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RESEARCH PRODUCT

High-tech agriculture: farmers risk being ‘locked in’ to unsustainable practices

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Prod 2019-24b SPE GESTAD INRA; International audience; Since World War II, Europe’s agricultural sector has been very receptive to new technology, and the result has been staggering productivity gains – for four generations, farmers have produced more than their parents did. At the same time, however, agricultural prices have fallen around the world and price subsidies have been cut. This has led to a cruel paradox: while farmers have never produced so much, many can no longer make a living from farming.