Paper short abstract:

This paper will consider how public funding in wealthy industrialized countries influences the economic geographies of data intensive technologies in agriculture.

Paper long abstract:

This paper will consider how public funding in wealthy industrialized countries influences the economic geographies of data intensive technologies in agriculture. While research has considered how private funders, startups, and large agribusiness plays a role in shaping a smart farming ecosystem in developing countries, there has been less focus on the role of the state in these tech spaces. This paper will review funding mechanisms in Europe that support the development of data intensive technologies, as well as publicly funded projects, to consider how discourses of global development are constructed within the pursuit of precision agriculture. The concept of socio-technical imaginaries will be used to explore the ways that new data-intensive technologies are interpolated into national visions of future food production relations globally, and particular attention will be paid to how commitments to sustainable development, responsible research and innovation, and equitable development are pursued. The findings of the paper will provide insights into how new agricultural technologies play a role in shaping national imaginaries and material investment in new agricultural technologies aimed at global food production.