Theoretical foundations of sustainability and their contribution to innovation in the agricultural sector: a bibliometric analysis

Abstract

Objective: To know the behavior and trends of publications on the contribution of the theoretical foundations of the dimensions of sustainability to innovation in the Agricultural Sector.

Design/methodology/approach: Bibliometric analysis, which in the first stage was selected with Innovation, Sustainability and Agricultural Sector as search words, selecting 161 articles during the analysis period, subsequently information was classified in the Excel program, in order to generate bibliometric indicators in a second stage.

Results: The main agricultural crops in which innovation research related to sustainability was carried out were in greater numbers in corn and bean crops, followed by species such as rice and coffee. The most studied economic indicators were income, new markets, and production costs. In the ecological dimension, the most recurrent indicators in the research were biofertilization, nitrogen contribution, carbon, crop rotation, coatings with organic matter, vermiculture, and climate change.

Limitations of the study/implications: Innovation is continuous, and results may vary if the articles that will be generated in the coming years are taken. Therefore, a study similar to the present one is recommended that provides continuity and reveals new innovations.

Findings/conclusions: About 30% of the works were focused on bacterial inoculation, biofertilizers and biostimulants. The search for soil fertility and

its prompt recovery form the largest number of research aimed at technological and mainly biotechnological innovation in the agricultural sector worldwide.