Agriculture 4.0 and climate change in Brazil

Viola, Eduardo; Mendes, Vinícius

doi:10.1590/1809-4422asoc20200246r2vu2022l3oa

Cited by 4 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 37 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Transitions in agricultural systems focus on the systematic changes needed to reduce the impact of agricultural production on the environment (Viola & Mendes, 2022). There is an emphasis on technological innovations as solutions to the environmental issues associated with agrifood production.…”

Section: Agriculturementioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, widespread adoption of these technologies is hindered by the significant capital investment required. This especially impacts small farmers with limited financial resources (Pant et al, 2014;Swaffield et al, 2019;Viola & Mendes, 2022). Furthermore, large-scale agribusinesses with significant capital and technological resources may adopt these technologies to improve productivity rather than transitioning to more sustainable practices (Hackfort, 2023).…”

Section: Agriculturementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Agrifood Sustainability Transitions in Firms and Industry: A Bibliographic Analysis of Research Themes

Lees,

Sivakumar,

Lucock

2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

There is a growing consensus that the modern food system lies at the centre of the grand challenges facing humanity and requires urgent and profound changes in the way that food is produced, processed, distributed and consumed. This review analyses sustainability transitions within agrifood systems, focusing on the role of firms and industries as defined by the Sustainable Transitions Research Network (STRN). This paper conducts the first systematic literature review using bibliometric analysis to assess the current state of research on this theme. The findings reveal a significant increase in publications related to firms and industries within agrifood sustainability transitions. Furthermore, the current research is geographically concentrated in the European Union. The review identifies four key themes in the literature based on co-occurrence of keywords. These are agriculture, innovation, governance, food systems and agroecology. The review identifies increasing awareness of the role of farmers in driving sustainability transitions at the farm level. Furthermore, there is an increasing awareness of the interrelated characteristics of the agrifood system which acknowledges the need for sustainable innovations to occur at multiple stages of the agrifood system. It also shows that there is growing evidence that innovations can occur through disruptive as well as incremental innovation, and highlights the importance of governance influencing transitions. The literature raises questions about Alternative Food Networks as sustainable innovations, their potential for significant change in the established food system and the validity of their claims to food equity and environmental sustainability. A key theme emerging from the literature is an ecological perspective that identifies the complex biological processes and ecosystems as an integral part of agricultural production. These findings provide a greater understanding of the current literature landscape of agrifood sustainable transitions relating to firms and industries and lay a foundation for future research.

show abstract

Section: Agriculturementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Agriculturementioning

confidence: 99%

Agrifood Sustainability Transitions in Firms and Industry: A Bibliographic Analysis of Research Themes

Lees,

Sivakumar,

Lucock

2024

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…At the planetary scale, the "additional amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus activated by humans are now so large that they significantly disturb the global cycles of these elements" (Rockström et al, 2009, p. 473). Besides disturbing the nitrogen cycle, modern industrial agriculture has contributed to the concentration of lands in the hands of medium and large farmers to the detriment of small farmers; the compacting and impermeabilization of soils due to the extensive use of heavy agricultural machinery; the erosion of lands in agricultural countries; the contamination of water, food, and animals with fertilizers and/or pesticides; the removal of the native vegetation cover from extensive continuous areas; and the silting up of rivers and reservoirs, among other consequences (Viola & Mendes, 2022).…”

Section: Environmental Challenges In the Anthropocene: Theoretical Pe...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This means that agriculture in Brazil represents severe environmental impacts (e.g., deforestation, excessive use of water, soil degradation, loss of biodiversity, changes in the nitrogen cycle, etc.) when not managed sustainably (Viola & Franchini, 2018). To cope with the challenge, Agriculture 4.0 could become a new productive paradigm, potentially enhancing productivity while also propelling sustainability across agricultural value chains.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…To cope with the challenge, Agriculture 4.0 could become a new productive paradigm, potentially enhancing productivity while also propelling sustainability across agricultural value chains. However, thus far there is little research investigating if Agriculture 4.0 is indeed a positive driver for environmental sustainability in Brazil (Viola & Mendes, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Green Digitalization? Agriculture 4.0 and the Challenges of Environmental Governance in Brazil

Mendes

Viola

2023

Environment &Amp; Policy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Brazil is an agricultural powerhouse and a global frontrunner in several crops, including soybeans, coffee, maize, and sugarcane. However, this position has taken its toll on the country's environmental sustainability over the years, resulting in deforestation, soil acidification, loss of biodiversity, and other environmental hazards. Recently, a new technological paradigm has emerged in Brazil's agriculture, consisting of the intensified use of digital technologies in various production stages. Some of these technologies include artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, big data, and blockchain, resulting in the so-called Agriculture 4.0. This chapter provides an institutionalist account of Agriculture 4.0 in Brazil, focusing on the challenges and opportunities borne by this new paradigm to the country's environmental governance architecture. Our analysis suggests that Agriculture 4.0 has been adopted slowly but progressively in the country. While some hi-tech portions of the agroindustry have adopted digitalization to improve productivity, they have mostly neglected the possibilities of Agriculture 4.0 to improve sustainability governance. Moreover, except for a few high-capitalized small farmers, digital farming is far from being a reality for the majority of Brazil's family farmers, particularly those located in the North and Northeast regions.

show abstract

Interest Groups in Brazilian Climate Policy: an Analysis of the Agricultural and Energy Sectors,

Mendes,

Viola

2023

Bras. political sci. rev.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Climate governance in Brazil is necessarily connected to the interests of three sectors: deforestation and land use change, agriculture, and energy, which, combined, represent around 90 percent of the country's emissions. While there is a significant number of studies on the first sector, few studies have looked into the bottlenecks of decarbonization in the agricultural and energy sectors. Thus, this article addresses some modulations in Brazilian climate politics and policy by analyzing the interest groups associated with low-carbon transitions in these two sectors. We particularly look into corporate and industrial interests and their dynamic relations with domestic and international policies, which so far have resulted in 'climate coordination gaps' that hinder deep decarbonization in these sectors. The results of the study detail actors, agendas, policies, interests, and challenges for a low-carbon transition in agriculture (family farming and agribusiness) and in the energy sector. The results corroborate the relevance of interest group analysis to understand the complexity of Brazil's domestic climate politics and policy, as well as the country's behavior in foreign policy arenas regarding climate change.

show abstract

Agriculture 4.0 and climate change in Brazil

Cited by 4 publications

References 37 publications

Agrifood Sustainability Transitions in Firms and Industry: A Bibliographic Analysis of Research Themes

Agrifood Sustainability Transitions in Firms and Industry: A Bibliographic Analysis of Research Themes

Green Digitalization? Agriculture 4.0 and the Challenges of Environmental Governance in Brazil

Interest Groups in Brazilian Climate Policy: an Analysis of the Agricultural and Energy Sectors,

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About