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Agriculture
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Sustainability of Technological Innovations in Agricultural Green Transitions
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Sustainability of Technological Innovations in Agricultural Green Transitions

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Economics, Policies and Rural Management".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2025 | Viewed by 4728

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Giuseppe Timpanaro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, 95124 Catania, Italy
Interests: economic and environmental sustainability; environmental impact assessment; agri-food economics; efficiency analysis; food supply chain management; strategic marketing planning; consumer economics (theory and empirical applications); agri-food supply chain management; food chain logistics and ICT; economics of technological innovation in the agri-food industry
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Vera Teresa Foti

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Catania, 95124 Catania, Italy
Interests: marketing of agri-food products; policies for the protection and enhancement of quality agri-food products; agro biodiversity; social agriculture; rural development policies; food waste
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The agri-food system is currently facing an unprecedented set of challenges in the areas of green transition, climate change, climate neutrality, and food security. However, several current phenomena, including the consequences of the Covid pandemic and ongoing conflicts in different parts of the world, risk delaying or postponing the achievement of these important goals. Therefore, the path towards transitioning to a more sustainable economy and society is supported by the adoption of innovations, and, in particular, so-called 'enabling technologies' that can make agricultural economies and production activities greener, more digital, and more resilient.

This Special Issue focuses on the economic assessment, in different territorial contexts, of the solutions and impacts of enabling technologies for the sustainable development of agri-food production. Research articles will cover a wide range of topics, including the use of precision techniques and decision support tools for farmers to rationalize the use of agricultural inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, water, and energy), the search for alternative food resources, according to the principles of the circular economy, and the evaluation of mitigation measures on the socio-economic sustainability of farms.

All types of contributions are welcome, including original research, opinions, and reviews.

Dr. Giuseppe Timpanaro
Dr. Vera Teresa Foti
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • agriculture 4.0
  • enabling technologies
  • holistic sustainability of the agri-food system
  • renewable resource management
  • carbon farming
  • precision agriculture
  • recovery and resilience
  • living lab for the co-creation of innovations in enabling technologies
  • economics and politics of agroecology

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

24 pages, 4090 KiB  
Article
Living Lab for the Diffusion of Enabling Technologies in Agriculture: The Case of Sicily in the Mediterranean Context
by Giuseppe Timpanaro, Vera Teresa Foti, Giulio Cascone, Manuela Trovato, Alessandro Grasso and Gabriella Vindigni
Agriculture 2024, 14(12), 2347; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14122347 - 20 Dec 2024
Viewed by 507
Abstract
Enabling technologies (KETs) offer transformative potential for agriculture by addressing major challenges such as climate change, resource efficiency, and sustainable development across economic, social, and environmental dimensions. However, KET adoption is often limited by high R&D requirements, rapid innovation cycles, investment costs, and [...] Read more.
Enabling technologies (KETs) offer transformative potential for agriculture by addressing major challenges such as climate change, resource efficiency, and sustainable development across economic, social, and environmental dimensions. However, KET adoption is often limited by high R&D requirements, rapid innovation cycles, investment costs, and cultural or training barriers, especially among small agricultural businesses. Sicily’s agricultural sector, already strained by pandemic-related economic setbacks and inflationary pressures, faces additional barriers in adopting these technologies. To investigate these adoption challenges and develop viable solutions, the ARIA Living Lab (Agritech Research Innovation Environment) was established within the PNRR framework. A qualitative approach was used, involving documentary analysis and data from stakeholders across Sicilian agriculture. This approach enabled an in-depth exploration of sector-specific needs, infrastructure, and socio-economic factors influencing KET adoption. The analysis highlighted that adoption barriers differ significantly across sectors (citrus, olive, and wine), with public incentives and digital infrastructure playing key roles. However, a persistent lack of technical skills among farmers reduces the effectiveness of these innovations. The findings suggest that an integrated approach—combining targeted incentives, training, and enhanced infrastructure—is essential for a sustainable transition to KETs. Future research should examine collaborative efforts between farms and tech providers and evaluate the impact of public policies in promoting the widespread, informed adoption of enabling technologies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Technological Innovations in Agricultural Green Transitions)
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21 pages, 3225 KiB  
Article
Research on Agricultural Machinery Services for the Purpose of Promoting Conservation Agriculture: An Evolutionary Game Analysis Involving Farmers, Agricultural Machinery Service Organizations and Governments
by Fan Zhang, Jindi Bei, Qingzhe Shi, Ying Wang and Ling Wu
Agriculture 2024, 14(8), 1383; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14081383 - 16 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1354
Abstract
Agricultural machinery services are an important guaranteed way to promote Conservation Agriculture. It is of great significance to study how to encourage farmers to choose agricultural machinery services to promote the standard implementation of Conservation Agriculture technology. In order to promote the implementation [...] Read more.
Agricultural machinery services are an important guaranteed way to promote Conservation Agriculture. It is of great significance to study how to encourage farmers to choose agricultural machinery services to promote the standard implementation of Conservation Agriculture technology. In order to promote the implementation of Conservation Agriculture and improve the supply of agricultural machinery services, this paper identifies the stakeholders of normative Conservation Agriculture technology adoption behavior and the relationship between agricultural machinery service organizations, farmers and agriculture-related governments. An evolutionary game model was established to evaluate the decision-making characteristics of tripartite behavior and simulate the evolution trend of stakeholder behavior. The results show that agriculture-related governments, agricultural machinery service organizations and farmers can achieve evolutionarily stable strategies. The punishments and subsidies of agriculture-related governments and the supervision cost of all links of agricultural machinery social service organizations can significantly affect the behavior strategies of the three parties. The government set up reasonable subsidy and punishment mechanisms, and the agricultural machinery service organization controls the supervision cost of all links to ensure the stability of the three-party behavior strategy. This study provides theoretical guidance for scientific decision making and active cooperative development of the government, farmers and agricultural machinery service organizations and lays a foundation for countermeasures and suggestions to further promote farmers’ implementation of Conservation Agriculture technology. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Technological Innovations in Agricultural Green Transitions)
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28 pages, 325 KiB  
Article
Digitalization Drives the Green Transformation of Agriculture-Related Enterprises: A Case Study of A-Share Agriculture-Related Listed Companies
by Yue Yuan, Xiaoyang Guo and Yang Shen
Agriculture 2024, 14(8), 1308; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14081308 - 7 Aug 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1814
Abstract
The advent of new digital technologies has catalyzed a disruptive technological revolution, fostering significant industrial changes and advancing the green transformation of the economy and society. This paper investigates the influence of digitization on the green transformation of agribusiness firms, focusing on agriculture-related [...] Read more.
The advent of new digital technologies has catalyzed a disruptive technological revolution, fostering significant industrial changes and advancing the green transformation of the economy and society. This paper investigates the influence of digitization on the green transformation of agribusiness firms, focusing on agriculture-related companies listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share markets from 2013 to 2021. Employing fixed-effect and mediated-effect models, the study examines the mechanisms through which digitization impacts these enterprises. The findings indicate that the relationship between digitization and green transformation in agribusiness is non-linear; a certain threshold of digitization must be achieved before it positively affects green transformation. The effect of digitization on green transformation varies according to the nature of business ownership, company size, supply chain flexibility, and regional environmental regulations. The study reveals that digitization influences green transformation through several mechanisms that promote economies of scale, technological innovation, and structural adjustments. While economies of scale derived from digitization do not directly support green transformation, they facilitate technological innovation and structural adjustments that enhance green initiatives in agribusiness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sustainability of Technological Innovations in Agricultural Green Transitions)
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