AgriLink. Agricultural Knowledge: Linking farmers, advisors and researchers to boost innovation.

Project Information

AgriLink

Grant agreement ID: 727577

DOI

10.3030/727577

Project closed

EC signature date 28 April 2017

Start date 1 June 2017

End date 30 November 2021

Funded under

• SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine, maritime and inland water research, and the bioeconomy

Total cost

€ 4 999 966,49

EU contribution

€ 4 999 966,49

Coordinated by

INSTITUT NATIONAL DE RECHERCHE POUR L'AGRICULTURE, L'ALIMENTATION ET L'ENVIRONNEMENT
France

Periodic Reporting for period 3 - AgriLink (AgriLink. Agricultural Knowledge: Linking farmers, advisors and researchers to boost innovation.)

Reporting period: 2020-06-01 to 2021-11-30

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The aim of AgriLink was to a) better understand the role of advisory services in farmers’ decisions regarding various innovation areas (technological, process, marketing and social), and b) thereby help enhance the contribution of farm advice to the sustainable development of European agriculture.
The project was implemented in a specific policy context that was greatly influenced by i) the transition to the post-2020 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the obligations upon EU Member States to “more deeply integrate all advisers” within their strengthened Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKISs), and ii) the high expectations of the European Commission for H2020 projects to make tangible contributions to this process. This was particularly relevant in AgriLink’s case because of uncertainties about farmers’ actual sources of knowledge regarding various innovation areas, the methods and conceptions of advice that better support farmers, but also the public policies framing these services.
In relation to this context, AgriLink’s key features were:
- A conceptual framework to better understand the role of farm advice in farmers’ decision making, from a multilevel perspective (fig. 1);
- Interviews with farmers to describe their micro-level Agricultural Knowledge and Information Systems (microAKIS – the knowledge sources they assemble);
- A mapping of the Farm Advisory regimes across European countries, integrating change in policies and at the farm level;
- An assessment of the implementation of the EU Farm Advisory Systems regulation;
- Interactivity as a backbone of the project, through i) implementation of co-design thinking in six Living Labs where service innovations were co-developed with farmers and advisors (fig. 2); ii) E-Workshops and other specific interactions with the Strategic Working Group on Agriculture Knowledge and Innovation Systems, of the Standing Committee on Agricultural Research (SCAR-AKIS-WG); iii) socio-technical transition scenario workshops with farmers and advisors to discuss possible trajectories of advisory services towards a better support of sustainable development, in a variety of contexts.
Actions were all achieved according to planning. The multi-actor approach followed 3 steps 1) implement research activities collectively (researchers, advisors, innovation brokers); 2) involve external experts; 3) design targeted communications for various communities (policy makers, advisors and academics).

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

AgriLink had four main achievements:
1. New concepts: ‘micro-level agricultural knowledge and innovation systems’ (microAKIS) and ‘farm advisory regimes’. MicroAKIS are the knowledge systems that farmers personally assemble, including the range of individuals and organisations from whom they seek services and with whom they exchange knowledge. Farm Advisory Regimes are the set of institutions (formal and informal rules, norms and procedures) that frame the delivery of the services, concerning both their content and their form. Research also empirically tested and advanced the ‘Triggering Change Model’, which demonstrates how triggers such as commodity price changes and farm succession lead to active assessment of new innovations. These three concepts provide a strong methodological dimension for understanding the dynamics of AKIS and the role of advice in on-farm innovation.
2. Strong empirical content: AgriLink undertook empirical research in 13 European countries, through 32 case studies, with over 1000 interviews with farmers and 300 with suppliers of advisory services and other AKIS experts. This comprises the largest quantitative dataset on AKIS collected in recent decades (fig. 3).
3. Original findings: Analysis showed a changing advisory landscape. Research identified the importance of “linked” suppliers, i.e. private and farmer-based organisations economically embedded in innovation areas. These advisors can trigger innovations but are less supportive later in the innovation process which results in a lack of impartial/holistic advice. Research demonstrated that non-adopters or farmers who drop innovations may lack support to assess and implement the innovation, although other non-adopters and droppers may make well informed decisions for sustainability, based on original microAKIS.
4. Reflexive activities for advisors, policy makers and other AKIS actors:
- 6 Living Labs were run for over two years and evaluated through a continuous Monitoring and Evaluation process involving advisors (fig. 4);
- 28 regional multi-actor seminars (RMAS), with a total of >400 participants, where we presented the results of field work and derived implications with farm advice actors;
- 13 sociotechnical transition scenario (STSc) workshops, with a total of >100 participants, where transitions pathways of farm advisory services were discussed;
- 4 E-workshops, including one on independent advice (>30 participants), one on CAP’s knowledge measures (>50 participants), one on Living Labs and AKIS (>40 participants) and one on digitalisation, organised jointly with FAO (>200 participants);
- 143 Practice Abstracts were drafted in the course of the project, and a dedicated suer-friendly webpage was created on AgriLink’s website;
- > 10 Digital stories highlighting practical cases;
- a pedagogical module was elaborated on the basis of AgriLink’s Living Labs to support advisors wishing to launch such co-design methodologies. It is available on the OpenLearnCreate Platform of The Open University under a Creative Commons License. Hence, the content is freely available to design other training modules;
- the Final Conference, titled “Farm Advisors: Strengthening their Future Role in Agricultural Innovation & Sustainability”, was a key outcome of the AgriLink communication and dissemination plan (> 240 participants).

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

AgriLink made it possible to support a deep reflexivity about the very definition and conceptions of farm advice, within a variety of communities. To do so, our ambition was to propose a renewed understanding of farm advice, starting from farmers’ perspective. This had three major impacts:
1. A new perspective on the role of advice in farmers’ decision on innovation adoption, with key findings such as the small size of microAKIS or the role of informal sources;
2. A new perspective on the diversity of suppliers, with a focus on “linked” suppliers and how they contribute to hidden changes in AKIS, for instance through the back-office of farm advice;
3. Some practical insights about where co-design methods can be applied to enhance the contribution of advice to sustainability (fig. 5).
The Multi-actor and transdisciplinary dimensions of the project enhanced its responsiveness to policy context and to societal sustainability challenges. It made evident that there is no systematic relation between innovation and sustainability, nor silver bullets that would transform the effectiveness of farm advisory services. It provided various methods and tools, including scenario workshops and Living Labs, to identify gaps and discuss best-fit of advice services with stakeholders.
From a policy perspective, we deepen current debates about AKIS and knowledge measures in the CAP 2023-2027 (fig. 6), with four key messages about 1) independence of advisors, 2) advisors’ training, 3) inclusiveness of advice, 4) integration of farm advice into broader AKIS.

Figure 2 - Living Lab training in Leuven, Belgium

Figure 3 - Cross-country presentation of AgriLink empirical findings on AKIS policies

Figure 1 - AgriLink Conceptual Framework

Figure 4 - Field visit of a Living Lab in Spain

Figure 6 – AgriLink Policy recommendations

Figure 5 – Conditions for a Living Lab as a method to support sustainability