Perceived barriers to the adoption of smart farming technologies in Piedmont region, northwestern Italy: the role of user and farm variables

Smart Farming Technologies (SFTs) can increase the sustainability of agricultural production, based on a more precise and resource-efficient approach. According to the European Union (EU) policies, the adoption of SFTs represents a key factor for the future of the European farming and a thematic network has been developed and funded by the Horizon 2020 program to identify and deliver new Smart Farming solutions to fit farmers' needs. However, previous studies pointed out a low level of SFTs adoption, often highlighting that successfully adopted technologies and innovations may be nevertheless rejected by the users, who go back to the traditional practices even where benefits were being enjoyed. A limited amount of empirical research is available on the reasons of farmers' attitudes toward the adoption of such new technologies and innovations. This study aimed at investigating the role played by sociodemographic variables, farming system characteristics, and perceived barriers in affecting the adoption of SFTs in a sample of Italian farmers. Three-hundred and ten farm operators were administered a paper-and-pencil questionnaire addressing perceived economic and commercial barriers in the use of SFTs and a set of user and farm-related variables (i.e. education, farm size, being a sole farmer). The analyses showed that education and working alone on-farm influenced the perception of economic barriers, which in turn played the major role in affecting the adoption of SFTs. Larger farms were more likely to adopt the SFTs investigated. The present results pointed out some critical aspects which may benefit from tailor-made interventions in terms of policies, work re-organization and/or operators' training, to support and widen the use of SFTs in the Italian context.