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Sustainability
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Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems
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Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Agriculture".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 February 2024) | Viewed by 7620

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Márta Gaál

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Agricultural Economics, H-1093 Budapest, Hungary
Interests: digitalization of agriculture; AKIS; sustainable agriculture
Dr. Csaba Bálint

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Agricultural Economics, H-1093 Budapest, Hungary
Interests: sustainable rural development; social innovation; advisory
Dr. Pál Goda

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institute of Agricultural Economics, H-1093 Budapest, Hungary
Interests: rural development and innovation; systems theory and agro-innovation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Innovation and digitalization are essential elements of sustainable agri-food development. New innovative solutions are needed to increase production efficiency, reduce environmental pressures, adapt production quality to consumer needs, and ensure the farms’ viability in changing socio-economic, climatic, and ecological environmental aspects. In addition, knowledge has become a leading production factor in the information age. The modernization of the agri-food sector needs the promotion of knowledge creation and knowledge exchange to support decision-making, problem-solving and innovation in agriculture.

The aim of the Special Issue is to understand the concepts, methods and features of agricultural knowledge and innovation systems, agricultural communication networks, explore the role of innovation in sustainable development, and farmers’ attitudes towards these innovations. The topics in focus also include the role of education, digitalisation and e-infrastructures in knowledge exchange and social innovation, with particular attention to good practices. Results are expected to support effective agri-food policies and strategies.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Mapping and analyzing the agricultural innovation and digitalization (eco)systems
  • Co-creation of knowledge and innovations
  • The role of knowledge transfer services (advisors, education, training, etc.) in innovation
  • Behavior of producers related to innovation (adoption, creation, etc.)
  • Measuring and assessing innovation efficiency and effectiveness
  • Monitoring and evaluation of agricultural innovation policies
  • Analyzing potential drivers and barriers of agricultural innovations
  • Digitalisation and innovation
  • Experiences, case studies and good practices in agricultural innovation.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Márta Gaál
Dr. Csaba Bálint
Dr. Pál Goda
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. Sustainability 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 2400 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

  • AKIS
  • innovation system
  • knowledge transfer
  • advisory
  • innovation support
  • benefits of innovation and digitalisation
  • innovation and digitalisation policy
  • smart technologies
  • sustainable agriculture

