Digitalization in agriculture – why are we making such slow progress?

Dr. Martin Schneider, managing director of IAK Agrar Consulting GmbH, was invited to the Leipzig Economic Society's theme day on digitization, organization, and orientation of agricultural enterprises to accompany Prof. Thomas Herlitzius' keynote speech with a statement from a consulting perspective.

Here is Dr. Schneider's statement:

My three central theses:

1. Digitalization as the key to sustainability

Used correctly, digitalization increases the sustainability of agricultural businesses – economically, ecologically, and socially. It is indispensable for advancing the industry.

2. Practical obstacles

In my consulting practice, however, I see that many digital offerings are of poor quality and individual systems are often insufficiently networked. The strategic reasons for this are that data management systems are usually developed with a focus on machines instead of mapping the entire management cycle.

3. Disillusionment among users

The wide variation in quality on the market often leads to confusion and resignation among farmers. We are stuck. It is particularly critical that many systems end with documentation in everyday use. The necessary evaluation and target/actual comparison remain time-consuming due to isolated “data silos” and are often not implemented in practice.

For digitalization to offer real added value, it must simplify the entire management cycle – from goal setting, planning, and implementation to documentation and evaluation back to goal setting.

Advantages of digitalization:

For me, digitalization is not an end in itself – it helps entrepreneurs achieve their goals more efficiently. Used correctly, it brings noticeable improvements through:

• Economic sustainability and efficiency: optimization of income-expense ratios
• Ecological sustainability: better environmental compatibility and avoidance of resistance
• Simplified operational management: automatic documentation, improved controlling, greater transparency, and reduced workload for management

Approaches:

I see several levers for leveraging the full potential:

• In-depth training and further education for users to enable better decisions
• “Assisted data management” by service providers until systems really do function automatically – with a central role for consulting
• Stronger demand pressure on suppliers to deliver networked components
• Introduction of an independent smart farming TÜV to provide farmers with objective decision-making aids

My conclusion:

Digitalization must pay off for agricultural businesses through greater efficiency, improved environmental compatibility, and a noticeable simplification of operational management.

Example: Smart farming

Comparison of providers of site-specific corn sowing maps (in German)