Agriculture 4.0 represents a huge opportunity for the transformation of agrifood sectors. However, its adoption (and diffusion) in real-world farming contexts faces multiple challenges. This study focuses on greenhouse farming within the Mediterranean basin. It aims to assess the needs of actors involved in the uptake of Agriculture 4.0 and define enabling conditions to support achieving these needs, focusing on the introduction of an innovative decision support system in real-world greenhouses for tomato production. A qualitative and comparative approach is implemented, using participatory data collection methods with cross-disciplinary experts from four case studies across the Mediterranean Basin. Data are collected through one-to-one open discussions, supported using context and SWOT analyses to stimulate reflection and recall. The findings highlight the need to improve digital literacy among farmers and advisors, build trust through tailored education conditions and mentorship, and support young farmers with financial incentives and training. Market dynamics are relevant as well, pinpointing the need for stronger product images and increasing consumer awareness through certification and labelling. Great interest and technology potential emerges from the possibility to enable (partial) remote work thereby benefiting a work-life balance. Simplifying bureaucratic processes and enhancing policy support for cooperation and farmer unions are also essential for encouraging farmers to adopt digital technology.

Agricultural practices face growing challenges, including climate change, resource constraints, meeting sustainability goals and food security. This study examines stakeholder perspectives on smart farming technologies and their integration into policy frameworks. A mixed-method approach, using triangulation of qualitative and quantitative data, combines an online survey (targeting experts from academia, industry, and policymaking) distributed through the Agritech project network and face-to-face interviews (engaging key stakeholders with in-depth knowledge of agricultural policy and technology implementation). Key findings reveal significant optimism about the potential of smart technologies to enhance efficiency, sustainability, and productivity in agriculture. However, widespread adoption is hindered by barriers such as high initial investment costs and a lack of technical knowledge. The study identifies policy gaps and provides actionable recommendations, including financial incentives, capacity-building initiatives, and improved infrastructure, to support the integration of these technologies. The findings underscore the critical need for adaptive policies that align with the evolving landscape of agricultural innovation, ensuring equitable access and long-term sustainability.

The adoption of digital technologies in agriculture is essential for enhancing sustainability, productivity, and resource efficiency. This study investigates the factors influencing Italian horticultural farmers' adoption of innovative water-smart agricultural technologies using an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM3). The research employs a structured survey conducted with 251 Italian farmers, analysing their perceptions of technology usefulness, ease of use, social norms, and sustainability outcomes. Structural equation modelling (SEM) confirms that perceived usefulness significantly influences adoption intentions, while perceived ease of use plays a limited role. Social norms and sustainability-related benefits also emerge as critical determinants. Results also indicate the impact of farm size and workforce on adoption behaviour. These findings highlight the need for targeted policies, training programs, and financial incentives to overcome adoption barriers. The study provides insights for policymakers, technology developers, and agricultural stakeholders to foster digital innovation in the horticultural sector, contributing to sustainable water management practices.

Agriculture 4.0 enhances efficiency, sustainability, and yields while supporting climate change mitigation and adaptation. This study explores the adoption of Agriculture 4.0 among 131 durum wheat farmers in Sardinia, focusing on differences between marginal and non-marginal areas. Using an extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) framework, which includes perceived performance risk, the study identifies key factors influencing adoption. Facilitating conditions positively impact the adoption intentions, and perceived performance risk has a negative impact. However, performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and price value don’t significantly affect adoption intentions. Policy recommendations include financial support, technical advice access, training programs, and awareness campaigns to promote adoption. These interventions aim to address barriers and foster equitable integration of Agriculture 4.0 technologies across diverse farming contexts.

In this paper, we address a gap in the literature concerning pollination management, the pollinator deficit, and conservation objectives. By employing a farm level survey of UK farmers, we examine farmers’ attitudes, understanding and management of pollinators. Based on descriptive statistics and regression analysis, we found significant variation in interest and understanding of the impact of pollinators on commercial crops meaning that many respondents did not consider they had a pollinator deficit in terms of crop quality, quantity, or financial impacts. At the same time, many farmers are willing to adopt environmentally beneficial land-use measures if suitable advice and financial incentives are offered. However, there is little evidence of coordination of actions between farms to support wild pollinators. These findings indicate a potential disconnect between a farmer’s understanding of the impact on agricultural output from a pollinator deficit and the agricultural benefits from the adoption of specific environmental measures.

