Agricultural data privacy: Emerging platforms & strategies

Abstract

In today's world, grappling with the dual challenges of energy scarcity and climate change, the agricultural and food supply chains are at a crucial juncture for transformation. Data privacy within these sectors is increasingly significant, as the integration of advanced digital platforms becomes essential for improving efficiency and sustainability. This systematic literature review (SLR) explores the development and application of privacy-preserving data platforms specifically tailored to the agricultural and food supply chains. The review focuses on the evolving landscape of data architectures, data sovereignty, and advanced privacy-preserving techniques. Techniques such as anonymization, encryption, differential privacy, and federated learning are examined, along with the legal and ethical considerations surrounding data sharing in the context of global energy and climate-related challenges. The review synthesizes findings from a broad spectrum of studies published over the last decade, uncovering significant advancements in privacy-preserving technologies which may show their benefit for the agricultural and food sectors. It identifies dominant research trends and promising future directions for enhancing data security and sustainability. The key findings underscore the vital importance of safeguarding data privacy in these sectors, highlighting the potential of advanced privacy techniques to protect sensitive agricultural data while balancing the need for transparency and operational effectiveness. The review concludes that adopting these innovative privacy methods is crucial for fostering a more sustainable and secure future for agriculture and food systems, contributing to the global Sustainable Development Goals such as SDG 2 (Zero Hunger) and SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) by improving precision agriculture, optimizing yields (crop and animal) and reducing food waste. • Rising role of privacy-focused data platforms in agri-food sectors, addressing critical privacy concerns effectively. • In-depth review of research on data privacy approaches, protocols, and frameworks in agriculture and food systems. • Recent advances in privacy-friendly platforms, like differential privacy, federated learning, and secure computing. • Key challenges for privacy platforms in agri-food and promising directions for research and enhancement unveiled. • Findings stress privacy’s vital role in agri-food data use, with future research paths to bolster protections outlined.

Topics & Concepts