Critical support for different stages of innovation in agriculture: What, when, how?

publishedVersio

Impact of low code development in organizational software: the case of Soc.Agr Porto Muge

Dissertation presented as the partial requirement for obtaining a Master's degree in Information Management, specialization in Knowledge Management and Business IntelligenceThis study investigates the impact of a mobile application developed using OutSystems and an agile methodology on an agriculture company. Employing a qualitative approach, we conducted separate focus group sessions, one with application users and another with OutSystems developers. Thematic analysis was utilized to assess the application business benefits and development quality. Findings reveal significant improvements in the company's operational processes and efficiency, reducing paper and know exactly when to treat the crops and what product to use with implications for enhanced future production, with less chemicals used. Developers identified minor areas for improvement on the code with major concerns about performance as the application gets more data. This study highlights the potential long-term effects of data accumulation on company performance. Both of groups reported that would be useful offline capability to the application and effective training on new users on the app. Future research should explore the sustained impact of the mobile application in the context of the agriculture company with the added improvements suggested by the users and developers

Tantangan Menjadi Penyuluh Kekinian di Era Disrupsi

Perkembangan sektor pertanian saat ini dihadapkan dengan berbagai dilema terkait dengan revolusi teknologi 4.0, seperti disrupsi, perubahan iklim, pandemi Covid-19, bencana alam, kemiskinan dan kecukupan pangan nasional. Tantangan ini memerlukan respons dari berbagai pihak dan para pemangku kepentingan, khususnya penyuluh pertanian sebagai ujung tombak di sektor ini. Berbagai permasalahan masih menyelimuti keberadaan penyuluh pertanian baik secara kualitas maupun kuantitas, mulai dari penguasaan dan akses pada teknologi informasi, kebijakan, pembiayaan, akses pasar serta dinamika kelembagaan yang terus mewarnai kinerja penyuluh pertanian. Berkembangnya digitalisasi pertanian diharapkan dapat membantu penyuluh pertanian bersikap lebih inovatif, adaptif, kolaboratif, dan profesional dalam menjalankan profesinya agar eksistensinya tidak tersisih dan terabaikan dari laju percepatan pembangunan pertanian berkelanjutan. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengkaji tantangan penyuluh pertanian agile di Yogyakarta dan sekitarnya dalam menghadapi revolusi 4.0. Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan menggunakan metode pendekatan konstruktivisme kritis. Informan dalam penelitian ini terdiri dari penyuluh pertanian dan petani. Jumlah informan dalam penelitian ini sebanyak sembilan informan, dengan enam informan merupakan penyuluh pertanian dan tiga informan merupakan petani. Informan berasal dari dua kabupaten, yaitu Kabupaten Klaten dan Kabupaten Bantul. Setidaknya terdapat tiga tantangan penyuluh, yaitu: (1) Kurangnya kemampuan berkaitan dengan digitalisasi dan gawai, sebagian penyuluh tidak percaya diri; (2) Dukungan biaya operasional yang dirasa kurang dalam mendukung operasional Balai Penyuluh Pertanian; dan (3) Banyaknya aplikasi akibat digitalisasi yang justru memberikan administratif yang berdampak pada kinerja penyuluh. Penelitian ini menyimpulkan: (1) Penyuluh profesional dituntut dapat menyesuaikan diri dan perannya sesuai dengan perkembangan dan perubahan peradaban manusia yang selalu didukung oleh perkembangan teknologi digital; (2) Kunci utama sebagai penyuluh profesional adalah mengedepankan pendekatan yang humanis melalui pendekatan interpersonal. Dukungan anggaran dan kebijakan juga diperlukan dalam rangka mewujudkan penyuluh profesional di era kekinian

Digital agriculture to enable adaptation: A supplement to the UNFCCC NAP Technical Guidelines

This document is a supplement to the UNFCCC NAP technical guidelines. It aims to raise awareness amongst national policymakers on the potential importance of digital agriculture (DA) in National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), provide tangible information on how it can be incorporated into NAP formulation and propose ways forward to implementing DA at scale. The research for this supplement included reviewing the existing literature on digital agriculture and its role in supporting climate adaptation, alongside consultations with experts from the research community and UNFCCC. The influence of digital technology on the agricultural sector has grown rapidly over the last decade. So far, its greatest influence has been in the Global North, though it has the potential to greatly disrupt the agricultural sector in the Global South this decade. NAPs offer an opportunity to boost the climate resilience of the agricultural sector through promoting policies, incentives and the public-private partnerships needed for digital agriculture to thrive. Although there can be high upfront costs, the return on investment in digital agriculture can be correspondingly high when designed well. Spatial information can significantly inform future government priorities and decisions regarding crop suitability and adaptation in the agricultural sector. This information can be used to directly feed into the NAPs themselves, as well as to help integrate agriculture into NAP indicators and outputs. Digital market access tools can strengthen farmers’ resilience to climate shocks and resulting market fluctuations. Promoting the adoption of improved digital market access could therefore be a key option to review as part of NAP design. Overall, when well designed, DA can ‘leapfrog’ the challenges associated with traditional delivery channels. By 2030 it is expected that 80% of the world’s rural areas will be digitally connected. This presents enormous potential for DA to help build climate resilience in the agricultural sector. Going forward the NAP process presents a unique opportunity to achieve consistency amongst countries and pool efforts towards implementing DA at scale. It can also provide an entry point for development partners and other actors seeking to expand their own digital agriculture support programs

