The political ecology of agriculture 4.0 in Italy: toward a green agroextractivist model?
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Abstract
This article explores the political ecology of agricultural digitalization in Italy, situating it within the broader debate on green capitalism and agro-extractivism. Far from representing a neutral phase of technological modernization, the digital transition in agriculture –pro-moted within the framework of the eu’s twin green and digital transition– embodies a further development in the commodification of nature and labor. Based on a preliminary analysis of the impacts of agricultural digitalization policies in Italy, the article examines how these policies address the structural contradictions of the agroindustrial model in the Italian context. It argues that digital agriculture functions as a reformist strategy that adapts to, rather than resolves, an increasingly deep socio-ecological crisis, reinforcing trends of land concentration, labor precarity, and environmental degradation. By framing these dynamics through the lens of agro-extractivism, the article highlights the intersections between the twin ecological and digital transition in agriculture and this regime of accumulation, contrasting them with a just transition perspective centered on the reproduction of socio-ecological life rather than the technological intensification of production.
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