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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23 pages, 1571 KiB  
Article
Knowledge Exchange and Innovation Adoption Preferences of Arable Growers in Ireland’s Atlantic-Influenced Climate
by Jack Jameson, Kevin McDonnell, Vijaya Bhaskar Alwarnaidu Vijayarajan and Patrick D. Forristal
Sustainability 2024, 16(4), 1419; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16041419 - 7 Feb 2024
Viewed by 848
Abstract
The adoption of innovations, such as alternative crop establishment systems, can have significant impacts on farming systems and sustainability. The recent increased adoption of non-inversion establishment systems in Ireland allowed for an evaluation of technology adoption practices and information source use and access. [...] Read more.
The adoption of innovations, such as alternative crop establishment systems, can have significant impacts on farming systems and sustainability. The recent increased adoption of non-inversion establishment systems in Ireland allowed for an evaluation of technology adoption practices and information source use and access. Of the 154 arable growers surveyed, 50% practiced plough-based establishment and 50% used non-inversion establishment (min-till, strip-till, and direct drill systems). Differences in socio-demographics, farm characteristics, innovation adoption preferences, information sources, and information access methods used by growers who operated different systems were recorded. Direct drill growers had higher formal education levels and more off-farm employment than other growers and were prepared to take more risk than min-till growers, who were prepared to take more risk than plough-based growers in technology adoption scenarios. For both major change and agronomic decisions, non-inversion growers (especially direct drill) had substantially more non-Irish information sources in their top three information sources, suggesting the need for more national research on these systems in Ireland. Access to information through in-person interactions and print media was preferred by most. This study highlights the risk, where appropriate research is not available, of early adopters overly relying on non-validated information, potentially leading to the adoption of less sustainable practices. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems)
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24 pages, 1380 KiB  
Article
Interactive Approach for Innovation: The Experience of the Italian EIP AGRI Operational Groups
by Andrea Arzeni, Francesca Giarè, Mara Lai, Maria Valentina Lasorella, Rossella Ugati and Anna Vagnozzi
Sustainability 2023, 15(19), 14271; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151914271 - 27 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1251
Abstract
The interactive approach implies that a heterogeneous group of actors cooperates to identify, develop, and introduce innovative solutions on the ground. Twenty-year studies have shown this approach to be the most suitable to support innovation and knowledge sharing in the agri-food system. The [...] Read more.
The interactive approach implies that a heterogeneous group of actors cooperates to identify, develop, and introduce innovative solutions on the ground. Twenty-year studies have shown this approach to be the most suitable to support innovation and knowledge sharing in the agri-food system. The present study aims to analyse how the interaction process works in the implementation of OGs in Italy, and its effectiveness, given the relevance assigned to EIP AGRI as a driver for innovation in the past and the current CAP programming periods. An online survey submitted to 270 OGs and 10 in-depth case studies were used to analyse the interaction process and verify whether a common implementation pattern can be identified. The results show that the implementation of OGs in Italy helped capture the real issues of farmers/rural entrepreneurs and support the creation and strengthening of relationships between partners. However, low levels of internal and external communications and the lack of efforts to disseminate the results reduced the effectiveness of the groups. The study showed how complex it is to describe the processes triggered by the interactive approach, being that it is influenced by the type of relationships existing between partners and by other external factors. The implementation of the next generation of OGs could be strengthened by improving their capacity to address the issues of large groups of farmers, promoting the presence of intermediaries to dialogue between partners and facilitating the active participation of advisors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems)
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Review

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25 pages, 2509 KiB  
Review
Systematic Review of Misinformation in Social and Online Media for the Development of an Analytical Framework for Agri-Food Sector
by Ataharul Chowdhury, Khondokar H. Kabir, Abdul-Rahim Abdulai and Md Firoze Alam
Sustainability 2023, 15(6), 4753; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15064753 - 7 Mar 2023
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 4661
Abstract
The ubiquity of social and online media networks, the credulousness of online communities, coupled with limited accountability pose a risk of mis-, dis-, mal-, information (mis-dis-mal-information)—the intentional or unintentional spread of false, misleading and right information related to agri-food topics. However, agri-food mis-dis-malinformation [...] Read more.
The ubiquity of social and online media networks, the credulousness of online communities, coupled with limited accountability pose a risk of mis-, dis-, mal-, information (mis-dis-mal-information)—the intentional or unintentional spread of false, misleading and right information related to agri-food topics. However, agri-food mis-dis-malinformation in social media and online digital agricultural communities of practice (CoPs) remains underexplored. There is also a limited theoretical and conceptual foundation for understanding mis-dis-malinformation topics in the agri-food sectors. The study aims to review mis-dis-malinformation literature and offer a framework to help understand agri-food mis-dis-malinformation in social media and online CoPs. This paper performs a systematic review following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). The review shows that many disciplines, particularly communication, social media studies, computer science, health studies, political science and journalism, are increasingly engaging with mis-dis-malinformation research. This systematic research generates a framework based on six thematic categories for holistically understanding and assessing agri-food mis-dis-malinformation in social and online media communities. The framework includes mis-dis-malinformation characterization, source identification, diffusion mechanisms, stakeholder impacts, detection tactics, and mis-dis-malinformation curtailment and countermeasures. The paper contributes to advancing the emerging literature on ‘controversial topics’, ‘misinformation’, and ‘information integrity’ of the virtual agri-food advisory services. This is the first attempt to systematically analyze and incorporate experience from diverse fields of mis-dis-malinformation research that will inform future scholarly works in facilitating conversations and advisory efforts in the agri-food sector. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems)
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