Digital agricultural technologies for food loss and waste prevention and reduction: Global trends, adoption opportunities and barriers

Agricultural digitization is revolutionizing food production with promises to increase both yield and environmental sustainability through the reduction of chemical inputs. However, it is unclear whether the adoption of digital agricultural technologies can also play a role in preventing or reducing food loss and waste. Examples of technologies used in food loss and waste reduction include 'smart packaging' that changes colour as food spoils, or Blockchain and radio-frequency identification tags that track information to identify potential sources of contamination along the food supply chain. Here, a systematic literature review was conducted to investigate the role of digital agricultural technologies in enabling food loss and waste prevention/reduction or lack thereof from a global perspective. To explore the digital agricultural technologies-food loss and waste dynamics, this review employed four conceptual frameworks relevant to the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 12 and Target 12.3 to foster responsible consumption and production patterns and to halve per capita food waste respectively by 2030. The four frameworks include (i) environmental sustainability, (ii) economic efficiency, (iii) social equity, and (iv) substantive governance and policies. The review findings demonstrate that prohibitive investment costs and the digital divide between technology adaptors limit the wide uptake of digital agricultural technologies. Where adoptions were evident, the rationale to do so was centered on boosting economic gains, reducing food production costs, and/or alleviating food insecurity. Food loss and waste prevention was rarely the principal technology adoption driver. The dynamics between digital agricultural technologies and food loss and waste prevention deserve rigorous examination to support practical policy options that invigorate sustainable food systems.

Automated summary

Agricultural digitization has the potential to reduce food loss and waste, but current primary drivers are economic gains and cost reduction, rather than food loss prevention. The prohibitive investment costs and digital divide between technology adaptors limit the broad uptake of digital agricultural technologies in addressing food loss and waste.