Digital farming as a cultural shift. Enrolling the "good farmer" through discourses on digitalization and sustainability in agriculture.

This study critically examines how digitalization in agriculture is framed in public discourse surrounding the ecological transition, considering both the information and communication of European institutions, and the discourses of the actors concerned with the promotion of innovation in this sector at a local, Southern Italian level. Theoretically, the study draws on a conceptual framework encompassing rural studies and Science and Technology Studies (STS). It relies on Michel Callon's and Bruno Latour's sociology of translation and the notion of the "good farmer" developed by Rob Burton, attempting to integrate these approaches in order to understand how the route to digitalization is discursively constructed in cultural rather than technical terms. This work is based empirically on qualitative data from participant observations in agricultural events and documents relevant to the EU's online communication about digitalization in agriculture. The findings illustrate that, in the discourses analysed, specific strategies are pursued that attempt to problematise the path of agriculture as inevitably tending to sustainability, with digitalization being presented as "interesting" for farmers as far as it enables them to maintain productivity. Indeed, as productivity is intertwined with sustainability and resilience, farmers can be considered as "good farmers" to the extent that they become able to embrace digitalization and comply with EU regulations about sustainable agriculture.