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Sustainability
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Digital Transformation of Agriculture and Rural Areas-Second Volume
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Digital Transformation of Agriculture and Rural Areas-Second Volume

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Urban and Rural Development".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 2800

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Sotiris Karetsos

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Informatics Laboratory, Agricultural University of Athens, 11855 Athens, Greece
Interests: agricultural e/m- services; agricultural mobile apps; e/m-government; e/m-commerce; agricultural information systems; e/m-learning; blockchain in agriculture; big data analytics in agriculture; use of smart mobile devices in agriculture
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Constantina Costopoulou

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Informatics Laboratory, Agricultural University of Athens, 11855 Athens, Greece
Interests: digital transformation; e-government; e-commerce; e-learning; m-apps; blockchain; big data analytics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Maria Ntaliani

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Informatics Laboratory, Agricultural University of Athens, 11855 Athens, Greece
Interests: electronic government; e-business; e-participation; digital divide; digital services
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Konstantinos Demestichas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Informatics Laboratory, Agricultural University of Athens, 11855 Athens, Greece
Interests: communication networks; machine learning; data analytics; content verification; security
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The digital transformation of agriculture and rural areas has been a challenge over the past decades; indeed, recent advancements and implementations of information and communication technologies in agriculture offer unique opportunities for the modernization of the agricultural business sector. The benefits may include improvements in the management of the value chain, the ease of accessing governmental and commerce services, more efficient usage of resources, more precision in the usage of agrochemicals, saving costs and time. The beneficiaries include farmers who can improve their products, their income, and their quality of life; processing and retailing companies who trade agricultural products; consumers who can feel certain of the quality of the products they buy; and governments, who can improve the efficiency of their services. Moreover, the prudent use of resources and the limited emission of pollutants is of significant interest due to climate change. Additionally, new technologies can transform rural areas to attractive, smart, and sustainable ones, and invert the difficulties related to remoteness.

Therefore, the aim of this Special Issue is to highlight how digital technologies could make a significant contribution to the transformation of agriculture and rural areas in order to achieve sustainability. Recent advancements such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, machine learning, blockchain as well as smart mobile devices and mobile applications (apps) could provide new perspectives, improvements, and solutions needed to be successfully applied for the purposes of Agriculture 4.0 and smart rural communities. We welcome original high-quality research articles and the latest advances in the theoretical or practical aspects of the aforementioned fields. This Special Issue will also accept and review articles that have a thorough methodology and results. The potential topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Digital transformation of agriculture;
  • Digital transformation of rural communities;
  • Information systems in agriculture: architecture, applications, interoperability, models, best practices;
  • Electronic and mobile services in agriculture (e-/m-government, e-/m-commerce, e-/m-learning);
  • Cloud computing;
  • Machine learning;
  • Data mining;
  • Artificial intelligence;
  • Smart mobile devices;
  • Mobile applications (apps);
  • Agricultural data, data analysis, and data design;
  • IoT in agriculture;
  • Agricultural modelling;
  • Information processing and management;
  • Software engineering;
  • Blockchain for the agricultural sector;
  • Agricultural traceability and food safety;
  • Decision support systems;
  • Precision farming;
  • Simulation and optimization of agricultural systems.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Sotiris Karetsos
Prof. Dr. Constantina Costopoulou
Dr. Maria Ntaliani
Dr. Konstantinos Demestichas
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • digital transformation
  • agriculture
  • rural communities
  • smart mobile devices
  • mobile apps
  • cloud computing
  • IoT
  • machine learning

