Although the same levels of data collection and precision application of inputs are not likely to be widely used in resource-poor farming situations, advances in technologies are likely to provide additional options in those regions.For example, the Global Open Data for Agriculture and Nutrition initiative is promoting global efforts to make agricultural and nutritionally relevant data available, accessible, and usable for unrestricted use worldwide . There are over 150 partners in this initiative from national governments, non-governmental, international and private sector organizations who support this effort. It is clear that there is a need for a more focused effort to connect the various agricultural systems modeling, database, data harmonization, open-access, and DSS efforts together, so that the scientific resources being invested in these different initiatives will contribute to compatible set of models, data, and platforms to ensure global public goods. This is critically important, considering that these tools are increasingly needed to ensure that agriculture will meet the food demands of the next 50 to 100 years and will be sustainable environmentally and economically. Efforts are underway to remedy this situation by a number of groups . Moreover, as detailed in Antle et al. , there is a need for strategies such as private-public partnerships to bring together the power of private sector investments with the ongoing research to advance models and modeling tools. This is true for production models of crops and animals as well as economic models across each of the first three Use Cases that address issues in data-poor areas in Sub Saharan Africa. Finally, based on the current status of models, data, and knowledge systems, a strategy should include the appropriate modification and in some cases re-programming of existing component models that already include many needed capabilities. This would facilitate extension of components that respond to factors that are not currently considered by models, using a range of methods including statistical models,vertical rack system reduced form models, extended databases, and modular models that integrate component sub-modules. Seavert et al. suggested that some data limitations could be overcome by integrating farm-level models and knowledge products with landscape-scale data and models.

Recent experience in AgMIP demonstrated the value of multiple models indicating that it would not be useful to pursue a goal of producing perfect models for crops, livestock, and farming systems. Although there are excellent prospects for considerable advances in agricultural systems data, models, and knowledge systems, there are inherent limitations in these tools due to irreducible uncertainties in model structures, spatial variability of physical, chemical, genetic, and socioeconomic conditions. These limitations will continue to vary depending on applications, which suggest that future evaluation of capabilities and limitations should be based on well-defined Use Cases. This review indicates that the current state of agricultural systems models is sufficient for some contemporary applications, but that major advances are needed to achieve the next generation of data, models, and knowledge systems to address more complex issues and achieve food security during the next century.Farmers and other agricultural stakeholders are experimenting with many types of information and communication technology such as websites, blogs, social media and mobile decision support applications. As data scientists integrate ICT with “big” data, farmers can downscale diverse sets of information for local decision-making and upscale local data to see emergent patterns at multiple scales. Social media tools allow extension professionals, farmers and other agricultural stakeholders to communicate in new ways about the broad range of issues affecting agroecological systems. The increasing use of ICT in agriculture has engendered a significant debate about its benefits for achieving extension goals relative to its potential risks and costs. This paper empirically examines ICT use among extension professionals working on sustainable agriculture in California. We broadly define “extension professionals” as professionals engaged in agriculture outreach and extension, either based at a university or elsewhere throughout the food system and agricultural knowledge networks . We particularly emphasize the role of social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn as innovative extension tools for building knowledge networks, coordination, communication, outreach and education. We draw on diffusion of innovation theory as a framework that can integrate many elements of the debate about the benefits and risks of ICT . Diffusion of innovation theory suggests that ICT adoption depends on how extension professionals perceive the attributes of this innovative technology, such as its relative advantage over other extension tools and its complexity. We also examine how demographic characteristics of extension professionals influence ICT adoption. Our analysis sheds light on the potential technology gap, hinted at by extant research, between extension professionals’ use of ICT and the general public’s, and possibly agricultural clientele’s, greater use of ICT.

