1. Digital agricultural opportunities in the social sciences
Steven Wolf
Department of Natural Resources and Graduate Field of Development Sociology
Workshop - Oct. 9, 2018

2. Why? Because the stakes are so high

3. Institutional analysis of technical change
Science and technological change are social processes
Institutions are deep, persistent foundations of social life and development

4. Social coordination mechanisms (institutions)
MARKET
STATE
COMMUNITY

5. Social coordination mechanisms (institutions)
PRIVATE
PUBLIC
COLLECTIVE

9. Who feeds the world? (ETC 2009)

11. Opportunity - Responsible Innovation
Account for potential impacts on the environment and society
Participatory, inclusive, reflexive
Technical change happens with, not to, actors in agrifood systems
Interfaces
Responsive to a wide variety of groups
Produce public goods (e.g., health, environment, poverty alleviation)

12. Opportunity - Data ownership and access
Privacy as Knowledge Commons (Villanova Law School)
Collective/Professional structures - public universities, coops, SWCD,

13. Opportunity - Information intensive farming
Role of off-farm service providers
Analysis
Outreach/collaboration
Education
Regulation
Systems of innovation
Farmers
Input producers
Service providers
Finance
Processors & retailers
Regulators
Universities
Others…..

14. Opportunity - Outcome-based agrienvironmental policy
Paying-for-results
Disproportionality thesis
Costs of measurement and verification prohibitive
Enhance discipline, accountability, efficiency of incentive programs