Technological innovations are changing mechanisation in agriculture. The most recent wave of innovations referred to as smart farming technologies (SFT), promise to improve farming by responding to economic, ecological, and social challenges and thereby sustainably develop agriculture throughout Europe. To better understand the relevance of ongoing technological progress for farming systems across Europe, 287 farmers were surveyed in 7 EU countries and in 4 cropping systems, alongside 22 in-depth semi-structured interviews with experts from the agricultural knowledge and innovation system. Of the surveyed farmers, about 50% were SFT adopters and 50% were non-adopters. The number of adopters increased with farm size, and there were more adopters among arable cropping systems than in tree crops. Although all farmers broadly perceive SFT as useful to farming and generally expect SFT to continue to be so, when it comes to specific on-farm challenges, farmers are less convinced of SFT potential. Moreover, farmers’ perceptions of SFT vary according to SFT characteristics and farming context. Interestingly, both adopter and non-adopter groups are hesitant regarding SFT adoption, such that adopters are somewhat disillusioned about the SFT that they have experience with, and non-adopters because they are not convinced that the appropriate technologies are available and accessible. About 60% of all farmers surveyed have a number of suggestions for SFT to become more relevant to a broader range of farms. Both farmers and experts generally consider peer-to-peer communication as important sources of information and deplore a lack of impartial advice. Experts are generally more convinced of SFT advantages, and are positive regarding the long-term trends of technological development. The findings support previous findings on using farmers’ perceptions in innovation processes, and provide insight to the recent trends regarding SFT application to diverse cropping systems across Europe. This suggests that differences related to agricultural structures and farming systems across Europe have to be considered if SFT development and dissemination should be improved.

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经验与期望：农民对欧洲种植系统智能农业技术的看法

技术创新正在改变农业机械化。最近一波被称为智能农业技术 (SFT) 的创新有望通过应对经济、生态和社会挑战来改善农业，从而在整个欧洲可持续发展农业。为了更好地了解持续的技术进步对整个欧洲农业系统的相关性，对 7 个欧盟国家和 4 个种植系统的 287 名农民进行了调查，同时对农业知识和创新系统的专家进行了 22 次深入的半结构化访谈。在接受调查的农民中，大约 50% 是 SFT 的采用者，50% 是非采用者。采用者的数量随着农场规模的增加而增加，耕种系统中的采用者多于树木作物。尽管所有农民普遍认为 SFT 对农业有用，并且普遍期望 SFT 继续如此，但当涉及到特定的农场挑战时，农民对 SFT 的潜力不太相信。此外，农民对 SFT 的看法因 SFT 特征和农业环境而异。有趣的是，采用者和非采用者团体都对 SFT 的采用犹豫不决，以至于采用者对他们有经验的 SFT 感到有些失望，而非采用者则因为他们不相信适当的技术是可用和可访问的。大约 60% 的受访农民对 SFT 与更广泛的农场的相关性提出了一些建议。农民和专家都普遍认为点对点交流是重要的信息来源，并对缺乏公正的建议表示遗憾。专家们普遍更相信SFT的优势，对技术发展的长期趋势持积极态度。这些发现支持了先前关于在创新过程中利用农民的看法的发现，并提供了对 SFT 在欧洲不同种植系统中应用的最新趋势的见解。这表明，如果要改进 SFT 的开发和传播，就必须考虑与整个欧洲的农业结构和耕作系统相关的差异。这些发现支持了先前关于在创新过程中利用农民的看法的发现，并提供了对 SFT 在欧洲不同种植系统中应用的最新趋势的见解。这表明，如果要改进 SFT 的开发和传播，就必须考虑与整个欧洲的农业结构和耕作系统相关的差异。这些发现支持了先前关于在创新过程中利用农民的看法的发现，并提供了对 SFT 在欧洲不同种植系统中应用的最新趋势的见解。这表明，如果要改进 SFT 的开发和传播，就必须考虑与整个欧洲的农业结构和耕作系统相关的差异。