What is Stopping Digital Agricultural Production Technologies from Farmers

With the increasing challenges in agriculture and the pressing need for food security, from the evidence of our previous work and other researchers' investigation, digital agricultural technologies are promising sustainable agricultural production and reducing environmental impact. However, the adoption of digital agriculture is still lagging behind and leaves a research gap. To gain insights into the barriers to the uptake of these technologies, we conducted a content analysis of relevant literature. Our analysis innovatively introduced a “Three Parties” concept that simplifies the barriers to adoption by examining the interplay between farmers, technology, and external factors. We identified several key barriers, including education level, age, and risk perception of farmers, as well as cyber and data security, and access threshold of technology itself. External policy and market influences were also found to be critical factors. Our findings highlighted the most important risks from the technology itself are stability, reliability or accuracy, and access. We also suggested the need for further research to overcome these barriers and accelerate the adoption of digital technologies in farming.