Le agricultural enterprises I'm late on the road to digital transition but they are speeding up to catch up. According to ainvestigation conducted twigs Tagliacarn Study Centerand on a sample of 800 farms with at least 2 employees, the 23% of companies in the agricultural sector is adopting or intends to adopt 4.0 technologies between 2022 and 2024. This figure represents a significant increase compared to the 4% recorded in the three-year period 2017-2019 and the subsequent jump to 20% during the two-year period of the pandemic emergency.
Insufficient economic resources to invest
The main problem with investing in digitization derives from lack of sufficient economic resources. He reports it one in four companies. Pnrr, in this case, represents an opportunity to be understood, however, with 69% of companies in the sector declaring that they do not want or are unable to access these resources. Only the 16% of companies have already activated and another 15% plan to do so. Scarcity of financial resources is a problem particularly felt by women's farms, with 49% of them declaring financial difficulties compared to 25% of farms overall. Furthermore, 23% of agricultural businesses identify i costs too high of technologies as another challenge to face, while 21% complain about the lack of information on the investment process in digital technologies.
Self-financing the main choice
The survey also shows that 86% of agricultural businesses do self-finance using own capital or the family one to manage current assets and make investments. However, when companies look for external resources, 52% turn to credit institutions, while only 25% use direct public funding.
Green companies preferred by young people and women. The South still behind
In the period between 2022 and 2024, 49% of agricultural businesses are building or intend to build green investments. This figure rises to 61% for farms led by women and 55% for those managed by under 35s. In Southern Italy only 43% of farms are oriented towards green investments. Agricultural businesses show greater attention to sustainability (58%) than other sectors, such as forestry businesses (31%). In fact, 86% of companies declare the absence of particular difficulties in introducing green investments into their business. More problems are encountered in correspondence with the search for the necessary professional figures (12%) and the procurement costs of green raw materials that are too high (10%). While financial resources are a problem for only 8% of companies in the sector.
The majority of the farms interviewed (78%) believe that investing in sustainability represents an opportunity for one's business, compared to 63% of industrial companies and 55% of service companies. However, for 22%, the transition towards sustainability represents only a constraint. The main reasons that push companies towards green investments are compliance with national and European regulations (47%), awareness of corporate risks deriving from pollution and climate change (22%) and benefits for corporate image and reputation (21%). Among the companies that made green investments in the five-year period 2017-2021, 63% recorded a reduction in waste or production waste. In second place is the use of renewable energies (47%) and in third place is water saving (39%).
Generational change is not a problem
Il generational change it is a concern for only 13% of companies. 59% of agricultural businesses say that generational renewal is not a problem, as it has already been addressed or is not yet on the agenda. The 45% are still in the first generation, with peaks in the forestry sector (68%) and in Southern Italy (59%). Only 38% of farms are in the second generation and 16% are in the third or later. It is interesting to note that more than two-thirds of young farmers have not founded the company, but have inherited it.
Solo one out of ten agricultural entrepreneurs has a university degree. The share of graduates rises to 26% among young businesses and 21% among women's businesses. Graduates are more present among the owners of companies with more than 50 employees (23%) and in the regions of Central Italy (18%).
Agricultural companies more attentive to networking
Agricultural enterprises show one greater propensity to create collaborative networks with the other players in the supply chain. 42% favor the participation of employees in the development of innovative projects, 37% establish collaborations with trade associations and 35% develop partnerships with other companies. Furthermore, 60% of agricultural enterprises invest in human capital. Higher percentages than in other sectors. Even in the choice of its suppliers, the relationship established over time pays off. 24% consider the quality/price ratio decisive, while 16% rely on the reliability of the supplier. In general, young companies are more dynamic in terms of their ability to network, less those in the South.
“Agriculture is showing itself more and more receptive in the adoption of new enabling technologies with the aim of competing better on the market. Agricultural enterprises are more inclined than other entrepreneurial realities to invest in human capital to improve their skills and to encourage employee participation in the development of innovation projects, in a logic of sharing. However, to give further impetus to the process of change underway it is necessary to develop targeted policies that favor the modernization of the entire supply chain which remains strategic for our economy” declared the president of Unioncamere, Andrew Priest.
