Digital transformation of SMEs in agriculture

Digitalization is transforming European agriculture and rural areas through the accelerated, if uneven, adoption of existing digital technologies and the emergence of new ones. This chapter focuses on the digitalization of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in agriculture and rural areas. It examines important aspects of the topic in terms of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) diffusion, the challenges and drivers of digital transformation, and the socioeconomic and environmental impacts of ICT-enabled interventions. Agri-food value systems and rural areas are transforming into data-rich and data-driven ecosystems that require an understanding of broader interconnected value chains, network and system impacts, and a rethinking of previous notions of agriculture and rural areas and their social, market, territorial, and institutional value paradigms. In this context, sustainable data-driven solutions, emerging trends, innovations, and research findings that support the transition to the era of Agriculture 4.0 will also be addressed.