Dynamics of Using Digital Technologies in Agroecological Settings: A Case Study Approach

Harika Meesala () and Gianluca Brunori
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Harika Meesala: Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto, 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Gianluca Brunori: Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto, 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 15, 1-22

Abstract: The main objective of this study is to offer fresh empirical insight into the evolving relationship between digitalisation and agroecology by examining Mulini Di Segalari, a biodynamic vineyard in Italy. While much of the existing literature positions digital agriculture as potentially misaligned with agroecological principles, this case study unveils how digital tools can actively reinforce agroecological practices when embedded within supportive socio-technical networks. Novel findings of this study highlight how the use of digital technologies supported agroecological practices and led to the reconfiguration of social relations, knowledge systems, and governance structures within the farm. Employing a technographic approach revealed that the farm’s transformation was driven not just by technology but through collaborative arrangements involving different stakeholders. These interactions created new routines, roles, and information flows, supporting a more distributed and participatory model of innovation. By demonstrating how digital tools can catalyse agroecological transitions in a context-sensitive and socially embedded manner, this study challenges the binary framings of technology versus ecology and calls for a more nuanced understanding of digitalisation as a socio-technical process.

Keywords: digitalisation; agroecology; socio-technical configurations; technography; case study; context; collaboration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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