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 724 KiB  
Article
How to Form the Rural Digital Governance Platform—Under the Framework of Mixed-Scanning–Multiple Streams—Based on an Empirical Investigation of the Platform of “JuHaoban” in Julu County, Hebei Province
by Bei Zhang, Wei Xiong, Jiaming Yin, Pengxiang Zhang and Bangfan Liu
Sustainability 2025, 17(6), 2517; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17062517 - 13 Mar 2025
Viewed by 648
Abstract
The rural digital governance platform is closely related to rural sustainable development. By playing the role of the rural digital governance platform, it can optimize the allocation of rural resources, improve the efficiency of rural governance, promote the development of rural industries, improve [...] Read more.
The rural digital governance platform is closely related to rural sustainable development. By playing the role of the rural digital governance platform, it can optimize the allocation of rural resources, improve the efficiency of rural governance, promote the development of rural industries, improve the quality of life of rural residents, promote the inheritance and innovation of rural culture, and provide a strong guarantee for the sustainable development of rural areas. Through the continuous advancement of the rural digital governance platform, it is anticipated to achieve the modernization of rural governance, promote industrial prosperity, optimize public services, encourage talent return, and foster cultural inheritance and innovation. This will provide a robust foundation for the implementation of the rural revitalization strategy. Guided by the “digital village” strategy, digital platforms serve as pivotal vehicles for the transformation of rural digital governance. Taking the policymaking process facilitated by the “JuHaoban” platform as a case study, this paper integrates theoretical frameworks with practical applications to construct a “Mixed-Scanning–Multiple-Stream” framework. This framework elucidates the policy innovation process at the local-decision-making level under the influence of the central strategy. The findings indicate that the problem stream can be generated through both proactive scanning and reactive response mechanisms, which can operate concurrently. Decision makers at various levels function as policy entrepreneurs, leading the policymaking community, and the policy window can open either opportunistically or continuously, driven by these decision makers. The policy establishment process of Julu County’s “JuHaoban” platform exemplifies an “up-and-down” dynamic, primarily influenced by political streams. By proactively identifying social issues and responding to emergencies, county-level decision makers implement policy innovations in alignment with the “digital village” strategy. The “Mixed-Scanning–Multiple-Stream” framework provides substantial explanatory power regarding local policy innovation processes within central–local interactions. The conclusions and recommendations offer significant policymaking implications for the development of rural digital governance platforms. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Transformation of Agriculture and Rural Areas-Second Volume)
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21 pages, 478 KiB  
Article
Internet Use, Social Capital, and Farmers’ Green Production Behavior: Evidence from Agricultural Cooperatives in China
by Jingjing Wang, Jiabin Xu and Silin Chen
Sustainability 2025, 17(3), 1137; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17031137 - 30 Jan 2025
Viewed by 783
Abstract
Agricultural cooperatives are the main vehicle for farmers to engage in green agriculture. With the digital transformation in rural areas, it is crucial to explore how cooperative members can effectively access online information and integrate it into green production decision-making processes. Based on [...] Read more.
Agricultural cooperatives are the main vehicle for farmers to engage in green agriculture. With the digital transformation in rural areas, it is crucial to explore how cooperative members can effectively access online information and integrate it into green production decision-making processes. Based on the survey data of 530 members of rice planting cooperatives in Heilongjiang Province in China, this paper selected eight green production behaviors commonly used by rice farmers as explained variables, and constructed an ordered probit model. Using the social capital theory, the impact and mechanism of internet use on cooperative members’ green production behavior were examined. The results showed the following: (1) Internet use facilitates the cooperative members’ green production behavior. This conclusion remains valid even after addressing the endogeneity test and robustness test. (2) The heterogeneity analysis revealed that the internet is particularly effective in enhancing the green production behaviors of farmers who are less educated, middle-aged, and those with strong connections to cooperatives. (3) A further mechanism test indicates that internet use not only significantly influences farmers’ trust in cooperatives but also aids them in comprehending the cooperative’s production specifications, thereby further advancing the improvement in green production behaviors. (4) Members’ satisfaction with cooperative sales can serve as a substitute for the internet in influencing their green production behavior. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Transformation of Agriculture and Rural Areas-Second Volume)
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14 pages, 423 KiB  
Article
Heterogeneous Impacts of Traditional and Modern Information Channels on Farmers’ Green Production: Evidence from China
by Zimei Liu, Ke Chen and Yezhi Ren
Sustainability 2024, 16(22), 9959; https://doi.org/10.3390/su16229959 - 15 Nov 2024
Viewed by 818
Abstract
Efficient agricultural input is crucial for agricultural green production and sustainable development. The swift evolution of information and communication technologies has diversified the avenues through which farmers access information. However, how different information channels affect farmers’ production input remain poorly understood. Leveraging a [...] Read more.
Efficient agricultural input is crucial for agricultural green production and sustainable development. The swift evolution of information and communication technologies has diversified the avenues through which farmers access information. However, how different information channels affect farmers’ production input remain poorly understood. Leveraging a two-way fixed-effects model and the Karlson-–Holm–Breen (KHB) method, this study delves into the mechanisms underlying the influence of both traditional and modern information channels on farmers’ inputs of seeds, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides (SCFP) based on over 15,000 sample of Chinese farmers. The findings reveal the following: (1) modern information channels significantly decrease farmers’ SCFP input, whereas traditional channels exhibit the opposite effect; (2) environmental pollution perception acts as a mediator in the influence of both traditional and modern information channels on farmers’ SCFP input; (3) traditional information channels significantly promote farmers’ SCFP input in the grain production and marketing balance areas, and modern information channels inhibit farmers’ SCFP input in major grain-producing areas; and (4) traditional and modern information channels have an impact on farmers’ SCFP input in the western region, but not in the central region. To promote sustainable agricultural development, government departments should enhance rural Internet access, diversify information sources, advocate for eco-farming, ensure regional digital equity, and enhance green agri-tech promotion. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Digital Transformation of Agriculture and Rural Areas-Second Volume)
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