Smart Farming: Public Acceptance Rises When Benefits Are Stressed

Agroscope investigated the Swiss population’s acceptance of digital technologies. Tools and technologies were rated more positively in plant production than in animal husbandry.

The aim of the Agroscope studies was to examine the public perception of plant- and animal-related smart farming technologies. For this, Agroscope researchers conducted a qualitative survey of 287 German-speaking people in 2021 and a quantitative survey of a total of 383 people from both French- and German-speaking Switzerland in 2023.

Animal welfare, the environment and social aspects were key concerns

In both studies, smart farming technologies were essentially perceived as positive. In the first study, participants generally rated two plant-related technologies (spray drones and hoeing robots) more positively than two animal-related ones (virtual fences and milking robots). Animal welfare was a key concern of the survey participants, who generally viewed virtual fences as fairly negative and had mostly neutral perceptions of milking robots.

Environmental aspects dominated the perception of technologies in plant production. Despite  several reservations (concerning e.g. animal welfare, noise and soil compaction), all the technologies were associated with progress and innovation. Technologies that supported the reduction of pesticide use in plant production were perceived in a particularly positive light. All in all, environmental, animal welfare and social aspects strongly influenced perception.

Differing perceptions and contradictions

The second study also revealed a greater acceptance of plant-related technologies. Here, though, there was a difference between the sexes: women tended to be more critical of milking robots than men, particularly in terms of animal welfare and environmental protection. By contrast, political orientation, i.e. whether people tended to place themselves on the left, centre or right of the political spectrum, did not significantly influence the acceptance of a technology.

An interesting contradiction was revealed with regard to soil compaction by hoeing robots: whereas experts expect a reduction in soil compaction through the use of hoeing robots, lay people perceived the use of technology as increasing the risk of further soil compaction. This could be because lay people find it difficult to estimate the size of these machines.

All in all, however, both surveys pointed to an essentially positive perception and general interest in smart farming technologies. Acceptance therefore depends heavily on the sphere of use (plant vs. animal) and on the perceived risks posed by the technology.

How can acceptance be further increased?

Although milking robots are far less common on Swiss farms than they are in other countries, the ability of milking technology to reduce workload has caused a surge in their use. Communicating the benefits of new technologies also leads to their positive perception outside of the farm context.

In addition to animal welfare and social aspects, the perceived naturalness of foods produced with the help of smart farming was important for the survey participants. The higher the ‘naturalness’ rating of the products produced, the greater their acceptance.