Digitalization, sustainability, and coffee. Opportunities and challenges for agricultural development

CONTEXT: Digital technologies have the potential to address several sustainability challenges of the coffee value chain, however, given potential backlash consequences, this process must be assessed thoroughly. Descriptions of digital tools designed for this value chain have been presented in the literature, however, a critical examination of socio-environmental consequences of the process of digitalization is still lacking.OBJECTIVE: Using a socio-technical approach, this article examines innovation pathways proposed by the pro-cess of digitalization in the coffee value chain and identifies the opportunities and challenges of these pathways to contribute to sustainability goals in this value chain.METHODS: Technical characteristics of 20 digital tools oriented to the coffee producing sector are examined. We carried out a review of secondary information and conducted online semi-structured interviews with developers

Automated summary

Using a socio-technical approach, this article examines the innovation pathways proposed by the process of digitalization in the coffee value chain and identifies the opportunities and challenges for sustainability goals in this value chain.