The agriculture sector accounts for 10% of the Dutch economy and employment and it the agriculture sectors exports 17,5% of the Dutch total export (Government of the Netherlands 2020), so it is an essential sector in our country. However, this sector is one of the most significant influencers to global warming and climate change. Global warming is an important issue to address because it has consequences such as increasing temperature levels, growing season lengths, and rising sea levels (GlobalChange, 2014). Studies show that the agriculture sectors emit 25% of all anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions but the agriculture sector suffers also the most from the effects of climate changes. Is there a solution for the agriculture sector to break this negative spiral?

Emerging technologies in the agriculture sector are Climate-smart agriculture technologies. This concept within the agriculture sector is increasing in importance because it can break the negative spiral of the agriculture sector affecting the climate and the agriculture sector being impacted by the bad climate conditions. Innovation is characterised as CSA when it (1) enhances the productivity, (2) make it possible for farmers to adapt to climate change, and (3) have an aim to reduce emissions (Long et al., 2016). It is important to enhance the productivity of farmers because the food demand is expected to grow with 40%, without even accounting for an increase in the global calorie intake (Verschuuren, 2016).

The agriculture sector is facing is not the lack of sustainable innovations in the sector. There exists a lack of success in sustainable innovations. Thus, in the agriculture sector, there is a slow diffusion rate of sustainable agriculture technologies which creates a too slow pace to solve the challenges of climate change (Fichter & Clausen, 2016).

GlobalChange. (2014). National Climate Assessment. Global Change.

Long, T. B., Blok, V., & Coninx, I. (2016). Barriers to the adoption and diffusion of technological innovations for climate-smart agriculture in Europe: Evidence from the Netherlands, France, Switzerland and Italy. Journal of Cleaner Production, 112, 9–21.

Verschuuren, J. (2016). The Paris Agreement on Climate Change: Agriculture and food security. European Journal of Risk Regulation, 7(1), 54–57. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1867299X00005389

Young children grow up in a technology-driven world where they are exposed to technologies such as smartphones, e-readers, smart television and tablets. Technology is an important component in their lives and the appropriate use of technology can help children to grow their capabilities, to learn, and to explore. Primary schools have incorporated technology as a learning tool and the use of technology in primary schools is recognized as a tool to help children develop the cognitive, social, and learning skills (Tahir & Arif, 2016).

However, there are concerns regarding the use of technology in (primary) schools by young children. Most of the literature shows the positive sides of using different kinds of technologies in class rooms. However, there are four negative effects of technology in schools: (1) writing and reading, (2) dehumanizing educational environment, (3) distorting social interactions, and (4) isolating individuals (Alhumaid, 2019). Research shows that students who spend more time on computers at school, have poorer learning performance (Peña-López, 2015).
Finding the right balance in using technology as a tool for learning in primary schools is a challenge.

How do you think about the use of technology in primary school for children? Should teachers pay more attention to the negative effects of the use of technology in schools?

Alhumaid, K. (2019). Four Ways Technology Has Negatively Changed Education. Journal of Educational and Social Research, 9(4), 10.
Peña-López, I. (2015). Students, computers and learning. making the connection.
Tahir, R., & Arif, F. (2016). Technology in Primary Schools: Teachers’ Perspective Towards the Use of Mobile Technology in Children Education. In Emerging Trends and Advanced Technologies for Computational Intelligence (pp. 103-129). Springer, Cham.