Empowering European agriculture: Policy recommendations to enhance stakeholder engagement for sustainable technology adoption

Lisa Parce and Trevor Donnellan

No 356715, Agricultural Economics Society 99th Annual Conference, April 14-16, 2025, The University of Bordeaux, France from Agricultural Economics Society (AES)

Abstract: This scoping review and multi-tiered qualitative analysis examines data collected through the QuantiFarm project, literature, policies and EU projects to understand the roles of stakeholders in influencing European farmers to adopt Digital Agricultural Technology Solutions (DATSs). The paper adopts a holistic sustainability framework to address economic, social and environmental factors which influence farmers' decision-making about DATSs adoption. Key stakeholders, namely farmers, advisors, technology providers and policymakers, play unique and complementary roles in creating an innovation ecosystem. During the lifecycle of DATSs adoption, farmers face multiple drivers and barriers. Challenges such as cost, ease of use, data ownership, and interoperability continue to hinder uptake of technologies. Farmers often cite concerns about lack of transparency regarding costs, unclear benefits, and a lack of aftermarket (post-adoption) support. Advisors and technology providers must bridge these gaps by fostering trust, simplifying access to resources and co-developing solutions. Policymakers must ensure that incentives, education, and funding mechanisms are targeted and accessible to farmers of all scales. This study synthesises diverse perspectives and presents actionable recommendations to enhance stakeholders’ roles in the DATSs adoption process, shaping policy frameworks which support sustainable technology adoption. Transparent communication, varied education, reliable advice, tailored farmer-centric technology design and behaviourally driven policies are critical enablers of adoption. Themes resulted from study analysis and are presented as behavioural interventions for embedding in future policy structures. These insights aim to empower policy makers across Europe to support stakeholders in providing farmers with the tools, knowledge and confidence to adopt technologies which improve resilience and sustainability across economic, social and environmental dimensions.

Keywords: Agricultural and Food Policy; Environmental Economics and Policy; Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies; Sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 35
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:aes025:356715

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.356715

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