A review of social science on digital agriculture, smart farming and agriculture 4.0: New contributions and a future research agenda



View results in:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.njas.2019.100315
DOI: 
10.1016/j.njas.2019.100315
Provider: 
Licensing of resource: 
Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)
Type: 
journal article
Journal: 
NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences
Number: 
December 2019
Volume: 
90-91
Author(s): 
Klerkx L.
Jakku E.
Labarthe P.
Publisher(s): 
Description: 

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.  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

Publication year: 
2019
Keywords: 
Robotic farming
Precision agriculture
Digitalization
Digital social science
Data science
Responsible research and innovation
Agricultural knowledge and innovation systems