Agricultural University of Athens
School of Applied Economics and Social Sciences
Department of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development
An Analysis of Intention to Use Smart Farming Applications in Leafy Vegetable Production based on the Technology Acceptance Model
A thesis submitted to the
AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY OF ATHENS
In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Integrated Master’s Degree of
AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICS AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT
By
MARIA MALLIRI
Student ID: 419162
Committee Members
Costopoulou Constantina, Professor (Supervisor)
Karetsos Sotirios, Assistant Professor
Ntaliani Maria, Assistant Professor
Athens, April 2024
ABSTRACT
Introduction: The agriculture sector has developed particularly in recent decades. The traditional services that were used in the past years are not sufficient and effective in informing the farmers, in contrast to the latest technological means that enable the optimal development of agriculture. Smart agriculture is based on the use of modern information and communication technologies and applies various innovative models to explore the attitude, needs and desires of farmers, leading to the enhancement of the quality but also the quantity of crops and wider agricultural production.
Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the attitude and intention of farmers to use the new technologies offered by smart agriculture. Cases that have utilized the TAM model were sought in order to explore the attitude and intention of farmers regarding the use of innovative technologies of smart agriculture.
Methodology: The online databases Web of Science and Scopus were searched. Studies related to the topic under investigation and published within the last ten years exclusively in the English language were searched. Then a TAM questionnaire was created examining the attitude and acceptance proposal of Smart Agriculture by leafy vegetable growers and its results were analyzed in the SPSS statistical program.
Results: The TAM model appeared to be able to influence the attitude and intention of farmers regarding the use of new technologies of smart agriculture. It was found that the technology acceptance model can contribute to the identification of factors related to the adoption of innovative technologies by farmers in order to develop production.
Conclusions: The TAM model has proven to be effective in identifying the factors that influence the attitude, behavior and intention of farmers regarding the utilization of modern technologies of smart agriculture. However, there are few studies on this issue, for this reason it is particularly important to carry out further research and to sensitize those involved with the use of the latest technological means as well as modern information and communication technologies for the development of the agricultural sector.
Keywords: Agriculture, Smart farming, Digital technologies, Farmers motivation, TAM model
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