Agriculture 4.0 Research (2018–2025): Bibliometric Insights into Trends, Gaps, and Global Inequalities

Muge Kirmikil

doi:10.5281/zenodo.18327431

Agriculture 4.0 Research (2018–2025): Bibliometric Insights into Trends, Gaps, and Global Inequalities

Abstract

This study provides a global bibliometric assessment of Agriculture 4.0 research from 2018 to 2025, analyzing 156 Web of Science–indexed publications to identify major thematic trends, research gaps, and geographical imbalances. The results show that scholarship in this field is predominantly driven by technological innovations—such as IoT, artificial intelligence, and big data-while social justice, data governance, and digital accessibility remain marginal, particularly for smallholder farmers and low-income contexts. Significant regional inequalities are evident, with Sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, and parts of Latin America receiving limited scholarly attention and participating weakly in collaborative networks. The study highlights the need for interdisciplinary, equity-oriented frameworks that incorporate ethical data practices and local knowledge systems. These insights can guide researchers and policymakers in advancing more inclusive and resilient pathways for digital agricultural transformation.

Keywords

Agriculture 4.0, digital inequality, sustainable development, bibliometric analysis, data governance

References

Abbasi, R., Martinez, P., and Ahmad, R. 2022. The digitization of agricultural industry – a systematic literature review on agriculture 4.0. In Smart Agricultural Technology, 2: 100042. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atech.2022.100042
Aria, M., and Cuccurullo, C. 2017. bibliometrix: An R-tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis. Journal of Informetrics, 11(4): 959–975. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JOI.2017.08.007
Bezas, K., and Filippidou, F. 2023. The role of artificial intelligence and machine learning in smart and precision agriculture. The Indonesian Journal of Computer Science, 12(4): 1576–1588. https://doi.org/10.33022/ijcs.v12i4.3278
Carmo-Filho, A. dos S., and Ribas, G. G. 2024. Intensification and sustainability of production systems—a bibliometric analysis. Agronomy, 14(9): 1968. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14091968
Carolan, M. 2020. Automated agrifood futures: robotics, labor and the distributive politics of digital agriculture. Journal of Peasant Studies, 47(1): 184–207. https://doi.org/10.1080/03066150.2019.1584189
Carone, M. T., Vennari, C., and Antronico, L. 2025. How place attachment in different landscapes influences resilience to disasters: A systematic review. Sustainability, 17(5): 1941. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17051941
Cobo, M. J., López-Herrera, A. G., Herrera-Viedma, E., and Herrera, F. 2011. An approach for detecting, quantifying, and visualizing the evolution of a research field: A practical application to the fuzzy sets theory field. Journal of Informetrics, 5(1): 146–166. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JOI.2010.10.002
Crawford, K., and Calo, R. 2016. There is a blind spot in AI research. Nature, 538(7625): 311–313. https://doi.org/10.1038/538311a
Eashwar, S., and Chawla, P. 2021. Evolution of agritech business 4.0 – architecture and future research directions. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 775(1): 012011. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755-1315/775/1/012011
Hu, J., Dong, J., Xu, D., Yang, Q., Liang, J., Li, N., and Wang, H. 2024. Trends in global agricultural carbon emission research: A bibliometric analysis. Agronomy, 14(11): 2617. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy14112617

