From field to market: digitalization as the key to building entire agricultural value chains in rural areas

Stanojević, Nataša and Lichun, Xiong (2023) From field to market: digitalization as the key to building entire agricultural value chains in rural areas. In: Proceedings Book from Second International Conference "Challenges of Digitalization in the Business World". Alfa BK University, Belgrade, pp. 34-49. ISBN 978-86-6461-068-1

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Abstract

This paper explores a novel approach to integrated rural development: constructing entire value chains in rural areas. While integrated rural development has a strong theoretical foundation, past practical attempts have often fallen short. In contrast, this new concept, involving the establishment of secondary and tertiary sectors in rural areas, lacks a formal theoretical basis but is being implemented through China's recent agrarian policies. The implementation of this concept was made possible exclusively by the development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and mass digitalization. The research aims to identify and categorize obstacles to previous integrated rural development programs, assess how digitalization can overcome these challenges, and explore the potential of digitalization in creating rural value chains. The methodology involves content analysis of primary and secondary data, comparing and classifying implementation challenges, and examining how digitalization can address these issues. The findings demonstrate that digitalization offers solutions to all identified obstacles. Today, every stage in the field-to-market supply chain can benefit from digital support, bridging geographical gaps and facilitating the spontaneous relocation of economic activities, people, and capital to rural areas due to cost advantages.

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