In Iran, barley is considered the second-largest cultivated crop. However, more than 40% of Iran’s requirements are imported from the international market. Due to the importance of barley in providing livestock feed and food security, its price variation is a critical issue for Iranian governments. Therefore, in this study, the influence of different determinants of domestic barley price, such as international price, real effective exchange rate variation, price volatility of barley, Russian-Ukrainian armed conflict, and the existence of economic sanctions, has been investigated by applying the Markov-Switching model. The main results indicated that in both states, the real effective exchange rate was the primary determinant of the domestic price. Moreover, the impact of international price in first state is much more powerful than the second state. Also, the results revealed that the persistence of US economic sanctions amplified barley prices in both regimes. According to these findings, the government should eliminate interventions in the barley market by utilizing the preferential exchange rate for importing barley. Moreover, pursuing a political agenda to create a stable political condition and lift economic sanctions should be considered the priority for the government to mitigate the barley price upsurge.

A large amount of policy support is spent to foster the development of rural areas in Europe. However, empirical evidence on the well-being differential between rural and urban areas in Europe is scant and incomplete. The present study develops a systematic literature review on this topic, bridging a gap in research as a systematic analysis on the subject has not been developed as far as we know. It uses the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) method. The review focuses on definitions of rural-urban most used in the literature, main dimensions of well-being that are analyzed, nature of the data and, finally, evidence that emerged regarding the differences in the various dimensions of well-being between rural and urban populations. The analysis confirms that available evidence is controversial and provides advice on how to develop new and better empirical analyses on this topic.

The effects of COVID-19 have been highly heterogeneous, crucially depending on household livelihoods. In the context of households reliant on agri-food systems, the extent of these effects significantly depends on their position within the value chain. An assessment of the COVID-19 effects along the agri-food value chain and the identification of pivotal factors influencing these outcomes are key for designing appropriate responses and targeting the population most in need should a crisis akin to COVID-19 emerge in the future. Using a longitudinal dataset from Ethiopia, composed of a pre-COVID baseline and six follow-up phone-based surveys, this paper estimates the COVID-19-induced change in household income and job participation, tracing its evolution throughout seven months after the pandemic onset. Applying both longitudinal and cross-sectional econometric models, we show that the COVID-19 shock reduced both employment and income, with increasingly negative impacts over time. Despite initial resilience in the face of restrictive measures, farming eventually emerged as the most affected segment within the agri-food value chain over the medium term. Access to formal institutions such as insurance and credit services, formal contractual arrangements, and secured land ownership title played a key role in mitigating the likelihood of income loss.

Using the latest release of employment and value added numbers in the bioeconomy sectors, we conducted an analysis on the performance of the EU bioeconomy during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Our findings point to a possibly higher level of resilience of the bioeconomy sectors compared to the overall economy. While employment in the bioeconomy registered a similar (but slightly sharper) decrease to the total EU average (-1.7% vs. -1.4%), the value added fell substantially below average (-0.4% vs. -4.0%). The more contemporary biomass-processing sectors (chemicals and pharmaceuticals, as well as bioelectricity) performed better than the more traditional sectors (such as food or textiles). At the Member State level, we observe a high degree of heterogeneity in sectoral performance. By discussing these estimates alongside previous qualitative insights from the related literature, we emphasize the relevance of the bioeconomy not only for environmental sustainability but also for socioeconomic resilience.

Some recent research began to shift the focus of development efforts away from income and yield to more diverse concepts that consider people’s intrinsic drivers and values, such as aspirations and personality traits. We aim to contribute to the literature by exploring the connections between intrinsic drivers. Hence, we analyze if and how the formation of aspirations relates to personality traits against the background of different socio-economic household characteristics. This research will help us provide practical insights for the successful design of development projects specifically tailored to the unique needs and aspirations of individuals and households. Our analyses are based on a primary data set of 272 smallholder farming households in rural and peri-urban Kenya. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) results show a significant positive correlation of personality traits with aspirations (openness; extraversion; conscientiousness), indicating that personality structures indeed correlate with the formation of aspirations in a rural, agricultural context. Furthermore, we show that household and respondent characteristics are associated with differences in education, income, and social aspirations. Considering intrinsic factors for the prediction of human behavior has the potential to increase the efficiency of agricultural development projects and policies. We conclude that a contextualized understanding of aspirations can provide useful insights for development practice aiming to support smallholder farmers’ livelihoods.