Turning the Table(t)s?

Abstract

Agriculture, one of the users and also the basis of major rural resources, has undergone a change in the last couple of decades: the industrial revolution made its mark in the early 20th century and then the information age began to shape agricultural production and the way farming is done today. This process presents an enormous challenge for the stakeholders in agriculture, especially for smallholder farmers and family farms that play a crucial role in the sustainable use of rural resources. The new information and communication tools and services are both an opportunity and a risk: the adaption of these innovations is a must in order to act in a globalised and standardised context and to manage even a small farm, but the adaptation process is slow, which hampers the chances of e-innovations in a rural context. This chapter examines the causes behind the changes in agriculture and concludes with the opportunity of widespread use of e-innovations.