Infrastructural, performative and feral: Understanding agri-environmental data relations in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

In agri-environmental decision-making, data are essential to defining problems and informing solutions. Nevertheless, it is important to consider not only how data can be used but also what data does in agri-environmental contexts. We argue that the liveliness of data relations can be explored by attending to their infrastructural, performative and feral qualities. Taking digital agriculture and climate change adaptation as examples, we also consider how these interconnected theses could be applied. This critical approach to data relations and their generative effects will help avoid unintended consequences and shape alternative agri-environmental future