Digital platforms: Danger or chance for agriculture?

A current study by the University of Bonn, which was led by Monja Sauvagerd, a doctoral student at the Institute for Food and Resource Economics, deals with the influence of digital platforms on agriculture. The results of the study show that digital platforms not only enable more efficient agricultural practices, but also strengthen existing market structures and create new dependencies.

Accordingly, large technology companies such as Google and Amazon act as a strategic partner for agricultural groups. The close cooperation between multinational agricultural groups, for example Bayer, John Deere and BASF, and Big-Tech company is referred to as "oligopolistic platformization". This dynamic leads to a reinforcement of existing power structures and carries the risk of further concentration in the agricultural sector.

technological developments and challenges

The study emphasizes that digital platforms such as John Deeeres "Operations Center" and Bayer's "Climate Fieldview" use real -time data for decision -making in agriculture. Sensors, satellites and tractors generate data that are integrated into "digital twins" for simulation and optimizing agricultural processes. This promises more efficient use of resources such as water and fertilizers as well as higher crop yields.

Nevertheless, there are challenges because control through a few large corporations leads to dependencies of the farms. In addition, the lack of interoperability between platforms makes it difficult for farmers to use several systems. Often the platforms of large agricultural machinery manufacturers are not compatible with products from other manufacturers.

agricultural groups and big-tech companies develop data-driven business models that go beyond traditional agriculture and combine decision-making directly with products such as seeds and plant protection products. The focus is also on the development of tools for measuring carbon emissions and access to CO₂ certificates. It is noted that data -driven business models are usually not profitable and are cross -financed by established business areas.

The platform of agriculture strengthens the market position of established agricultural companies, which raises the question of how access to technological infrastructures and data can be made fairly so that farmers are not to weaken, such as The article from the University of Bonn reports .