Agro-industrial Management and Value Addition: Strategies for Rural Economic Development

Abstract

Digital transformation has significantly reshaped agro-industrial management processes and value-added generation in rural territories, enabling new forms of productive, organisational and commercial articulation through the use of virtual environments. In this context, the present study aimed to critically and systematically analyse, through a documentary review, the main agro-industrial management strategies oriented towards value addition that contribute to rural economic development, identifying theoretical approaches, methodological trends and predominant lines of analysis in the academic literature. The research adopted an analytical and descriptive approach, based on the comparison, integration and interpretation of previously published studies, without the application of field instruments or direct measurement of variables. The process of identifying, selecting and analysing the documents followed the guidelines of the PRISMA method, ensuring methodological rigour, transparency and traceability in the selection of scientific evidence. The results show that agro-industrial management, together with the strategic incorporation of value addition, constitutes a key axis for strengthening rural economic development, particularly in contexts characterised by geographical, technological and market access constraints. Furthermore, the findings indicate that virtual environments enhance productive, organisational and training processes when they are conceived as spaces for active interaction, community articulation and the strengthening of local capacities, rather than merely as channels for information dissemination.