Abstract
Digital and autonomous technologies enter the agricultural market at an increasing rate, yet little is known about society’s view on this development, although the public is an important stakeholder. By means of a discrete choice experiment (n = 675), societal preferences for different weed control technologies and tractor types of different degrees of autonomy are investigated. The model applied focuses on emotion-related covariates. The results indicate preferences for conventional or autonomous tractors and for methods of weed control that reduce the need for herbicides. Additionally, positive associations with images of robots correlate with the rejection of conventional tractors in the discrete choice experiment.
Highlights
Autonomous machines represent a groundbreaking development in agricultural technology, yet their success depends as much on economics and farmer acceptance as on the approval of society
The results indicate preferences for conventional or autonomous tractors and for methods of weed control that reduce the need for herbicides
The results of this discrete choice experiment indicate that not all emotion-related items in the model impact the evaluation of digital farming technologies
Summary
Autonomous machines represent a groundbreaking development in agricultural technology, yet their success depends as much on economics and farmer acceptance as on the approval of society. Expert interviews point to the importance of public acceptance, or rather the lack thereof, as a barrier to sustainable innovations in the German agricultural sector [2]. More recent research shows that the German population is still largely undecided on the use of digital technologies in agriculture, including autonomous equipment for weed management [3]. A farmer survey in Bavaria, Germany, has indicated that fear of creating an image of alienated agriculture significantly reduces the intent of farmers to invest in field crop robots [4], pointing to the importance of societal approval for the adoption of autonomous farming equipment. Knowledge is needed on society’s perspective on autonomous cropping equipment under specific consideration of underlying emotional factors to better understand the perception of autonomous weed management
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