & Börner, Jan & Rasch, Sebastian, 2021. "Adoption and diffusion of digital farming technologies - integrating farm-level evidence and system interaction," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    5. Willemijn Vroege & Janic Bucheli & Tobias Dalhaus & Martin Hirschi & Robert Finger, 2021. "Insuring crops from space: the potential of satellite-retrieved soil moisture to reduce farmers’ drought risk exposure," European Review of Agricultural Economics, Oxford University Press and the European Agricultural and Applied Economics Publications Foundation, vol. 48(2), pages 266-314.
    6. Lajoie-O'Malley, Alana & Bronson, Kelly & van der Burg, Simone & Klerkx, Laurens, 2020. "The future(s) of digital agriculture and sustainable food systems: An analysis of high-level policy documents," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    7. Madhu Khanna & Shady S. Atallah & Saurajyoti Kar & Bijay Sharma & Linghui Wu & Chengzheng Yu & Girish Chowdhary & Chinmay Soman & Kaiyu Guan, 2022. "Digital transformation for a sustainable agriculture in the United States: Opportunities and challenges," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 53(6), pages 924-937, November.
    8. Wolfert, Sjaak & Verdouw, Cor & van Wassenaer, Lan & Dolfsma, Wilfred & Klerkx, Laurens, 2023. "Digital innovation ecosystems in agri-food: design principles and organizational framework," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 204(C).
    9. Späti, Karin & Huber, Robert & Finger, Robert, 2021. "Benefits of Increasing Information Accuracy in Variable Rate Technologies," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    10. Athanasios Balafoutis & Bert Beck & Spyros Fountas & Jurgen Vangeyte & Tamme Van der Wal & Iria Soto & Manuel Gómez-Barbero & Andrew Barnes & Vera Eory, 2017. "Precision Agriculture Technologies Positively Contributing to GHG Emissions Mitigation, Farm Productivity and Economics," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-28, July.
    11. Banerjee, Simanti & Cason, Timothy N. & de Vries, Frans P. & Hanley, Nick, 2017. "Transaction costs, communication and spatial coordination in Payment for Ecosystem Services Schemes," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 68-89.
    12. Wolfert, Sjaak & Ge, Lan & Verdouw, Cor & Bogaardt, Marc-Jeroen, 2017. "Big Data in Smart Farming – A review," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 69-80.
    13. Christophe Gouel & Houssein Guimbard, 2019. "Nutrition Transition and the Structure of Global Food Demand," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 101(2), pages 383-403.
    14. Fielke, Simon & Taylor, Bruce & Jakku, Emma, 2020. "Digitalisation of agricultural knowledge and advice networks: A state-of-the-art review," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    15. Heidi Webber & Frank Ewert & Jørgen E. Olesen & Christoph Müller & Stefan Fronzek & Alex C. Ruane & Maryse Bourgault & Pierre Martre & Behnam Ababaei & Marco Bindi & Roberto Ferrise & Robert Finger & , 2018. "Diverging importance of drought stress for maize and winter wheat in Europe," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-10, December.
    16. Schmitt, Jonas & Offermann, Frank & Söder, Mareike & Frühauf, Cathleen & Finger, Robert, 2022. "Extreme weather events cause significant crop yield losses at the farm level in German agriculture," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    17. Möhring, Niklas & Finger, Robert, 2022. "Pesticide-free but not organic: Adoption of a large-scale wheat production standard in Switzerland," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    18. Bruno Basso & John Antle, 2020. "Digital agriculture to design sustainable agricultural systems," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 3(4), pages 254-256, April.
    19. Abhishek Chaudhary & David Gustafson & Alexander Mathys, 2018. "Multi-indicator sustainability assessment of global food systems," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 9(1), pages 1-13, December.
    20. Denise Peth & Oliver Mußhoff, 2020. "Comparing Compliance Behaviour of Students and Farmers. An Extra‐laboratory Experiment in the Context of Agri‐environmental Nudges in Germany," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 71(2), pages 601-615, June.
    21. Al-Amin, A.K.M. Abdullah & Lowenberg-DeBoer, James & Franklin, Kit & Behrendt, Karl, 2021. "Economic Implications of Field Size for Autonomous Arable Crop Equipment," Land, Farm & Agribusiness Management Department 316595, Harper Adams University, Land, Farm & Agribusiness Management Department.
    22. Elmiger, By Noëmi & Finger, Robert & Ghazoul, Jaboury & Schaub, Sergei, 2023. "Biodiversity indicators for result-based agri-environmental schemes – Current state and future prospects," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 204(C).
    23. Carbonell, Isabelle M., 2016. "The ethics of big data in big agriculture," Internet Policy Review: Journal on Internet Regulation, Alexander von Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society (HIIG), Berlin, vol. 5(1), pages 1-13.
