DigitAP

Background

The increasing use of information and communication technology (ICT) is disruptive for the agricultural sector. This development may result in innovative forms of farming practices and farm management as well as new forms of interactions of actors. This development may also revolutionize the relationship between farmers and governmental authorities. More specifically:

·       Information asymmetries will decrease if an increasing amount of information from remote sensing and sensors on machines or animals is available.

·       The assessment of policy impact is increasingly easier to quantify as the amount of information on direct and indirect environmental outcomes becomes measureable e.g. through sensors in soils, water bodies and other data sources.

·       Interactions of farmers and governmental authorities will be more direct and reduce monitoring costs for agricultural and environmental policies massively.

As a result, future agricultural and environmental policies can be more adaptive and flexible and thus, the digitalization of the agricultural sector has the potential to create synergies for farmers and the administration by making agricultural policies more effective and more efficient. However, agricultural policies in the era of digitalization also create new challenges of responsibility and accountability. To make use of these great potential, questions of data ownership as well as legal and ethical foundations for the regulation and monitoring of the agricultural sector must be addressed (Walter et al. 2017).

Objectives

The goal of this project is to develop a holistic conceptional foundation for the development of agricultural policies in the era of digitalization. More specifically, an agricultural economic perspective on new policy options shall be developed. The methodological approaches used combine theoretical analysis, literature reviews, in-depth economic analysis for selected case studies and interaction with different stakeholders. Potentials and pitfalls of ICT will be specifically illustrated for Swiss agricultural policies as an example. The project will show ways forward and illustrate avenues for future policy developments of general relevance in the agricultural sector.

Contact

Prof. Robert Finger (), Dr. Robert Huber ()