# The Impact of the 4.0 Paradigm in the Italian Agricultural Sector: A Descriptive Survey
## 2 Literature Review
### Agri 4.0: Benefits and Obstacles  
A long list of potential benefits can be listed under different economic areas, as well as environmental benefits with a reduction of pollutants [23; 24] and social benefits with positive effects on the well-being of the workers involved and on society in general [25]. At the same time, there are also criticalities involved in implementing new systems, especially digital ones, in contexts such as the agricultural sector. For those who decide to implement innovative systems, there can be challenges of a technological, economic, and implementation nature, as well as those arising from corporate culture and organizational issues [26; 27]. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{p{113.8 pt} p{113.8 pt} p{113.8 pt}} \hline \hline \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Cluster of Technology Solutions**} & **Solutions** & **References** \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Systems for precision activities} & Precision irrigation systems & \\ \cline{2-3}  & Variable rate distribution system & [9; 20] \\ \cline{2-3}  & On-field treatment with drones & \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Mapping systems} & Satellite technologies & \\ \cline{2-3}  & Mapping equipment installed on machinery & [18; 21] \\ \cline{2-3}  & Mapping drones & \\ \cline{2-3}  & Robot for field activities & \\ \cline{2-3}  & Satellite guidance & [10; 22] \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: _Cont._The benefits investigated can be categorized into four clusters, which have been identified according to the triple bottom line (TBL; that is, people, planet, and profit) principles [28]. The first two clusters (effectiveness and efficiency) refer to the profit or bottom line. The next two are environmental and social benefits. From these four clusters, a set of 14 benefits was proposed. A full list of the benefits and references is presented in Table 2. List of benefits. * **Effectiveness benefits:*
* The benefit cluster related to the economic part of the TBL. Operational effectiveness encompasses the practices employed to maximize resources and deliver high-quality results [24; 29]. Here, the authors investigated four different benefits related to effectiveness: higher product quality, yield increase, better soil quality, and an increase in the selling price of goods produced. * **Efficiency benefits:*
* The benefit cluster related to the economic part of the TBL. Reducing the consumption of productive inputs and, thus, the associated costs is critical because it is known that a firm that has lower cumulative costs to perform all value-generating activities than its competitors has a cost advantage [30; 31]. Here, the authors investigated five different benefits related to efficiency: less water consumption, less technical input consumption, less machinery usage, simplification in the cultivation decision to be made, and general cost reduction. * **Environmental benefits:*
* Sustainability from an environmental perspective is another benefit that can be achieved through the use of 4.0 solutions in agriculture [23]. Reducing the use of pollutants (such as agrochemicals and various fertilizers) increases soil quality, but from a purely environmental standpoint, there are real effects on air pollution decrease (CO, NO, etc.) and decreases in water pollution. * **Social benefits:*
* The adoption of Agri 4.0 techniques has the potential to increase farmers' quality of life in terms of increased work safety and decreased work stress. The controllable work environment in a plant factory is much more desirable than field cultivation, which requires a lot of physical energy to complete [32; 33]. Specifically, the benefits under this cluster are three: increase in work safety, reduced time spent in bureaucratic activities, and a reduction in physical labor [25]. For 'obstacles,' four main clusters have been identified. The clusters cover the main areas of challenge when introducing a technological evolution in a certain environment: