Uncertain impacts of new technologies: the case of digital agriculture and blockchains

Abstract

Digital innovations are central to the transformation of food systems, from production and processing through to distribution. While they have the potential to enhance environmental and social sustainability across the value chain, they could also have disruptive effects on organisations and come with huge uncertainties in terms of access to these technologies, working conditions ('Uberisation') and governance. This chapter aims to briefly address the challenges associated with the diffusion of these technologies in developing countries. We focus on the examples of digital agriculture and blockchains.