How can digitalisation support transformation towards sustainable agri-food systems? Scenario development in Lower Austria

IF 6.1 1区农林科学 Q1 AGRICULTURE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY Agricultural Systems Pub Date : 2025-01-06 DOI:10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104251

Beatrix Wepner , Sabine Neuberger , Marianne Hörlesberger , Eva Maria Molin , Jasmin Lampert , Hanna Koch

{"title":"How can digitalisation support transformation towards sustainable agri-food systems? Scenario development in Lower Austria","authors":"Beatrix Wepner , Sabine Neuberger , Marianne Hörlesberger , Eva Maria Molin , Jasmin Lampert , Hanna Koch","doi":"10.1016/j.agsy.2024.104251","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>CONTEXT</h3><div>The agriculture and food system face challenges related to climate change, biodiversity loss, agricultural pollution, and food security. An environmentally and resource friendly development of food security is required at international and national levels. Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) offer opportunities to address these challenges and facilitate the transformation of agriculture and the food value chain.</div></div><div><h3>OBJECTIVE</h3><div>This research aims to identify widely applicable measures to support digitalisation in order to promote the transformation towards sustainable agri-food systems.</div></div><div><h3>METHODS</h3><div>A foresight process was conducted in the case study region of Lower Austria. The process consisted of seven steps and included data collection through desk research, internal project discussions and two workshops with regional stakeholders. Scenarios were co-created with stakeholders from different sectors, including industry, policy and research.</div></div><div><h3>RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS</h3><div>Five scenarios were developed: “Trend towards flexibility”, “D4COOP”, “Specialisation”, “Agricultural industry” and “GIIRA (great-innovative-intensive-reactive-adaptive)”. Challenges related to the digital transformation of agriculture and corresponding measures to address these challenges were identified. The measures were summarized in the following thematic areas: (a) Technology, Research & Innovation, (b) Market & Business Models, (c) Financial Support, (d) Culture & Social Values, (e) Networks, (f) Competencies & Knowledge, (g) Infrastructure, and (h) Policy Framework.</div></div><div><h3>SIGNIFICANCE</h3><div>This research contributes to the identification of probable future developments and to the elaboration of widely applicable measures by using foresight methods, which can be implemented with the respective stakeholders in the case study region of Lower Austria. Utilizing the scenario technique helps to facilitate dialogue and identify future options for action and measures fostering innovation and research in addressing emerging challenges at the regional level. The findings provide insights for tackling the challenges of complex agri-food systems in deciding which issues to prioritize for transformation, encompassing policy, finance, education, and digital skills, with digitalisation as leverage point and sustainability as a key concern.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":7730,"journal":{"name":"Agricultural Systems","volume":"224 ","pages":"Article 104251"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-01-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Agricultural Systems","FirstCategoryId":"97","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0308521X24004013","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"AGRICULTURE, MULTIDISCIPLINARY","Score":null,"Total":0}

引用次数: 0

Abstract

CONTEXT

The agriculture and food system face challenges related to climate change, biodiversity loss, agricultural pollution, and food security. An environmentally and resource friendly development of food security is required at international and national levels. Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) offer opportunities to address these challenges and facilitate the transformation of agriculture and the food value chain.

OBJECTIVE

This research aims to identify widely applicable measures to support digitalisation in order to promote the transformation towards sustainable agri-food systems.

METHODS

A foresight process was conducted in the case study region of Lower Austria. The process consisted of seven steps and included data collection through desk research, internal project discussions and two workshops with regional stakeholders. Scenarios were co-created with stakeholders from different sectors, including industry, policy and research.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS

Five scenarios were developed: “Trend towards flexibility”, “D4COOP”, “Specialisation”, “Agricultural industry” and “GIIRA (great-innovative-intensive-reactive-adaptive)”. Challenges related to the digital transformation of agriculture and corresponding measures to address these challenges were identified. The measures were summarized in the following thematic areas: (a) Technology, Research & Innovation, (b) Market & Business Models, (c) Financial Support, (d) Culture & Social Values, (e) Networks, (f) Competencies & Knowledge, (g) Infrastructure, and (h) Policy Framework.

SIGNIFICANCE

This research contributes to the identification of probable future developments and to the elaboration of widely applicable measures by using foresight methods, which can be implemented with the respective stakeholders in the case study region of Lower Austria. Utilizing the scenario technique helps to facilitate dialogue and identify future options for action and measures fostering innovation and research in addressing emerging challenges at the regional level. The findings provide insights for tackling the challenges of complex agri-food systems in deciding which issues to prioritize for transformation, encompassing policy, finance, education, and digital skills, with digitalisation as leverage point and sustainability as a key concern.

Abstract Image

查看原文

微信好友朋友圈 QQ好友复制链接

本刊更多论文

数字化如何支持向可持续农业粮食系统的转型？下奥地利州的情景发展

农业和粮食系统面临着与气候变化、生物多样性丧失、农业污染和粮食安全有关的挑战。需要在国际和国家两级实现对环境和资源友好的粮食安全发展。数字化和人工智能（AI）为应对这些挑战提供了机会，并促进了农业和食品价值链的转型。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

求助全文

约1分钟内获得全文去求助

来源期刊

Agricultural Systems 农林科学-农业综合

CiteScore

13.30

自引率

7.60%

发文量

174

审稿时长

30 days

期刊介绍： Agricultural Systems is an international journal that deals with interactions - among the components of agricultural systems, among hierarchical levels of agricultural systems, between agricultural and other land use systems, and between agricultural systems and their natural, social and economic environments. The scope includes the development and application of systems analysis methodologies in the following areas: Systems approaches in the sustainable intensification of agriculture; pathways for sustainable intensification; crop-livestock integration; farm-level resource allocation; quantification of benefits and trade-offs at farm to landscape levels; integrative, participatory and dynamic modelling approaches for qualitative and quantitative assessments of agricultural systems and decision making; The interactions between agricultural and non-agricultural landscapes; the multiple services of agricultural systems; food security and the environment; Global change and adaptation science; transformational adaptations as driven by changes in climate, policy, values and attitudes influencing the design of farming systems; Development and application of farming systems design tools and methods for impact, scenario and case study analysis; managing the complexities of dynamic agricultural systems; innovation systems and multi stakeholder arrangements that support or promote change and (or) inform policy decisions.