Eze et al. (2026) Digital innovations in farming practices

Identification

• Journal: Elsevier eBooks
• Year: 2026
• Date: 2026-01-01
• Authors: Gabriel Eze, Paolo Fiume
• DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-443-33508-2.00005-0

Research Groups

• Space Company Srl, Brindisi, Italy
• International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM-Bari), Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, Valenzano, Bari, Italy

Short Summary

This chapter introduces how digital innovations, ranging from established precision technologies to emerging AI-driven systems, are transforming agriculture to meet global food demand and sustainability challenges, while also highlighting the existing digital divide.

Objective

• To explore the transformative role of digital innovations in modern agriculture, addressing global challenges like rising food demand, climate change, land degradation, and water scarcity, and to discuss the implications of the digital divide in technology adoption.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Global, discussing applications in high-income countries versus low-resource regions.
• Temporal Scale: Current trends and future potential of digital technologies in agriculture.

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Not applicable; the chapter is a literature review and synthesis, discussing various cloud-based decision models used in smart agriculture.
• Data sources: Not applicable; the chapter is a literature review and synthesis, discussing various data sources (e.g., soil-moisture sensors, weather stations, satellite imagery, drone analytics) used in smart agriculture.

Main Results

• Digital innovations are essential for modernizing agriculture to meet rising global food demand and combat climate change, land degradation, and water scarcity.
• These technologies enable farms to operate as "smart systems" through precise input management, leading to increased yields and reduced waste.
• A significant digital divide exists, limiting access to and adoption of advanced agricultural technologies in low-resource regions due to inadequate connectivity, lack of sensors, and insufficient financing.

Contributions

• This chapter provides a comprehensive introduction and synthesis of the current landscape of digital innovations in agriculture, outlining their potential to enhance productivity and sustainability while also identifying critical barriers to equitable adoption.

Funding

• Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Eze2026Digital,
  author = {Eze, Gabriel and Fiume, Paolo},
  title = {Digital innovations in farming practices},
  journal = {Elsevier eBooks},
  year = {2026},
  doi = {10.1016/b978-0-443-33508-2.00005-0},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/b978-0-443-33508-2.00005-0}
}