Overcoming barriers to innovation in food and agricultural biotechnology

Abstract

The food and agriculture biotechnology (FAB) sector is poised to respond to some of society's most pressing challenges, including food security, climate change, population growth, and resource limitation. However, to realize this promise, substantial barriers to innovation must be overcome. Here, we draw upon industry experience and innovation management literature to analyze FAB innovation challenges, as well relevant frameworks for their resolution. In doing so, we identify two major FAB innovation challenges: specialized adoption uncertainty, and complex product-market fit across convergent value chains. We propose that these innovation challenges may be overcome by 1) prioritizing the establishment of organizational and social technology legitimacy, and 2) leveraging technology-market matching methods and open innovation practices.

Open Innovation in the Agri-Food Sector: Perspectives from a Systematic Literature Review and a Structured Survey in MSMEs

“…Some of his studies are focused on curricula of academic programs related to the agri-food sector, indicating that open innovation offers new possibilities and unique opportunities for universities to lead a change from the industrial and academic conservatism that has led the sector to be traditionally considered as having a low-tech intensity. The list also includes reports from Australia [59,60], Canada [61,62], India [8], and Turkey [31]. Surprisingly, the United States, a country considered an agricultural and industrial authority, has only one article from authors that collaborated with French researchers [63].…”

“…This is a journal with more than 120 years of history focused on research applied to the food industry. The Dutch journal Trends in Food Science and Technology is ranked second in the list, with four studies [1,57,58,61], and it is one of the most recognized international peer-reviewed journals, publishing critical reviews and commentaries on current technology, food science, and human nutrition. The American journal, the International Food and Agrobusiness Management Review, is ranked third, with three reports [63,67,68], sharing this position with the British journal, Agricultural systems (Q1) [12,13,69].…”

A review of robotics and autonomous systems in the food industry: From the supply chains perspective

“…A typical example within this category is the use of robots and drones in the food industry (Dahabieh et al, 2018). The robot works as a delivery person, receiving finished food products from a restaurant kitchen and passing it to the intended consumers, whilst drones have been used at farms to monitor the production processes and parameters.…”

Gene editing isn’t just about food: comments from U.S. focus groups

“…7 Until the announcement, most public exposure to genetic-engineering concepts has centered around agricultural applications. 8 The reality of gene-edited humans raised the question of how the public would respond to the technology and whether the focus of geneticengineering techniques will shift from agricultural to medical applications with these latest developments. It is not currently clear whether individuals link gene editing with human health or food, or both, and whether support in one domain will assist or hinder support in the other.…”

“… 7 Until the announcement, most public exposure to genetic-engineering concepts has centered around agricultural applications. 8 …”