# ICT in Rural Areas from the Perspective of Dairy Farming: A Systematic Review
## 3 Results
### Innovation and Technology (22 Documents)  
An innovation is an idea, practice, or object which is perceived by an individual as new [69]. Nowadays, technological innovation is a central engine for the economic growth and productivity of any country [70], since it has helped satisfy the growing demand of consumers, which itself is greatly propelled by the innovations in consumption technologies and commercial practices [71]. The capacity to innovate is a strategic tool for those companies which want to keep their competitive position in the global market [28; 70; 72]. It is precisely here where the concept of Industry 4.0 emerges, which is a movement of global modernization in the manufacturing industry towards the adoption of the recent progress in the field of the ICT: New communication systems and protocols, online security standards, multiple-devices displays, mobile and compact communication devices with increasingly better computational capacities [6; 16]. In terms of this innovation capacity offered by the ICT, as shown by [73] in their research performed in Beijing or in other studies such as those conducted by [74] in Igloolik (Nunavut, in the north of Canada), it is demonstrated that the new technologies are increasing the human capacity of information storage, analysis and communication, which means that more people have the opportunity to produce, communicate and use digital media as never before. The agro-alimentary sector is the biggest manufacturing sector within the EU, and it is one of the main economic boosters of the member countries [75]. In this field, the incorporation of the new information and communication technologies to the productive chain results in the improvement of the competitiveness of the sector [76; 77], apart from allowing people to live and work remotely and to be able to interact with their local communities in different ways [11]. At this point, the concept of \"Smart Agriculture\" comes into play, and it is constituted by farms and farmers, which use the progress in the information and communication technologies in order to react to challenges [57]. As an example of that, a case study performed by [78] in Ireland shows that there exists a positive relationship between the development of the competition within the Irish agricultural sector (which is achieved through the participation in the formal agricultural education)and the use of innovations, technology, and better management practices since they involve an improvement in the level of income of the farm. However, and as has been said, in spite of the fact that digitalization, automation, and artificial intelligence are increasingly important to farmers, researchers, and people responsible for the decision-making process in the field of food and agriculture [10; 79], there are still problems related to their use and implementation [80]. Thus, and connected to this, interviews conducted by [81] to educated young farmers in the west of Ireland show that in order to achieve a correct implementation of the new technologies, it is necessary to adapt the messages and methods to fulfill the interests and objectives of the users' innovations. At this point, it is also important to mention the farmers' point of view towards the opportunities perceived as feasible to obtain commercial income, which makes it fundamental to be conscious of the role of the farmer as an entrepreneur actor in the strategic decision-making process, as reflected by studies carried out by [82] about Dutch dairy producers. Particularly, other research such as conducted by [83] (using data from the Irish National Farm Survey) reveals that, in spite of the fact that the use of the internet is positively associated with the income and performance of the farm, farmers' use rates are still quite low. For an improvement of implementation in this concrete field, studies published by [84] about farmers in New Zealand assure that it is necessary to incorporate flexible and simple tools that take into account the user's needs and allow the implementation of other tools.