    24. Ehlers, Melf-Hinrich & Huber, Robert & Finger, Robert, 2021. "Agricultural policy in the era of digitalisation," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    25. Wuepper, David & Roleff, Nikolaus & Finger, Robert, 2021. "Does it matter who advises farmers? Pest management choices with public and private extension," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    26. Keith H Coble & Ashok K Mishra & Shannon Ferrell & Terry Griffin, 2018. "Big Data in Agriculture: A Challenge for the Future," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 40(1), pages 79-96.
    27. Sykuta, Michael E., 2016. "Big Data in Agriculture: Property Rights, Privacy and Competition in Ag Data Services," International Food and Agribusiness Management Review, International Food and Agribusiness Management Association, vol. 19(A), pages 1-18, June.
    28. Barnes, A.P. & Soto, I. & Eory, V. & Beck, B. & Balafoutis, A. & Sánchez, B. & Vangeyte, J. & Fountas, S. & van der Wal, T. & Gómez-Barbero, M., 2019. "Exploring the adoption of precision agricultural technologies: A cross regional study of EU farmers," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 163-174.
    29. Ehlers, Melf-Hinrich & Finger, Robert & El Benni, Nadja & Gocht, Alexander & Sørensen, Claus Aage Grøn & Gusset, Markus & Pfeifer, Catherine & Poppe, Krijn & Regan, Áine & Rose, David Christian & Wolf, 2022. "Scenarios for European agricultural policymaking in the era of digitalisation," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    30. Finger, Robert & Möhring, Niklas & Dalhaus, Tobias & Böcker, Thomas, 2017. "Revisiting Pesticide Taxation Schemes," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 263-266.
    31. Rémi Prudhomme & Raja Chakir & Anna Lungarska & Thierry Brunelle & Narayanappa Devaraju & Nathalie de Noblet & Pierre-Alain Jayet & Stéphane De Cara & Jean-Christophe Bureau, 2022. "Food, climate and biodiversity: a trilemma of mineral nitrogen use in European agriculture," Review of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Studies, Springer, vol. 103(3), pages 271-299, September.
    32. Al-Amin, A.K.M. Abdullah & Lowenberg-DeBoer, James & Franklin, Kit & Behrendt, Karl, 2021. "Economic Implications of Field Size for Autonomous Arable Crop Equipment," Agri-Tech Economics Papers 316595, Harper Adams University, Land, Farm & Agribusiness Management Department.
    33. David R. Kanter & Olivia Chodos & Olivia Nordland & Mallory Rutigliano & Wilfried Winiwarter, 2020. "Gaps and opportunities in nitrogen pollution policies around the world," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 3(11), pages 956-963, November.
    34. Jérémie Forney & Angga Dwiartama, 2023. "The project, the everyday, and reflexivity in sociotechnical agri-food assemblages: proposing a conceptual model of digitalisation," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(2), pages 441-454, June.
    35. Alfons Weersink & Evan Fraser & David Pannell & Emily Duncan & Sarah Rotz, 2018. "Opportunities and Challenges for Big Data in Agricultural and Environmental Analysis," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 10(1), pages 19-37, October.
    36. McFadden, Jonathan & Njuki, Eric & Griffin, Terry, 2023. "Precision Agriculture in the Digital Era: Recent Adoption on U.S. Farms," USDA Miscellaneous 333550, United States Department of Agriculture.
    37. Robert Huber & Robert Finger, 2020. "A Meta‐analysis of the Willingness to Pay for Cultural Services from Grasslands in Europe," Journal of Agricultural Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 71(2), pages 357-383, June.
    38. Eva-Marie Meemken & Matin Qaim, 2018. "Organic Agriculture, Food Security, and the Environment," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 10(1), pages 39-63, October.
    39. Ariel Ortiz-Bobea & Toby R. Ault & Carlos M. Carrillo & Robert G. Chambers & David B. Lobell, 2021. "Anthropogenic climate change has slowed global agricultural productivity growth," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 11(4), pages 306-312, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ingram, Julie & Maye, Damian & Bailye, Clive & Barnes, Andrew & Bear, Christopher & Bell, Matthew & Cutress, David & Davies, Lynfa & de Boon, Auvikki & Dinnie, Liz & Gairdner, Julian & Hafferty, Caitl, 2022. "What are the priority research questions for digital agriculture?," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    2. Huber, Robert & Späti, Karin & Finger, Robert, 2023. "A behavioural agent-based modelling approach for the ex-ante assessment of policies supporting precision agriculture," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    3. Ehlers, Melf-Hinrich & Huber, Robert & Finger, Robert, 2021. "Agricultural policy in the era of digitalisation," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    4. Margherita Masi & Marcello Rosa & Yari Vecchio & Luca Bartoli & Felice Adinolfi, 2022. "The long way to innovation adoption: insights from precision agriculture," Agricultural and Food Economics, Springer;Italian Society of Agricultural Economics (SIDEA), vol. 10(1), pages 1-17, December.
