Institut für Sozialwissenschaften des Agrarbereichs

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hohpublica.uni-hohenheim.de/handle/123456789/18

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Exploring the impact of digitalization on sustainability challenges in German fruit production from the perspectives of stakeholders
(2025) Gaber, Kirsten; Rösch, Christine; Bieling, Claudia
Unique challenges exist in the fruit cultivation sector and, if not considered in the development and application of technologies, this sector is at risk of being left behind in the ongoing digital transformation of agriculture. While understanding perspectives of stakeholders is critical for technology acceptance, their knowledge and views are underrepresented in analyses on the impact of digitalization on fruit production. This research works to fill this knowledge gap by qualitatively analyzing semi-structured interviews on the impact of digitalization on sustainability challenges in fruit production with 34 stakeholders along the fruit value chain in the case study region of Lake Constance, Germany. Societal acceptance and understanding of fruit cultivation practices, restricted plant protection product use, labour availability, and biodiversity support were the main reported environmental and socio-economic challenges. Nearly all stakeholders (94%) were hopeful that digital technologies could effectively address environmental challenges in fruit production, particularly through increased efficiency, while greater uncertainties were reported for the socio-economic challenges. Perceptions of digitalization’s chances and challenges varied among individuals, fruit production systems, and farm sizes. Authors provide recommendations, including targeted support for small-scale fruit farmers and suggestions for future research activities, and emphasize the importance of factual knowledge dissemination on digitalization in fruit farming to support informed adoption choices for intended users. The results of this study offer critical viewpoints on the current challenges in fruit production and the potential for digitalization to increase sustainability in this sector.
Pathways for biodiversity enhancement in German agricultural landscapes
(2025) Sponagel, Christian; Thompson, Amibeth; Paetow, Hubertus; Mupepele, Anne‐Christine; Bieling, Claudia; Sommer, Martin; Klein, Alexandra‐Maria; Settele, Josef; Finger, Robert; Huber, Robert; Albert, Christian; Filser, Juliane; Jansen, Florian; Kleemann, Janina; Schreiner, Vera; Lakner, Sebastian
Conserving biodiversity, especially in agricultural landscapes, is a major societal challenge. Broad scientific evidence exists on the impacts of single drivers on biodiversity, such as the intensification of agriculture. However, halting biodiversity decline requires a systemic understanding of the interactions between multiple drivers, which has hardly been achieved so far. Selecting Germany as a case study, the goal of our analysis is (i) to understand how various socio‐economic drivers of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes interact at the national scale, (ii) to identify plausible pathways that most likely will lead to an improvement of biodiversity in agricultural landscapes and (iii) to discuss guiding principles for policy‐making based on the pathways. We applied the expert‐based Cross‐Impact‐Balance (CIB) methodology to the German agri‐food system (target year 2030). Seven descriptors that represent the most relevant socio‐economic drivers of biodiversity (here, we focus on species richness) in agricultural landscapes in Germany were defined. In three workshops with different groups of experts, we assessed all the interactions and impacts between these descriptors. From the workshops, seven overlapping scenarios were identified and aggregated into four main future pathways for enhancing biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. These pathways are: (1) ‘Innovation and stricter legislation’, (2) ‘Major change in protein production and CAP shift’, (3) ‘Major change in protein production and national legislation’ and (4) ‘Major social changes compensate for a lack of innovation in food production’. Socio‐economic drivers interact to varying degrees. Societal values have a strong active influence on the system, e. g. agricultural policy, whereas the orientation and objectives of agriculture, e. g. focus on public goods, are rather passively determined. Conserving biodiversity thus depends upon the evolution of societal values, European and national nature conservation and agricultural policies, innovations in plant and protein production as well as on global commodity markets. A key message for policymakers is that there are generally different, complementary options for achieving the objective of improving biodiversity. This is important when specific drivers such as the CAP cannot be steered in a particular desired direction.
Reaping what we sow: centering values in food systems transformations research
(2025) Care, O.; Zaehringer, Julie G.; Bernstein, Michael J.; Chapman, Mollie; Friis, Cecilie; Graham, Sonia; Haider, L. Jamila; Hernández-Morcillo, Mónica; Hoffmann, Harry; Kernecker, Maria Lee; Pitt, Hannah; Seufert, Verena
In many transdisciplinary research settings, a lack of attention to the values underpinning project aims can inhibit stakeholder engagement and ultimately slow or undermine project outcomes. As a research collective (The Careoperative), we have developed a set of four shared values through a facilitated visioning process, as central to the way we work together: care, reflexivity, inclusivity, and collectivity. In this paper, we explore the implications of a values-centered approach to collaboration in food system transformation research. The paper presents two cases that illustrate how researchers might approach centering values in practice. Where much research on food system transformation focuses on values of food system stakeholders, we contribute insights into the values of researchers in such transdisciplinary endeavors. Specifically, we argue that researchers working on sustainability transformations need to be better prepared to engage in such reflections and aspire to embody values aligned with the transformations they seek to research.

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