Technological Innovation and Agrifood Systems Resilience: The Potential and Perils of Three Different Strategies

The interest in technological innovation has burgeoned in recent years. Theory and research support the vital role of innovative technologies in enhancing agrifood systems resilience. In this theoretical contribution, focusing on different sets of technologies, we present three technological innovation strategies, discuss their potential for strengthening resilience, and expose some open issues that need to be addressed. Responsible technological innovation arose as a response to the growing concerns about the possible unintended impacts of mega-technological trends, like digital farming tools or nanotechnologies, on agrifood systems. Although responsibly innovating is far from easy, and despite the gaps between theoretical ideals and innovation praxis, responsible technological innovation is a promising development since it can prevent counterintuitive effects of technologies on resilience. On the other hand, poly-innovation emerged as a social practice in which internetworking technologies facilitate—and create bundles with—organizational, social, and business innovation. In that strategy, technology represents a mediator of resilience-enhancing social behavior. However, by promoting the uberization of agrifood systems, poly-innovation is associated with various uncertainties. Finally, micro-innovation refers to the incremental adaptations of existing technologies or the development of new ones through bricolage and tinkering. The commercialization of such innovations through open design can increase the resilience of small-scale farming, especially in low-income countries. Nonetheless, the lack of financial resources, technical assistance, and institutional support hamper the full exploitation of micro-innovation

Can Adult Education Boost Sustainability Transitions? Some Evidence from Farmers and Teachers

Sustainability transitions are long-term processes that involve interactions among societal groups and promote co-evolutionary socio-technical transformations aimed at addressing crucial sustainability challenges. Although the focus of relevant work is often on groups, sustainability transitions also require personal transformations. Can adult education be a vehicle for promoting such transformations? In the present study, we attempted to answer this question by examining whether participation in sustainability-related adult education programs (AEPs) leads to the development of sustainability awareness, formation of sustainability-related values, construction of sustainability empathy, and initiation of pro-sustainability action among individuals. Following a quantitative research design and drawing upon data from farmers and teachers, we compared attendees and non-attendees of AEPs on the above-mentioned constructs. The analysis revealed that attendees scored significantly higher than non-attendees in awareness, values, empathy, and action. A series of hierarchical regressions confirmed the association between participation and the outcome variables, also showing no effects of demographic factors on the models. These results underscore the potential contribution of sustainability-related adult education to individual transformation, thus suggesting that targeted adult education interventions can facilitate sustainability transitions

Can Adult Education Boost Sustainability Transitions? Some Evidence from Farmers and Teachers

Sustainability transitions are long-term processes that involve interactions among societal groups and promote co-evolutionary socio-technical transformations aimed at addressing crucial sustainability challenges. Although the focus of relevant work is often on groups, sustainability transitions also require personal transformations. Can adult education be a vehicle for promoting such transformations? In the present study, we attempted to answer this question by examining whether participation in sustainability-related adult education programs (AEPs) leads to the development of sustainability awareness, formation of sustainability-related values, construction of sustainability empathy, and initiation of pro-sustainability action among individuals. Following a quantitative research design and drawing upon data from farmers and teachers, we compared attendees and non-attendees of AEPs on the above-mentioned constructs. The analysis revealed that attendees scored significantly higher than non-attendees in awareness, values, empathy, and action. A series of hierarchical regressions confirmed the association between participation and the outcome variables, also showing no effects of demographic factors on the models. These results underscore the potential contribution of sustainability-related adult education to individual transformation, thus suggesting that targeted adult education interventions can facilitate sustainability transitions

Extension and Advisory Organizations on the Road to the Digitalization of Animal Farming: An Organizational Learning Perspective

Agricultural digitalization emerged as a radical innovation, punctuating the gradual evolution of the agrifood sector and having the potential to fundamentally restructure the context within which extension and advisory organizations operate. Digital technologies are expected to alter the practice and culture of animal farming in the future. To suit the changing environmental conditions, organizations can make minor adjustments or can call into question their purposes, belief systems, and operating paradigms. Each pattern of change is associated with different types of organizational learning. In this conceptual article, adopting an organizational learning perspective and building upon organizational change models, we present two potential change and learning pathways that extension and advisory organizations can follow to cope with digitalization: morphostasis and morphogenesis. Morphostatic change has a transitional nature and helps organizations survive by adapting to the new environmental conditions. Organizations that follow this pathway learn by recognizing and correcting errors. This way, they increase their competence in specific services and activities. Morphogenetic change, on the other hand, occurs when organizations acknowledge the need to move beyond existing operating paradigms, redefine their purposes, and explore new possibilities. By transforming themselves, organizations learn new ways to understand and interpret contextual cues. We conclude by presenting some factors that explain extension and advisory organizations’ tendency to morphostasis

Digital Strategy Decision Support Systems: Agrifood Supply Chain Management in SMEs

The specific attributes of agrifood supply chains, along with their importance for the economy and society, have led to an increased interest in the parameters that enhance their effectiveness. Recently, numerous digital tools aimed at improving supply chain effectiveness have been developed. The majority of existing research focuses on optimizing individual processes rather than the overall growth of a food supply chain. This study aims to identify the stages of the information systems planning (ISP) process that affect the success of developing a strategic decision support system (DSS) for improving the decision-making process in the agrifood supply chains. Data were collected from 66 IT executives from Greek small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the agrifood sector and analyzed using regression analysis. The results revealed that situation analysis is the only stage of ISP that predicts ISP success. These findings can assist managers in appreciating the critical role of ISP for improving the performance of agrifood supply chain operations. Implementing the most appropriate information systems (IS) and digital tools results in increased competitive advantage, cost savings, and increased customer value

Experiential, Social, Connectivist, or Transformative Learning? Farm Advisors and the Construction of Agroecological Knowledge

How do agronomists offering advisory support to farmers who practice agroecology construct agroecology-related knowledge, and how does experiential, social, and connectivist learning lead to knowledge creation and facilitate their personal and professional transformation? In this study, following a mixed research design, which combined thematic analysis and simultaneous regressions, and drawing on data from a sample of Greek farm advisors, we sought to answer these questions. Our analysis revealed that the engagement with the praxis of agroecology lays the basis for the development of advisors’ agroecological knowledge. This knowledge is then negotiated and socially reconstructed within the social fabric of agroecological communities. Connectivist knowledge, derived from multiple sources, is also validated within these communities. In its turn, agroecology-related knowledge leads advisors to alter their worldviews, thus transforming their professional and personal selves. These findings confirm that agroecological knowledge has both an experiential and a social dimension. Our results also disclose that advisors facilitate the osmosis of knowledge toward agroecological communities. From a theoretical point of view, our study highlights that by merging different learning theories, we can better depict how agroecological knowledge emerges and evolves