Developing policy recommendations to improve the appropriate use of ICT requires identifying the critical barriers to ICT adoption among extension professionals. Our research has implications for broader ideas about how to adapt extension systems to the new realities of agricultural knowledge networks and innovation systems . Modern agricultural knowledge networks are distributed systems, where relevant information is developed and communicated by a wide range of stakeholders. The traditional top-down model of delivering land grant university research to local clientele is becoming obsolete, especially when resources are thin . It must be complemented by a more bottom-up model, where in addition to developing and broadcasting new knowledge, land-grant universities and other extension organizations must build innovation systems that coordinate knowledge networks among different stakeholders . Such networks seek to synergistically combine social, technical and experiential learning. New ICTs are potentially important tools in this endeavor, especially when used to complement other methods of outreach and education. The results of this paper enhance the evidence base for this endeavor. The information technology revolution has transformed the way that people access information and build social connections across the globe. The latest survey results from the Pew Research Center estimated that the percentage of U.S. citizens using at least one social media site increased from 5% in 2005 to 69% in 2016. Social media use was more frequent among women and individuals in higher education and income categories. In 2016, Facebook had the highest market share , followed by Instagram , Pinterest , LinkedIn and Twitter . Farmers are increasingly connected but lag behind the general population. USDA NASS estimated that in 2017 more than 70% of farmers in the United States had computer and internet access and 47% used computers for farm business. Computer and internet usage was higher among wealthy farmers. A study in the Pacific Northwest found that potato growers used popular ICT platforms as frequently as college students — 93% of growers used email compared with 97% of students; 97% of growers used text messages compared with 94% of students; 70% of growers used Facebook compared with 73% of students; and 90% of growers used YouTube compared with 91% of students — and growers overall used 3.5 more varieties of technology than college students. In developing countries, mobile phone technology continues to expand and provides a crucial information and networking resource for rural agricultural populations . Despite some evidence that extension clientele are using ICT at rates approaching those of the general population, extension professionals may be lagging behind both groups. Gharis et al. reported that among participants in a Natural Resources Conservation Service webinar, 53% used Facebook and 10% used Twitter. O’Neill et al. found that the proportion of members of the financial services community of practice for e-Extension using Facebook or Twitter daily is far less than the general population. While the existing research hints at a potential technology gap in extension professionals’ use of ICT, much more research is needed to document and explain ICT adoption and use within agricultural systems. The potential gap in extension professionals’ use of ICT reflects a lively ongoing debate about the costs, benefits, barriers and risks of ICT for agriculture . On the benefits side, ICT may provide access to information, coordination, job opportunities, social networks and improved services . Extension professionals expect ICT to create a snowball effect , with information more quickly reaching a larger and more diverse audience than in person communication methods like workshops and field meetings . The benefits may include the integration of real-time information into mobile applications or websites to provide decision support, linking daily agricultural decisions to economic and agro-ecological processes at multiple scales. Realizing these benefits requires overcoming many potential risks,mobile grow rack barriers and costs. Gadino et al. highlighted the importance of linking traditional in person methods with digital technology and the time required to update ICT with new and real-time information. Newbury et al. identified the barriers as lack of training, concern about information control and time availability.

Gharis et al. emphasize lack of professional acceptance by colleagues as a barrier to innovation, which is linked to the capacity to measure effectiveness. O’Neill et al. pointed out the need for organizational procedures; only 29% said their institutions had guidelines for reporting, and only 22% of their respondents reported their own social media outreach activities to their extension administration. There was a notable amount of uncertainty — 27% of non-reporters said they did not know how to use social media, and 38% did not know if their institution had guidelines.Existing research lacks a theoretical framework to integrate the diverse terms of the debate about ICT adoption among extension professionals. Diffusion of innovation theory, which examines how innovations spread through a population of users, provides such a framework. It has been an enduring research topic in agricultural decision-making for more than a century . A central argument of diffusion theory is that the likelihood of an innovation being adopted is related to the following attributes of the innovation: relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability and observability. We used these attributes to frame our research hypotheses. “Relative advantage” refers to the innovation’s potential benefits and opportunities relative to other extension tools. For ICT, the most frequently discussed advantages are its capacity to reach larger, more diverse and more geographically dispersed audiences . Also, ICT can quickly deliver new information, potentially in real time with linkages to large-scale data. ICT may also provide support for on-the-ground decisions, for example, about agriculture management, or for coordinating the activities of extension professionals. “Compatibility” is the extent to which the innovation is compatible with professional and social norms. For extension, an important norm is delivering scientifically valid and neutral information to support decision-making and stakeholder dialogue. Especially with the everyday mention of “fake news” and “internet trolls,” extension professionals worry that social media may facilitate the spread of misinformation and provide an avenue for unreasonable individuals to corrode civic dialogue. In addition, many extension professionals feel that relative to more traditional outreach and publication strategies, there is a lack of professional incentives and peer recognition for the use of ICT. “Complexity” refers to the difficulties of integrating the innovation. In terms of the ICT debate, not all extension professionals have the technical knowledge to effectively use social media platforms or effectively integrate communication across multiple platforms. It may take too much time to learn how to use social media and maintain an active web presence. These complexities are exacerbated by a lack of widely recognized best practices about how to effectively craft social media communication. “Observability” and “trialability” refer to the extent to which the innovation’s effectiveness can be observed and tracked. There is a lack of clarity about how to track the effectiveness of ICT, for example, observing who accesses and uptakes information posted on Facebook or Twitter . This includes the use of altmetrics, since there is no universally accepted method of measuring social media effectiveness and no clear policies from the University of California, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources, or other organizations. Furthermore, it is more difficult to control access to or target the audience for social media information with the same precision as in-person strategies aimed at particular constituencies. We studied ICT use among extension professionals involved in sustainable agriculture in California. An empirical study, it analyzed whether ICT adoption and use was affected by perceptions about ICT and the professional demographics of the individual user.