Resilience in Agriculture: Communication and Energy Infrastructure Dependencies of German Farmers

Franz Kuntke; Sebastian Linsner; Enno Steinbrink; Jonas Franken; Christian Reuter

doi:10.1007/s13753-022-00404-7

Volume 13 Issue 2

Jul. 2022

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Franz Kuntke, Sebastian Linsner, Enno Steinbrink, Jonas Franken, Christian Reuter. Resilience in Agriculture: Communication and Energy Infrastructure Dependencies of German Farmers[J]. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 2022, 13(2): 214-229. doi: 10.1007/s13753-022-00404-7

Citation:

Franz Kuntke, Sebastian Linsner, Enno Steinbrink, Jonas Franken, Christian Reuter. Resilience in Agriculture: Communication and Energy Infrastructure Dependencies of German Farmers[J]. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 2022, 13(2): 214-229. doi: 10.1007/s13753-022-00404-7

Citation:

Franz Kuntke, Sebastian Linsner, Enno Steinbrink, Jonas Franken, Christian Reuter. Resilience in Agriculture: Communication and Energy Infrastructure Dependencies of German Farmers[J]. International Journal of Disaster Risk Science, 2022, 13(2): 214-229. doi: 10.1007/s13753-022-00404-7

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Resilience in Agriculture: Communication and Energy Infrastructure Dependencies of German Farmers

doi: 10.1007/s13753-022-00404-7

Science and Technology for Peace and Security (PEASEC), Technical University of Darmstadt, 64289, Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany

Funds:

This work was supported by funds of the German Government's Special Purpose Fund held at Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank in the projects Geobox-II and AgriRegio, by the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) in the project HyServ (01IS17030B), and by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation)-251805230/GRK 2050.

Available Online: 2022-07-06

Abstract

Abstract

Agriculture is subject to high demands regarding resilience as it is an essential component of the food production chain. In the agricultural sector, there is an increasing usage of digital tools that rely on communication and energy infrastructures. Should disruption occur, such strengthened dependencies on other infrastructures increase the probability of ripple effects. Thus, there is a need to analyze the resilience of the agricultural sector with a specific focus on the effects of digitalization. This study works out resilience capacities of the interconnected technologies used in farm systems based on the experiences and opinions of farmers. Information was gathered through focus group interviews with farmers (N = 52) and a survey with participants from the agricultural sector (N = 118). In particular, the focus is put on the digital tools and other information and communication technologies they use. Based on a definition of resilience capacities, we evaluate resilience regarding energy and communication demands in various types of farm systems. Especially important are the resilience aspects of modern systems’ digital communication as well as the poorly developed and nonresilient network infrastructure in rural areas that contrast with the claim for a resilient agriculture. The result is a low robustness capacity, as our analysis concludes with the risk of food production losses.
- Digitalization of agriculture,
- Germany,
- Infrastructure failures,
- Resilience capacities

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References(52)

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