Kamilaris, A., Kartakoullis, A., and Prenafeta-Boldú, F. X. 2017. A review on the practice of big data analysis in agriculture. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 143: 23–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.COMPAG.2017.09.037
Klerkx, L., Jakku, E., and Labarthe, P. 2019. A review of social science on digital agriculture, smart farming and agriculture 4.0: New contributions and a future research agenda. In NJAS - Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences, 90: 100315. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.njas.2019.100315
Klerkx, L., and Rose, D. 2020. Dealing with the game-changing technologies of Agriculture 4.0: How do we manage diversity and responsibility in food system transition pathways? Global Food Security, 24: 100347. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gfs.2019.100347
Kumar, S., Raut, R. D., Nayal, K., Kraus, S., Yadav, V. S., and Narkhede, B. E. 2021. To identify industry 4.0 and circular economy adoption barriers in the agriculture supply chain by using ISM-ANP. Journal of Cleaner Production, 293: 126023. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.126023
Kushartadi, T., Mulyono, A. E., Al Hamdi, A. H., Rizki, M. A., Sadat Faidar, M. A., Harsanto, W. D., Suryanegara, M., and Asvial, M. 2023. Theme mapping and bibliometric analysis of two decades of smart farming. Information (Switzerland), 14(7): 396. https://doi.org/10.3390/info14070396
Lezoche, M., Panetto, H., Kacprzyk, J., Hernandez, J. E., and Alemany Díaz, M. M. E. 2020. Agri-food 4.0: A survey of the supply chains and technologies for the future agriculture. Computers in Industry, 117: 103187. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.COMPIND.2020.103187
Liu, Y., Ma, X., Shu, L., Hancke, G. P., and Abu-Mahfouz, A. M. 2021. From industry 4.0 to agriculture 4.0: Current status, enabling technologies, and research challenges. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, 17(6): 4322–4334. https://doi.org/10.1109/TII.2020.3003910
Milioto, A., Lottes, P., and Stachniss, C. 2018. Real-Time semantic segmentation of crop and weed for precision agriculture robots leveraging background knowledge in CNNs. Proceedings - IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation, 2229–2235. https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA.2018.8460962
Mühl, D. D., and de Oliveira, L. 2022. A bibliometric and thematic approach to agriculture 4.0. Heliyon, 8(5): e09369. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.HELIYON.2022.E09369
Mutalemwa, L. C. 2023. Climate-Smart agriculture and internet of things systems for agricultural production efficiency in african countries. In Impact of Disruptive Technologies on the Socio-Economic Development of Emerging Countries, 54–71. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-6873-9.ch004
Rose, D. C., and Chilvers, J. 2018. Agriculture 4.0: Broadening responsible innovation in an era of smart farming. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, 2: 387545. https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2018.00087
Rose, D. C., Wheeler, R., Winter, M., Lobley, M., and Chivers, C. A. 2021. Agriculture 4.0: Making it work for people, production, and the planet. Land Use Policy, 100: 104933. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2020.104933
Satterthwaite, D. 2009. The implications of population growth and urbanization for climate change. Environment and Urbanization, 21(2): 545–567. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956247809344361
Sudaryanto, T., Wahida, H. J. P., Purba, H. J., Rafani, I., and Andoko, E. 2022. Promoting smart farming based-digital business technology in the context of agricultural transformation in Indonesia. FFTC Journal of Agricultural Policy, 3: 69–85. https://doi.org/10.56669/lyqu1557
United Nations. 2019. World population prospects 2019: Highlights. World Population Prospects, 141. Vahdanjoo, M., Sørensen, C. G., and Nørremark, M. 2025. Digital transformation of the agri-food system. Current Opinion in Food Science, 63: 101287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cofs.2025.101287
Wolfert, S., Ge, L., Verdouw, C., and Bogaardt, M. J. 2017. Big Data in Smart Farming – A review. Agricultural Systems, 153: 69–80. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.AGSY.2017.01.023
Xu, X., Chen, Q., and Zhu, Z. 2022. Evolutionary overview of land consolidation based on bibliometric analysis in web of science from 2000 to 2020. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(6): 3218. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19063218
Xu, Y., Lyu, J., Liu, H., and Xue, Y. 2022. A bibliometric and visualized analysis of the global literature on black soil conservation from 1983–2022 based on CiteSpace and VOSviewer. Agronomy, 12(10), 2432. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12102432
Zambon, I., Cecchini, M., Egidi, G., Saporito, M. G., and Colantoni, A. 2019. Revolution 4.0: Industry vs. agriculture in a future development for SMEs. In Processes, 7(1): 36. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr7010036
Zhai, Z., Martínez, J. F., Beltran, V., and Martínez, N. L. 2020. Decision support systems for agriculture 4.0: Survey and challenges. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 170: 105256. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.COMPAG.2020.105256

Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Biosystem

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Muge Kirmikil ^*
0000-0002-6832-7742
Türkiye

Publication Date

January 29, 2026

Submission Date

October 2, 2025

Acceptance Date

January 22, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Number: 58

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18327431

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA89ME62ZR

APA

Kirmikil, M. (2026). Agriculture 4.0 Research (2018–2025): Bibliometric Insights into Trends, Gaps, and Global Inequalities. Journal of Biological and Environmental Sciences, 58. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18327431

