Ethical crossroads in agricultural data: Perspectives on trust, equity and sustainability

The agricultural sector is transforming through digital technologies and data-driven tools, creating both opportunities and ethical challenges. This perspective paper explores the ethical dilemmas that arise where agricultural data intersect with trust, equity and sustainability. Farmers’ trust issues with data-driven technologies are closely linked to how data are collected, processed and used. We emphasise the importance of data governance, highlighting the need for trust, transparency, accountability and participatory governance within agricultural data systems. The paper also discusses equity concerns, such as the disparity between smallholder farmers and large-scale agribusinesses, ambiguities surrounding data ownership and the risk of marginalising certain communities within the digital agriculture paradigm. Environmental sustainability is another key focus. While data analytics can support more efficient and climate-smart farming, they also raise questions about long-term resource management and environmental impacts. Incorporating multiple disciplinary perspectives, the paper underscores ongoing issues related to power dynamics, governance, the innovation gap and the importance of embracing diversity. Drawing from these perspectives, we offer conclusions and explore how these approaches might be integrated to address the outlined ethical challenges. Finally, we highlight key ethical issues framed as vital to shaping the future of agricultural data. This paper aims to provide ethical frameworks and recommendations for the responsible use of agricultural data.