Understanding public perceptions of smart farming technologies

Abstract

Whether the public accepts food produced using new technologies can be a decisive factor for their introduction. It is therefore important to understand public perceptions and address concerns at an early stage. We conducted two studies to investigate public perceptions of smart farming technologies. Study 1 involved an online survey of 287 participants in the German-speaking parts of Switzerland in 2021 (using convenience sampling). We took an exploratory approach using qualitative assessments of two plant-related technologies (hoeing robot and spray drone) and two animal-related technologies (milking robot and virtual fence). The participants provided their spontaneous associations for these technologies. Study 2 involved an online survey of 383 participants from the French- and German-speaking parts of Switzerland (a representative sample) in 2023, following a quantitative approach to analyse the general perception of two specific smart farming technologies often used in Switzerland (hoeing and milking robots). We investigated how political orientation and the perceived importance of food naturalness influenced the acceptance of food produced with the investigated technologies. Across the two studies, the public expressed positive associations with digital technologies, especially plant-related ones, but specific concerns were identified for each technology, with animal welfare being the major concern for virtual fences. Further, perceptions of farmers significantly influenced the affective responses towards milking robots, whereas the importance of food naturalness significantly influenced responses towards hoeing robots. These findings are promising for efforts to increase public acceptance of food produced with these technologies. Implications for policy and practise are discussed. • The public has generally positive associations towards smart farming. • Plant-related technologies are perceived slightly more positively. • Importance of naturalness impacts perception of hoeing robots. • Perception of farmers impacts perception of milking robots.