Agriculture 4.0: Is Mexico Ready?

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the possibilities and actions required to foster the introduction of technologies consistent with the term “agriculture 4.0” in Mexico.Design/Methodology/Approach: To identify providers of technology in Mexico. To present the cost-benefit equation regarding the adoption of said technology as applied to the cultivation of maize in different regions. Todesign and construct an adoption propensity index that will serve as a basis to propose focused and adequate actions to remove technology access barriers.Results: Mexico has a young and wide offer of technology, both tangible and intangible, where digital platforms of agricultural management, mobile apps, and remote monitoring predominate. The cost-benefit relationshipoffers a large margin to adopt new technologies. However, there are adoption barriers (related to education or infrastructure, for instance) that represent a challenge to different regions of the country: the northern,northeastern, and western states of Mexico are more likely to adopt new technologies.Study limitations/Implications: Further experimental and field analysesare required to delve deeper into potential additional barriers (culture-related, for example). Agro productividad 2022. https://doi.org/10.32854/xxxxxx (Los autores no deben realizar ningún cambio en este apartado) 2 of 8 Findings/Conclusions: The cost-benefit analysis offers a large margin foradoption. However, the propensity to adopt is associated to restrictingfactors such as the producers’ educational level, the production unit’s sizeand level of mechanization, the access to and use of Information andCommunication Technologies, and the telecoms infrastructure, whosegeographic disparity is significant. The public sector’s intervention isdesirable to reduce the gap between the supply and demand oftechnologies, as well as the access barriers to the latter.