Smart farming and short food supply chains: Are they compatible?

The challenge of sustainability and the need to secure the production of high-quality, affordable and healthy food, have led to the emergence of alternative food production/distribution schemes that, based on technological or organizational innovation, can increase food production without burdening the environment. Both smart farming and short food supply chains (SFSCs) are considered as promising solutions towards this target. From a theoretical standpoint, the introduction of smart farming technologies into SFSCs could increase the value-generating capacity of short food supply schemes. However, a pivotal question is whether such technologies are compatible with SFSCs. In this study, following a mixed research design, we analyze Greek farmers' and consumers' perceptions of the compatibility between smart technologies and SFSCs, and we examine the extent to which compatibility perception affects willingness to engage in smart SFSCs. Quantitative results revealed that perceived (in)compatibility is central in predicting this willingness for both farmers and consumers. The qualitative strand of the study uncovered the existence of two different types of compatibility. Actual compatibility refers to the consistency of smart technologies with the technological advancement of farms and the real everyday needs of farmers. Symbolic compatibility relates to the meanings attributed to both SFSCs and smart technologies by farmers and consumers. In sum, the results indicated that smart technologies are viewed as tools that can lead to a conventionalization of SFSCs, thus altering their optimally distinct nature. Policies targeted at the promotion of smart farming should go beyond traditional views of smart technologies as tools that increase farm efficiency, by paying more attention to their compatibility with different agricultures and to the ways they can transform farming systems.