Italian farmers between interest in new technologies and willingness to adopt: evolution and trends

The recent Covid-19 pandemic has reshaped the scenarios of global economic priorities and the agri-food sector is, without a doubt, involved in changes whose effects are still ongoing. Although the sector has shown considerable resilience towards changes, there is an evolution in the approach of farmers themselves regarding the use of new digital technologies, which are now pervasive in a large part of the agri-food supply chains. The objective of this research is to detect the interest of Italian farmers towards these new digital technologies that can be used within the agricultural system and their propensity to invest in the purchase and implementation of new technologies. To respond to the objectives of the research, an online survey was carried out, directly asking farmers their interest rate and their propensity to invest in new technologies, with the CAWI method in March 2024. The questionnaire, composed of 3 blocks of questions, had the objective of evaluating the current rate of use of technologies, the investments made by companies in the last 3 years and the motivations underlying current and future choices on the use of technologies. The results of the research aim to present themselves as a preliminary study that highlights how the sector has evolved in the last 3 years, what the motivations behind the farmers' choices may be and what the future trajectories may be that can help make the Italian agri-food supply chain to be more sustainable.