Towards the twin transition in the agri-food sector? Framing the current debate on sustainability and digitalisation

A significant weight on the environment is created by the agricultural processes starting from the exploitation of the soil and production to the physical distribution of goods, the retailers’ operations and consumption. Agriculture and particularly agri-food is imperative to contribute to solving such global challenges as climate change and food security through cleaner and greener supply chains, where the implementation of smart technologies is one of the major ways to create an impact. The pairing between the potential of digital technologies and sustainability inputs, called twin transition, is currently one of the EU policy’s priorities. This research focuses on linking digitalisation and sustainability in the agri-food sector through applications of various digital technologies and the associated contributions to sustainability through the three – environmental, economic, and social - dimensions. To analyse the current debate on sustainability and digitalisation, we have utilised a systematic literature review and qualitative analysis of (policy) documents. The discussion presents a conceptual framework, which follows the process of the integration of a digital technology from its reasoning to the associated sustainability outcomes. The research identifies uneven representation of digital technologies and the structural imbalance of applications towards farming as the agri-food supply chain node and farmers as the major actors’ group. The scale of these applications frame the associated contributions to the sustainability dimensions. The analysis of the sustainability outcomes brought by digitalisation through classification of their aspects can advise not only a choice of technology but also managerial and policy directions leading to the transformation. One of the ways to manage twin transition and support competitiveness on both firm and sector levels is development of a strategy, which can be supported by policy making.