    5. Schnebelin, Éléonore, 2022. "Linking the diversity of ecologisation models to farmers' digital use profiles," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    6. Emily Duncan & Alesandros Glaros & Dennis Z. Ross & Eric Nost, 2021. "New but for whom? Discourses of innovation in precision agriculture," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 38(4), pages 1181-1199, December.
    7. Lioutas, Evagelos D. & Charatsari, Chrysanthi & De Rosa, Marcello, 2021. "Digitalization of agriculture: A way to solve the food problem or a trolley dilemma?," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    8. Monteiro Moretti, Débora & Baum, Chad M. & Ehlers, Melf-Hinrich & Finger, Robert & Bröring, Stefanie, 2023. "Exploring actors' perceptions of the precision agriculture innovation system – A Group Concept Mapping approach in Germany and Switzerland," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    9. Metta, Matteo & Ciliberti, Stefano & Obi, Chinedu & Bartolini, Fabio & Klerkx, Laurens & Brunori, Gianluca, 2022. "An integrated socio-cyber-physical system framework to assess responsible digitalisation in agriculture: A first application with Living Labs in Europe," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    10. Finger, Robert & Möhring, Niklas, 2022. "The adoption of pesticide-free wheat production and farmers' perceptions of its environmental and health effects," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).
    11. Omar Abu Hassim & Ismah Osman & Asmah Awal & Fhaisol Mat Amin, 2024. "Navigating the Path to Equitable and Sustainable Digital Agriculture among Small Farmers in Malaysia: A Comprehensive Review," Information Management and Business Review, AMH International, vol. 16(2), pages 173-188.
    12. Kumar, Parveen & Hendriks, Tim & Panoutsopoulos, Hercules & Brewster, Christopher, 2024. "Investigating FAIR data principles compliance in horizon 2020 funded Agri-food and rural development multi-actor projects," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    13. Beatrice Garske & Antonia Bau & Felix Ekardt, 2021. "Digitalization and AI in European Agriculture: A Strategy for Achieving Climate and Biodiversity Targets?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-21, April.
    14. David Christian Rose & Anna Barkemeyer & Auvikki Boon & Catherine Price & Dannielle Roche, 2023. "The old, the new, or the old made new? Everyday counter-narratives of the so-called fourth agricultural revolution," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 40(2), pages 423-439, June.
    15. da Silveira, Franco & da Silva, Sabrina Letícia Couto & Machado, Filipe Molinar & Barbedo, Jayme Garcia Arnal & Amaral, Fernando Gonçalves, 2023. "Farmers' perception of the barriers that hinder the implementation of agriculture 4.0," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    16. Ehlers, Melf-Hinrich & Finger, Robert & El Benni, Nadja & Gocht, Alexander & Sørensen, Claus Aage Grøn & Gusset, Markus & Pfeifer, Catherine & Poppe, Krijn & Regan, Áine & Rose, David Christian & Wolf, 2022. "Scenarios for European agricultural policymaking in the era of digitalisation," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    17. Grahmann, Kathrin & Reckling, Moritz & Hernández-Ochoa, Ixchel & Donat, Marco & Bellingrath-Kimura, Sonoko & Ewert, Frank, 2024. "Co-designing a landscape experiment to investigate diversified cropping systems," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 217(C).
    18. Hidalgo, Francisco & Quiñones-Ruiz, Xiomara F. & Birkenberg, Athena & Daum, Thomas & Bosch, Christine & Hirsch, Patrick & Birner, Regina, 2023. "Digitalization, sustainability, and coffee. Opportunities and challenges for agricultural development," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    19. Nesrein M. Hashem & Eman M. Hassanein & Jean-François Hocquette & Antonio Gonzalez-Bulnes & Fayrouz A. Ahmed & Youssef A. Attia & Khalid A. Asiry, 2021. "Agro-Livestock Farming System Sustainability during the COVID-19 Era: A Cross-Sectional Study on the Role of Information and Communication Technologies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-24, June.
    20. Osrof, Hazem Yusuf & Tan, Cheng Ling & Angappa, Gunasekaran & Yeo, Sook Fern & Tan, Kim Hua, 2023. "Adoption of smart farming technologies in field operations: A systematic review and future research agenda," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:oup:erevae:v:50:y:2023:i:4:p:1277-1309.. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Oxford University Press (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/eaaeeea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.