Agriculture and rural areas facing the “twin transition”: principles for a sustainable rural digitalisation

In this paper some of the key issues related to digitalisation in agriculture and rural areas are addressed. In line with the Green Deal, the paper proposes a framework on how to address the “twin transition” (ecological+digital) through transformative policies based on directionality, market integration and reflexivity. The framework is based on a view of digitalisation as a socio-technical process, which implies taking into account the social implications of any technology development, and centring innovation policies on a clear definition of the problems to be addressed. The paper proposes the concept of socio-cyber-physical system as a paradigm for policy strategies and for innovation and discusses its implications for sustainable digitalisation strategies in the field of agriculture and rural areas.