AMA

1.Kirmikil M. Agriculture 4.0 Research (2018–2025): Bibliometric Insights into Trends, Gaps, and Global Inequalities. JBES. 2026;(58). doi:10.5281/zenodo.18327431

Chicago

Kirmikil, Muge. 2026. “Agriculture 4.0 Research (2018–2025): Bibliometric Insights into Trends, Gaps, and Global Inequalities”. Journal of Biological and Environmental Sciences, nos. 58. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18327431.

EndNote

Kirmikil M (January 1, 2026) Agriculture 4.0 Research (2018–2025): Bibliometric Insights into Trends, Gaps, and Global Inequalities. Journal of Biological and Environmental Sciences 58

IEEE

[1]M. Kirmikil, “Agriculture 4.0 Research (2018–2025): Bibliometric Insights into Trends, Gaps, and Global Inequalities”, JBES, no. 58, Jan. 2026, doi: 10.5281/zenodo.18327431.

ISNAD

Kirmikil, Muge. “Agriculture 4.0 Research (2018–2025): Bibliometric Insights into Trends, Gaps, and Global Inequalities”. Journal of Biological and Environmental Sciences. 58 (January 1, 2026). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18327431.

JAMA

1.Kirmikil M. Agriculture 4.0 Research (2018–2025): Bibliometric Insights into Trends, Gaps, and Global Inequalities. JBES. 2026. doi:10.5281/zenodo.18327431.

MLA

Kirmikil, Muge. “Agriculture 4.0 Research (2018–2025): Bibliometric Insights into Trends, Gaps, and Global Inequalities”. Journal of Biological and Environmental Sciences, no. 58, Jan. 2026, doi:10.5281/zenodo.18327431.

Vancouver

1.Muge Kirmikil. Agriculture 4.0 Research (2018–2025): Bibliometric Insights into Trends, Gaps, and Global Inequalities. JBES. 2026 Jan. 1;(58). doi:10.5281/zenodo.18327431

Aim & Scope

Author Guidelines

PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPTS

The body of the manuscript should consist of the following sections in this order: Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion, Conclusions, Acknowledgements (if necessary) and References.

Abstract : Abstracts must not exceed 300 words for full articles and reviews. The Abstract should be as informative as possible and should include why and how the study was conducted, as well as what the results and conclusions were. A maximum of 5 key words must be given at the end of the Abstract, allowing a one-line space.

References: References should be cited in the text by the last name(s) of the author(s) and year of publication, for example, (Elmaci 2003), (Göksoy and Turan 1984) or (Elmaci 2003, Filya 2004). If the citation is the subject of the sentence, then only the date should be given in parentheses, for example, According to Filya (2002) or as suggested by Elmaci and Asal (1998). For citation of references with three or more authors, only the first author’s name followed by “et al.” should be used, for example, (Ipek et al. 2002) or as shown by Ipek et al. (2002). If there is more than one reference in the same year for the same author(s), then please add the letters “a”, “b”, etc. to the year, for example, (Berkel 1970a, b) or (Tosun and Eser 1978a, b, c). Only published papers or papers in press can be mentioned in the manuscript. Papers in preparation or in review can be cited in the text as unpublished data, and should not be included in the References section. References should be listed alphabetically at the end of the text without numbering. References to journal articles, books, proceedings, chapters in books, etc. should be listed as given below: Journal Articles Rozenzvieg D, Elmaci C, Samach A, Lurie S, and Porat R (2004). Isolation of four heat shock protein cDNAs from grapefruit peel tissue and characterization of their expression in response to heat and chilling temperature stresses. Physiol Plant 121: 421-428.

Books

Hartl DL, and Clark AG (1989). Principles of Population Genetics. Sinauer associates, Inc., Sunderland, Massachusetts.

Chapter in Books

Schreiber U, Bilger W, and Neubauer C (1995). Chlorophyll florescence as a nonintrusive indicator for rapid assessment of in vivo photosynthesis. In: Ecophysiology of Photosynthesis, (Eds.: E.D. Schulze and M.M. Caldwell). Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 49-70.

