Agriculture data sharing review

This study conducts a bibliometric analysis of 252 scientific publications from 2001 to 2023, exploring the evolution and emerging trends in agricultural data spaces. Analyzing articles from the Web of Science and Scopus databases, we address six research questions: the current and interconnected key topics in agricultural data spaces (RQ1), the evolution of research themes over time (RQ2), emerging trends in the field (RQ3), the identification of leading researchers (RQ4), and the primary funding sources for this research area (RQ5), the relationship among research data and small farmers (RQ6). Our findings reveal a shift from traditional to innovative research themes, such as the increasing focus on the Internet of Things (IoT), Blockchain, and Digital Storage. This indicates a trend toward modernizing agricultural practices through technology. We found that the rise of these topics is not correlated with the results shown by Google Scholar for these same terms but is correlated with the economic impact of such areas. Prominent authors and significant funding sources, including the European Union, the United States Department of Agriculture, and Chinese research programs, have been identified, proving the global interest and investment in the digitalization of agriculture. We continue our analysis by identifying some barriers that prevent small farmers from using or sharing research data, among them cultural contexts, lack of trust in providers, and ignorance of terms and conditions. This study offers valuable insights for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners, focusing on the evolution of the dynamic landscape of agricultural data spaces and potential future innovations in fields like data analytics and Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, Blockchain, digital divide and digital farming platforms. Our findings emphasize the necessity for targeted policy interventions and support mechanisms to bridge the gap and enable small and medium farmers to benefit from advancements in agricultural data spaces and digitization.