Determinants of the adoption of Digital Agriculture technologies by beef cattle farmers

• Grant number: 23/14466-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: March 01, 2024
• End date: July 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Administration - Administration of Specific Sectors
• Principal Investigator: Marcelo José Carrer
• Grantee: Leticia Caroline da Silva David
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 22/02967-5 - Digital farming technology adoption and technical efficiency in agricultural production of farms in the State of São Paulo, AP.PNGP.PI

Abstract

The main objective of the dissertation is to identify the factors determining the adoption of Digital Agriculture (DA) technologies by beef cattle farmers. The specific objectives are: i) to identify and describe the Digital Agriculture (DA) technologies adopted by beef cattle farmers; ii) to test the effects of a set of managerial, behavioral, structural, institutional and human/social capital variables on the probability of adoption of different AD technologies by beef cattle farmers. The primary data for the analysis will be collected within the scope of a partnership already signed between UFSCar, Embrapa Pecuária Sudeste and Scot Consultoria. The company Scot Consultoria develops a project called Confina Brasil, in which around 130 beef cattle feedlots have been visited annually in the main producing regions of the country. A structured questionnaire is applied to collect technical, managerial and socioeconomic data. The data will be analyzed by means of econometric qualitative choice models (logit or probit). The expected results are: (i) Identification and description of DA technologies adopted by beef cattle farmers; (ii) Identification of the factors determining the adoption of different DA technologies by beef cattle farmers; (iii) Description of the characteristics, impacts and potential of DA technologies for farm management; (iv) Proposing strategies to increase the diffusion of AD technologies among farmers.