Proceedings

Tyler G (1975). Effect of heavy metal pollution on decomposition and mineralization in forest soils. In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Heavy Metals in the Environment, (Eds.: B. Nath and J.P. Robinson). Vol. 2 WHO, Toronto, pp. 217-226.

Thesis

Mwacharo JM (2000). Characterization of the genetic diversity of Kenyan indigenous sheep breeds using blood biochemical polymorphism. M.Sc. Thesis. University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya, 119p

Abbreviations: All non-standard abbreviations should be grouped into an abbreviations list and given at the bottom of the first page of text, allowing a 2-line space.

Figures: All photographs, graphs and diagrams should be referred to as “Figure” and they should be numbered consecutively (1, 2, etc). Multi-part figures ought to be labeled with lowercase letters (a,b,c, etc). Each figure must be given on a separate page. Figure legends should not be attached to the figures and should be supplied on a double-spaced separate page.

Tables: Each table must be given on a separate page with a brief but complete and self-explanatory caption so that the reader can easily understand the results presented in the table.

Units: The journal prefers SI units wherever possible. Please use mg kg -1 or µg kg -1 and not ppm or ppb. Please do not use “/” to indicate “per” in unit designations. Use only a space as given in the following examples: 6 kg P ha -1, mg L -1, N m - 2 , km h-1, etc.

Proofs

All proofs must be corrected and returned to the publisher within 7 days of receipt. If the manuscript is not returned within the allotted time, the editor will proofread the article. Only correction of typographical errors is permitted at the proof stage.

Offprints

Each corresponding author of an article will receive one complete copy of the issue in which the article appears.

Ethical Principles and Publication Policy

Price Policy

Indexes

Journal Boards

Editor-in-Chief

Onur TAŞKIN

Renewable Energy Resources , Agricultural Engineering

Managing Editor

Bilge ARSLAN

Agricultural Water Management

Editorial Board

Tufan Can ULU

Nematology, Entomology in Agriculture

YT

Yücel TAŞDEMIR

Environmental Engineering, Air Pollution Modelling and Control, Air Pollution and Gas Cleaning , Environmental Engineering (Other)

AÇ

Arda ÇELIK

Animal Science, Genetics and Biostatistics

Özer YILMAZ

Plant Cell and Molecular Biology, Plant Morphology and Anatomy, Botany (Other)

Nİ

Nazmi İZLI

Agricultural Engineering

TW

Ting WU

Food Biotechnology, Food Sustainability, Beverage Chemistry and Beverage Sensory Science, Fruit-Vegetables Technology, Basic Food Processes

AO

Abdülkadir ORMAN

Animal Welfare, Animal Growth and Development, Animal Management, Animal Health Economics and Management

DB

Danka BUKVICKI

Ethobotany, Bryophyte, Characterisation of Biological Macromolecules, Food Microbiology

Małgorzata NOWACKA

Food Packaging, Preservation and Processing, Food Sustainability, Food Technology, Drying Technologies, Fruit-Vegetables Technology, Basic Food Processes

Senem KAMILOĞLU BEŞTEPE

Food Sciences

Ahmet POLAT

Agricultural Engineering, Biosystem, Drying Technologies, Basic Food Processes

LE

Lina ELMERSSON

Animal Behaviour, Animal Welfare, Poultry Farming and Treatment

Language Editor

PC

Peter CONNINGTON

English As A Second Language

Statistics Editor

Tufan Can ULU

Nematology, Entomology in Agriculture

Journal of Biological and Environmental Sciences is the official journal of Bursa Uludag University

Bursa Uludag University, Gorukle Campus, 16059, Bursa, Türkiye.

Agriculture 4.0 Research (2018–2025): Bibliometric Insights into Trends, Gaps, and Global Inequalities

Abstract

Keywords

References

Details

Primary Language

Subjects

Journal Section

Authors

Publication Date

Submission Date

Acceptance Date

Published in Issue

DOI

IZ

Cite

Aim & Scope

Author Guidelines

Ethical Principles and Publication Policy

Price Policy

Indexes

Other Indexes

Journal Boards

Editor-in-Chief

Managing Editor

Editorial Board

Language Editor

Statistics Editor