Socio-Technical Resilience in Agri-Food Systems: Integrating Social Capital, Financial Capability, Digital Transformation, and Gender Empowerment for Sustainable Agriculture

Author

Adeleke Oyindamola Oluwatosin, Afolabi Idowu Oluwatoyin, Awuzie Peace Brown, Dauda Ibrahim Opeyemi, Eunice Omoyeme Aremu & Ogbu Precious Ada

Abstract

 Moving toward farming and food systems that last, and that can absorb shocks, means changing technology and changing social and financial life at the same time. This paper brings together evidence on four parts of agricultural sustainability: social capital; farmers' mental health and financial capability; digital supply chain resilience; and gender empowerment through cooperative governance. The evidence shows that decisions about climate-smart farming and environmental technologies are rarely made on technical grounds alone. Group membership, local leadership networks, and social trust shape them heavily. At the same time, the money and workload pressures of farming produce serious mental health strain, and long-term financial exposure together with a culture of not complaining stops many farmers from asking for help. Teaching farmers to handle money better lowers these pressures, and it also raises profit, increases money put back into the farm, and cuts the cost of borrowing. On the supply chain side, digital tools and new technology improve stock control and delivery, but they work best when the organisation behind them is already strong - for example when firms belong to a consortium or follow good quality management. Raising farm output also means dealing with unfair structures. The data show that giving women a real say in production decisions and ownership of assets raises both the variety of crops a household grows and how efficiently it farms. Agricultural cooperatives are the main institution that carries these changes forward; they raise total factor productivity and the uptake of technology, but their gains are often shared unequally and are limited by long-term debt. The overall lesson is that technology and digital tools in farming cannot work on their own. They must sit on strong social networks, financial knowledge, fair cooperative governance, and care for farmers' wellbeing.

Keywords

Agri-food systems; Digital transformation; Financial capability; Gender empowerment; Social capital; Sustainable agriculture.

Full Text:

Download Paper PDF

References

[1] Key N. Off-farm Income, Credit Constraints, and Farm Investment. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics. 2020;52(4):642-663. DOI: 10.1017/aae.2020.25

[2] Tortorella GL, Gloet M, Samson D, Kurnia S, Fogliatto FS, Anzanello M. Effects of the interaction between resilience development and digital transformation on the performance of the Australian food supply chains. International Journal of Logistics Research and Applications. 2024;29(1):123-139. DOI: 10.1080/13675567.2024.2403565

[3] Zaridis A, Vlachos I, Bourlakis M. SMEs strategy and scale constraints impact on agri-food supply chain collaboration and firm performance. Production Planning & Control. 2020;32(14):1165-1178. DOI: 10.1080/09537287.2020.1796136

[4] Gil J. Women's empowerment and crop diversification. Nature Food. 2023;4(8):639. DOI: 10.1038/s43016-023-00831-9

[5] Murugani VG, Thamaga-Chitja JM. How does women's empowerment in agriculture affect household food security and dietary diversity? The case of rural irrigation schemes in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Agrekon. 2019;58(3):308-323. DOI: 10.1080/03031853.2019.1610976

[6] Lin B, Wang X, Jin S, Yang W, et al. Impacts of cooperative membership on rice productivity: Evidence from China. World Development. 2022;150:105669. DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2021.105669

[7] Dong Y, Mu Y, Abler D. Do Farmer Professional Cooperatives Improve Technical Efficiency and Income? Evidence from Small Vegetable Farms in China. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics. 2019;51(4):591-605. DOI: 10.1017/aae.2019.22

[8] Riethmuller ML, Newnham EA, McEvoy PM. Supporting mental health in farming communities where and when it is needed most: A longitudinal analysis of risk and protective factors. Social Science & Medicine. 2024;361:117381. DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117381

[9] Vayro C, Brownlow C, Ireland M, March S. 'Farming is not Just an Occupation [but] a Whole Lifestyle': A Qualitative Examination of Lifestyle and Cultural Factors Affecting Mental Health Help-Seeking in Australian Farmers. Sociologia Ruralis. 2020;60(1):151-173. DOI: 10.1111/soru.12274

[10] Gottlieb U, Hansson H. Farmers' Financial Literacy - Scale Development and Linkages to Accounting Practices and Financial Outcomes. Agribusiness. 2024;41(1). DOI: 10.1002/agr.21986

Share your valuable work from Social Media Buttons