As society moves towards being more and more digitalised, so does agriculture as well. Hopefully these digital tools will help us reach environmental goals through optimizing the use of resources in the agricultural sector. However, there are a few barriers to overcome for the digital transition to run smoothly. This thesis investigates a small portion of the agricultural innovation network in Sweden. This is done through multiple interviews and literary research. We can clearly see how this innovation network during the last decades has moved towards becoming more knowledge centered and how the model triple helix now easily can be applied to the network. The network is then analysed using Ron Boschma’s five proximity factors and it becomes clear that concerning the agricultural innovation network, the cognitive and institutional proximity is of great importance for the innovational strength. It also becomes clear that the different proximity factors seldom act alone, but instead build upon each other to increase the negative respectively positive outcomes. Moreover it is shown that regarding the agricultural innovation network in Sweden, it can only benefit from improving the proximity factors, which is different from other types of industries.

Agricultural technology development has historically exacerbated social inequities. As agriculture progresses into the latest technological revolution – Ag 4.0 – it is unclear how institutions such as land-grant universities are considering the social implications of their agricultural technology research. The purpose of this study is to explore how land-grant university initiatives focusing on agricultural technology consider the implications of agricultural technology research. To do so, this research focuses on Virginia Tech's Center for Agricultural Innovation in Agriculture (CAIA). Guided by critical systems heuristics, this case study utilizes five data collection methods to inform a critical case study including: key informant interviews, a document review, a survey, stakeholder interviews, and a focus group. While striving to be a cross-campus interdisciplinary and innovative research incubator the findings revealed in the five years since its establishment, CAIA has been shaped by structural norms at Virginia Tech's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS), reducing its interdisciplinary and innovation potential. Rather, CAIA supports the existing research of CALS faculty. CAIA has adopted measures of success that ideologically aligned with techno-solutionism and, while present, consideration for the social impact of agricultural technology research is a secondary priority. While this is consistent with ongoing trends in a neoliberalized higher education system, CAIA can take deliberate steps to uplift social impact in agricultural technology research such as being deliberate with who is engaged in the center towards interdisciplinary research, and working with CALS to ensure public-private partnerships serve the direct needs of small and medium-sized growers in Virginia. Empirically, this study contributes to the ongoing discourse around the neoliberalized land-grant university and the use of critical systems heuristics to guide research involving agricultural innovation systems. / Doctor of Philosophy / Agricultural technology has often increased social inequalities. As agriculture moves into a new technological era, called "Ag 4.0," it is unclear how our land-grant universities like Virginia Tech, are thinking about the social impacts of their research on agricultural technology. This case study, using a theory called critical systems heuristics, focuses on Virginia Tech's Center for Agricultural Innovation in Agriculture (CAIA) to understand the social implications of the technologies they develop. Social implications include the effects technology may have on one's ability to farm according to cultural practice or ability to afford the technology. Using five methods — key informant interviews, document reviews, surveys, stakeholder interviews, and a focus group — the study shows that CAIA sought to encourage innovative research across different academic disciplines. However, in practice, CAIA functions as a way to support existing projects of Virginia Tech's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) faculty. Although CAIA's affiliated faculty stive to consider the social impact of its work, its main focus is developing agricultural technology that is broadly useful to the agricultural industry. This reflects trends in today's higher education system, where universities are increasingly mindful of their economic and political context. However, CAIA could take steps to increase its focus on social impacts by involving a wider range of voices in research and ensuring that its partnerships with private businesses directly support small and medium-sized farms in Virginia. This study adds to the conversation about how universities can play a role in promoting socially responsible technology in agriculture.

Den teknologiska utvecklingen och intåget i eran av Agriculture 4.0 har en betydande inverkan på jordbruket. Studien undersöker den effekt nyttjandet av digitala tekniker har på svenska jordbrukare, samt barriärer och attityder som påverkar införandet av fler, och användandet av redan existerande, digitala verktyg. För att genomföra en kvalitativ fallstudie har observationer utförts på två gårdar. Där iakttogs jordbrukarnas arbete med de digitala praktikerna och dess attityder mot användandet. Observationerna följdes av totalt sju stycken intervjuer. Jordbrukare, en person från en större maskintillverkare och en expert i form av en professor inom forskningsområdet agerade respondenter. Genom intervjuer och observationer skapades en förståelse för de digitala praktikernas påverkan på jordbruket och vad som ligger till grund för att digitala hjälpmedel inte nyttjas i en större grad. Agriculture 4.0 har skapat ett digitalt ekosystem där maktbalanserna mellan de olika aktörerna förändrats. För att skapa en hållbar teknologisk utveckling inom jordbruket har diverse framgångsfaktorer identifierats. / The technological advancement and advent of the Agriculture 4.0 era have a significant impact on agriculture. The study examines the effect of the utilization of digital technologies on Swedish farmers, as well as barriers and attitudes affecting the adoption of additional, and the utilization of existing, digital tools. To conduct a qualitative case study, observations were carried out on two farms. These observations focused on farmers' work with digital practices and their attitudes towards usage. Subsequently, a total of seven interviews were conducted. Farmers, a representative from a major machinery manufacturer, and an expert in the research field acted as respondents. Through interviews and observations, an understanding of the impact of digital practices on agriculture and the underlying reasons for the limited adoption of digital tools was established. Agriculture 4.0 has created a digital ecosystem where power dynamics among different actors have shifted. Various success factors have been identified to foster sustainable technological development in agriculture.

Orientador: Fernando Braz Tangerino Hernandez / Resumo: A água é um recurso essencial para a agricultura. Sua gestão passa por práticas que definem a quantidade e qualidade disponível para diversos usuários comuns, como indústria e consumo humano. O volume de água utilizado para a irrigação deve passar por um processo de otimização em seu uso, avaliando as variáveis necessárias para a maximização da produtividade e controle dos custos. O monitoramento ambiental e das condições climáticas possibilitam prever o comportamento do ciclo hidrológico e planejar o uso da água na irrigação conforme a necessidade das culturas e o estoque disponível no solo. O adequado monitoramento do armazenamento de água no solo se constitui em uma boa prática na irrigação que garante alta produtividade das lavouras e colabora com o uso consciente da água, além de proporcionar resultados financeiros positivos, tanto no aumento da produtividade, como na economia de energia usada no bombeamento da água, além da preservação ambiental e dos recursos hídricos. A expansão da agricultura irrigada é um importante vetor de crescimento social e econômico, podendo ser a locomotiva para um futuro sustentável de uma região. O objetivo deste trabalho é construir um sistema de aquisição de dados para medição da umidade do solo, disponibilizando uma base de dados histórica, a custos reduzidos, para que o usuário acompanhe a variação dos dados e estime a quantidade de água a ser utilizada na agricultura. / Abstract: Water is an essential resource for agriculture. Its management goes through good practices to determine the available amount for several users, such industry and human consumption. The water content used for irrigation should go through an optimization process, evaluating the necessary variables to maximize productivity and expenses control. The environment monitoring and climate conditions enable to forecast the hydrological period and the irrigation water consumption according to crop needs and available water inventory. The suitable monitoring of soil water content becomes an irrigation good practice which enables crops high productivity and collaborates to conscious water application, apart from affording positive financial yield, in productivity growth as well as in sparing energy on water pumping, besides conservation of the environment and water resources. The expansion of irrigated agriculture is an important vector of social and economic growth, and it can be the locomotive for a sustainable future of a region. The objective of this work is to build a data acquisition system for soil moisture measurement, providing a historical database, at reduced costs, so that the user follows the variation of the data and estimates the amount of water to be used in agriculture. / Mestre