Quantifying internal and external influences on Swedish farmers’ strategic choices and performance outcomes

The Swedish agricultural sector is undergoing a period of rationalization and structural change where farms have become fewer and larger. This has created a number of challenges for the remaining farms in terms of how to survive and prosper in the changing competitive landscape. This compilation thesis investigates how the external environment (competitive intensity), social environment (advisors and family) and internal environment (identity) influences farmers’ strategic choices related to strategic orientation and entrepreneurship as well as outcomes related to performance.Based on a sample of 388 randomly selected farmers, paper I revealed that as perceptions of competitive intensity increase, farmers tend to become more market and Lean production oriented, but not entrepreneurial oriented. Fittingly, those farms that adopted a more market or Lean production orientation experienced better overall performance than those who increased their entrepreneurial orientation.In paper II, a three-group between subject experimental design was conducted on 122 Swedish farm management students in order to investigate the influence of “cultural intolerance” on the advice given to a farmer considering different strategic options to develop their farm. As the subject’s cultural intolerance (as measured through their level of “Jante”) increased, their recommendations towards adopting entrepreneurship decreased.Paper III in this thesis used a survey of 269 Swedish farmers to measure social identity and the level of involvement of family members on the farm in order to predict strategic choices related to financial, social and environmental sustainability goals. Findings reveal that family influences sustainability goals, however this influence is limited to social sustainability goals, but not economic or environmental sustainability goals. The findings can be useful to understand farmer’s social justification to be in business.Finally, the kappa in this thesis employs a post-literature scoping review in order to reflect on the choices made in conceptualizing, operationalizing, and positioning the work in order to develop recommendations for future research

Towards Our Common Digital Future. Flagship Report.

In the report “Towards Our Common Digital Future”, the WBGU makes it clear that sustainability strategies and concepts need to be fundamentally further developed in the age of digitalization. Only if digital change and the Transformation towards Sustainability are synchronized can we succeed in advancing climate and Earth-system protection and in making social progress in human development. Without formative political action, digital change will further accelerate resource and energy consumption, and exacerbate damage to the environment and the climate. It is therefore an urgent political task to create the conditions needed to place digitalization at the service of sustainable development

Transforming Agriculture in Southern Africa

This book provides a synthesis of the key issues and challenges facing agriculture and food production in Southern Africa. Southern Africa is facing numerous challenges from diverse issues such as agricultural transformations, growing populations, urbanization and climate change. These challenges place great pressure on food security, agriculture, water availability and other natural resources, as well as impacting biodiversity. Drawing on case studies from Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe, the chapters in this book consider these challenges from an interdisciplinary perspective, covering key areas in constraints to production, the most important building blocks of good farming practices, and established and emerging technologies. This book will be a valuable support for informing new policies and processes aimed at improving food production and security and developing sustainable agriculture in Southern Africa. This informative volume will be key reading for those interested in agricultural science, African studies, rural studies, development studies and sustainability. It will also be a valuable resource for policymakers, governmental and nongovernmental organizations, and agricultural practitioners

Becoming a young farmer in the digital age— An island perspective

This study investigates the career construction paths of young farmers and aims to contribute to the literature on the “young farmer problem.” Of particular relevance is this study’s focus on the potential of islands as a new career landscape in the digital age. Young farmers’ subjective experiences toward careers were analyzed based on narrative interviews, quantitative surveys and expert interviews from two EU islands: Crete and the Azores. Firstly, the study provides insights on the behavioral and cognitive dimensions of the career construction model by identifying followed career paths. Secondly, we turn our focus to the role of digital communications in career construction and, thirdly, the study examines the geographical dimension of the model. We find that involvement with farming entails complex career patterns that evolve into passion. Whether their involvement follows planned or unplanned paths, protean career attitudes, desire to experiment, and a strong sense of career self-concept play significant roles in shaping the career narratives. “Experience” and “management” dimensions of online communication drive the construction of careers as a part of a professional identity mechanism. Our results reveal that the “island effect” (maintaining a part-time farming culture) plays a role in cohesive singular and multiple career self-concepts.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio