Agriculture 4.0: Broadening Responsible Innovation in an Era of Smart Farming

Abstract

Agriculture is undergoing a new technology revolution supported by policy-makers around the world. While smart technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, robotics, and the Internet of Things, could play an important role in achieving enhanced productivity and greater eco-efficiency, critics have suggested that the consideration of social implications is being side-lined. Research illustrates that some agricultural practitioners are concerned about using certain smart technologies. Indeed, some studies argue that agricultural societies may be changed, or "re-scripted," in undesirable ways, and there is precedent to suggest that wider society may be concerned about radical new agricultural technologies. We therefore encourage policy-makers, funders, technology companies, and researchers to consider the views of both farming communities and wider society. In agriculture, the concept of responsible innovation has not been widely considered, although two recent papers have made useful suggestions. We build on these interventions by arguing that key dimensions of responsible innovation-anticipation, inclusion, reflexivity, and responsiveness-should be applied to this fourth agricultural revolution. We argue, however, that ideas of responsible innovation should be further developed in order to make them relevant and robust for emergent agri-tech, and that frameworks should be tested in practice to see if they can actively shape innovation trajectories. In making suggestions on how to construct a more comprehensive framework for responsible innovation in sustainable agriculture, we call for: (i) a more systemic approach that maps and attends to the wider ecology of innovations associated with this fourth agricultural revolution; (ii) a broadening of notions of "inclusion" in responsible innovation to account better for diverse and already existing spaces of participation in agri-tech, and (iii) greater testing of frameworks in practice to see if they are capable of making innovation processes more socially responsible. Some would argue that the "fourth agricultural revolution" (Lejon and Frankelius, 2015) or "agriculture 4.0" (Bartmer in Frankelius et al., 2017) has already begun. Each previous agricultural revolution was radical at the time-the first representing a transition from hunting and gathering to settled agriculture, the second relating to the British agricultural revolution in the 18th century, and the third relating to post-war productivity increases associated with mechanization and the Green Revolution in the developing world. While technological innovation is thus not new

Responsible Agricultural Mechanization Innovation for the Sustainable Development of Nepal’s Hillside Farming System

“…Youth, generational differences, and gender will definitely be important. Other relevant considerations should be farm holding size, ecology, social and economic class, access to capital (including remittances), and education [7,15]. For example, as recognized by Gurung-Goodrich et al [70], participatory development and testing of farm machines can help determine mechanization innovation suitable for hillside farmers who cultivate a diversity of crops on narrow terraces.…”

“…Ajilore and Fatunbi [73] also highlighted that there is an urgent need for the participation of diverse actors/agricultural futurists in foresight exercises so that they can predict the future of agriculture and build the forthcoming development discourses and agricultural policies and guide their effective implementation. Further, research findings also revealed that potential technological failure and its implication on small-holder terrace farmers are not discussed much in the AMPP, which is a critical indicator of responsible innovation [7,15]. Bronson [25] emphasized that innovation is not only targeted to solve the problem, but it also reorders the way society works, and changes the power relation and authority among different stakeholders along with farmers involved in the innovation system.…”

“…As a result, smallholder hillside farms in many developing countries still suffer today from a lack of socially and environmentally responsible mechanization, a recognized limitation of the "transfer of technology" paradigm of agricultural development [6]. Rose and Chilvers [7] further argued that most nations such as UK, Australia, India, and Japan are investing on smart farming approaches and developing smart technologies such as drones, robots, and artificial intelligence. It is expected that agri-tech revolutions will occur worldwide which will bring a rapid transformation in agriculture; thus Rose and Chilvers [7] described it as the era of the fourth agriculture revolution or Agriculture 4.0 [8].…”

“…Rose and Chilvers [7] further argued that most nations such as UK, Australia, India, and Japan are investing on smart farming approaches and developing smart technologies such as drones, robots, and artificial intelligence. It is expected that agri-tech revolutions will occur worldwide which will bring a rapid transformation in agriculture; thus Rose and Chilvers [7] described it as the era of the fourth agriculture revolution or Agriculture 4.0 [8]. Smart technologies are also being promoted as an integral part of Sustainable Intensification (SI) of agriculture even though SI aims to increase the agricultural productivity with less environmental damage and more social benefits [9].…”

Experimenting with RRI tools to Drive Sustainable Agri-Food Research: The SASS Case Study from Sub-Saharan Africa

“…Many of these are only technical proposals, such as the selection of the most productive cultivars and the identification of regulatory systems to enhance the consumption of specific food products. However, modern-day research programs are enlarging food research to include sustainability objectives at environmental, economic, and social levels [71]. To experiment with these approaches, a systematic comparison between scientists with different skills and different areas is needed to tackle common, multidisciplinary problems strongly related to the new 2030 Agenda holistic view on sustainable development [72].…”