Page 11 - The European Baking Ingredients Market Report 2022 - Volume 1

European Baking Ingredients Market Report 2022
Smart Farming 11
TECHNOLOGY

Public perception

of smart farming

A farming technologies. Regarding
lot of research has been
conducted into ways
plant production, we asked them
in which smart farming
about spray drones that apply
technologies can be
employed to create more efficient plant protection products and
hoeing robots, used for mechanical
farming practices. However, weeding. For animal production,
less is known about what the we used milking robots, where
non-agricultural population and cows are milked willingly and
specifically consumers think autonomously and virtual fences,
about the use of smart farming where cattle wear collars that signal
technologies. When we think to them when they enter the virtual
about general opinion regarding fence. These technologies were
gene technology (e.g., genetically explained using a short description
modified wheat), it is clear that and a picture to make sure that
public acceptance can be a huge participants understood the
barrier to the adoption of new nature of the practices they were
technologies. Therefore, care should considering. Again, they named the
be taken to involve the public early first thing that came to their minds
on, when considering the use of and rated it afterwards.
new technology. Furthermore,
due to the ongoing trend towards Perception of traditional farming
increased digitalisation, it now The first thing people noted
seems timely to find out what the when thinking about traditional
public thinks about smart farming farming were specific tools such
technologies and whether they as plough, harrow or rake. They
would be willing to accept them. further mentioned things such as
hard work or workload, indicating
An online survey to better that they were well aware that
understand public perceptions this work is hard and physical by
To investigate what Swiss nature, specifically mentioning
consumers think about smart that traditional farming requires a
farming technologies, we lot of manual labour. Furthermore,
conducted an online survey in specific crops, machines or fields
2021. A total of 287 individuals and acres in general, were frequent
from German speaking parts of images that came to participants’
Switzerland participated in a two- minds and in some cases
part questionnaire. In the first part, participants referred to their own
participants were asked to name the memories of working in agriculture.
first thing that came to their mind The most critical points mentioned
when thinking about “traditional related to plant protection products
farming” and “smart farming”, and artificial fertiliser. Similarly,
respectively. Subsequently, they manure was associated with rather
rated their answer on a scale from negative sentiments, possibly
0 (very negative) to 100 (very following public debate over
positive). In a second part of the healthy rivers and lakes. However,
survey, the same method was despite these concerns the overall
used to investigate participants’ perception of traditional farming
perception of four specific smart was quite positive.

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