Hello #foodstudies20 Conference ! In this thread, I share preliminary insights of my research on
Digital Agricultural Technologies in Latin America: Perspectives by promotors and technological entrepreneurs.
(A Spanish version of this thread is available).

Digital agricultural technologies ( #Agtech) apply big data and precision technologies to agriculture. It involves a wide repertoire of hardware, software, and platforms (e.g sensors, drones, robots, blockchain, IoT, AI, and the subsequent amount of data generated). #foodstudies20

#Agtech promises to change how food is planted, harvested, and marketed. Although the promise of technology is positive (more food produced more efficiently), this issue is far more complicated. #foodstudies20

The agrifood system is uneven, centralized, and globalized; Technology is not neutral, it is a double-edged sword. So new technologies can affect small-scale producers in developing countries in unexpected ways. #foodstudies20

In this context, I wonder how the socio-ethical implications of digital agriculture are being considered in Latin America. In particular, I am curious about the people promoting and developing technologies targeting small farmers. #foodstudies20

(To know more on the kind of questions that social science folks pose on digital agriculture, this review by @lauklerkx http://et.al  is a terrific entry point ) https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1573521419301769

I interviewed a group of Latin American entrepreneurs and promoters based in five countries to know more about their perspectives on Agtech. I want to share three ideas from my preliminary results #foodstudies20

1) Tech is perceived as a way to tackle constraints surrounding LatAm small farmers. There is a belief that more technology will improve productivity and will increase income.
The issue here is this view of technology is uncritical and it does not consider unintended impacts.

2) #Agtech in Latin America is an emerging sector nowadays and its development is uneven. Brasil, Chile, and Argentina are the most evolved; the number of start-ups is low in other Latin American countries. #foodstudies20

(This @IDB_Lab report offers a nice overview of the region:
https://publications.iadb.org/publications/english/document/AGTECH_Agtech_Innovation_Map_in_Latin_America_and_the_Caribbean_en.pdf ) #foodstudies20

3) Entrepreneurs and promoters are aware that “inclusion” is required to reach small farmers, and don't leave them behind. In this vein, low-cost technologies and open software are just two options. Other possibilities remain unexplored. #foodstudies20

A key aspect I want to highlight is that the conversation on the unintended consequences of Agtech is absent, so are the implications within an uneven agrifood system. Moreover, conversations on solutions to address these potential implications do not exist. #foodstudies20

#Agtech is evolving in the region without a multistakeholder space analyzing technology trajectories or how it relates to small farmers. Should we consider a private-public collective endeavor to address this situation? #foodstudies20

We need to better understand this fascinating topic, with views from the Global South. Digital agriculture #Agtech and its social implications in Latin America is the topic of my dissertation in Rural Sociology. If you are working in Agtech I will be happy to talk

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