The impact of the common agricultural policy on the adoption of new technologies and innovation: evidence from operational groups in Italy And France

This thesis investigates how the design and implementation of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) influence the adoption and diffusion of innovation in agriculture, with particular attention to digital technologies. Operational Groups (OGs) under the European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability (EIP-AGRI) are examined as mechanisms where policy, collaboration, and experimentation meet. The research adopts a multi-actor and comparative approach, combining qualitative and quantitative methods to analyse experiences in Italy and France, two countries operating under the same CAP framework but with different institutional and advisory systems. The first part explores the Italian policy landscape for innovation and digitalisation in agriculture, highlighting how governance arrangements shape support mechanisms. Subsequent analyses examine how farmers, coordinators, and partners involved in OGs experience these policies, what barriers and enabling factors affect adoption, and how administrative rules, advisory capacity, and facilitation influence implementation and learning. The combination of surveys and qualitative interviews provides pictures of how CAP design choices translate into practice. Results show that financial instruments, administrative complexity, training opportunities, and data governance interact as a system influencing adoption and diffusion. When these elements are coherent, OGs operate as environments for collaboration and knowledge exchange; when fragmented, innovation remains confined to individual projects with limited long-term effects. Digital technologies are dependent on enabling conditions such as connectivity, interoperability, and digital skills. Comparative evidence from Italy and France shows that advisory systems and facilitation enhance project continuity and diffusion, while rigid procedures and fragmented governance slow progress. The research concludes that effective policy design must address financial support and the institutional and human capacities that sustain innovation. By connecting policy instruments with the experience of farmers and coordinators, the thesis offers insights for transforming Operational Groups into ecosystems of learning and collaboration that support a more adaptive model of agricultural innovation in Europe.