Socio-Demographic Factors Influencing Adoption of Digital Technologies in Beekeeping

This study investigates the extent of digital technology adoption among Polish beekeepers and how socio-demographic factors influence this adoption. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 30 beekeeping experts and a survey of 949 randomly selected beekeepers. A Random Forest machine learning algorithm was employed to predict digital adoption, and SHAP values were applied to interpret the model’s output. The findings reveal that only 28.6% of beekeepers have adopted digital technologies. Experts highlighted several key themes related to adoption, including the perceived need for technology, types of technologies used, data collection practices, benefits for management and marketing, as well as associated risks and challenges. Among the socio-demographic factors, beekeeping experience had the strongest impact on digital technology adoption, followed by formal education in apiculture and the beekeeper’s age. These factors allowed the identification of three distinct beekeeper profiles: education- and engagement-driven beekeepers, experience-driven beekeepers, and highly experienced beekeepers. These insights can help beekeeping associations and policymakers promote the effective adoption of digital tools to support more sustainable and efficient apiary management.