Digital transformation and policies in Agriculture and Rural Territories – DIGIPOLAGRI

DIGIPOLAGRI explores the digital transformation of agriculture and its implications for the ecological transition in rural territories. Digital innovations offer solutions to challenges such as food security and environmental sustainability, but they also present risks: deepening inequalities, exclusion of small farmers, and unbalanced resource exploitation. This project aims to address these issues by analyzing the dynamics of digital innovation and policies in two countries with contrasting agricultural and policy models: France, with its evolving family farming model and fragmented digital transition policies, and Brazil, with a dual system of high-tech agribusiness and family farming, accompanied by a proactive but inequitable digital transformation policy.
Drawing on a multi-level approach, the project analyzes the relationships between digital innovation, policy processes, and agricultural models. Our hypothesis is that current policies overlook the diversity of digital pathways in agriculture, shaping ecological transition in rural territories.
Mobilizing a multidisciplinary team from the social sciences, the project will conduct case studies on digital innovations in four key areas: 1) access to labor, land, and inputs, 2) finance, 3) market and commercialization, and 4) land use and farm management. It will analyze the policies related to these areas and explore the implications of digital innovation pathways for agricultural systems in rural territories in both countries.
Thus, the project will contribute to understanding how the plurality of digital transformation can support inclusive agroecological transitions and will provide policy recommendations for a more equitable and sustainable agricultural future.