It is a cliché, but at the same time a truism: knowledge is power. And in the challenging transition the agri & food sector is facing, everyone's knowledge will be needed to come up with smart solutions to current challenges.
This means properly collecting and sharing an enormous amount of data. And: interpreting this data so that you can make smart decisions based on it. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can help. And that is also an opportunity for the agri-nutri sector. Joep de Vries, business developer at NOM, explains.
Ecosystems'; in the North they are good at making them flourish. NOM is often involved and sometimes even initiator or booster. In Leeuwarden there is the Water Campus and with the open innovation program Fascinating, four large cooperatives work with farmers and SMEs on food transition. And there is also the Smart Industry Hub, within which some 400 companies are already working together toward the goal of making factories smarter and more efficient. Because artificial intelligence (AI) plays an increasingly important role within all these processes, the AI Hub North Netherlands, of which NOM is also a partner, came into being at the end of 2020. Meanwhile, the steering committee 'AI hub AgriFood' has also emerged from this. The goal: a vital, healthy soil, a healthy sector and healthy people.
'It is very special what is coming about now,' says De Vries. 'For the next five years, under the leadership of an experienced transition manager and with the active cooperation of very many public and private parties, we have devised a program through which we are trying to work systematically toward an end goal. And that is healthy soil, healthy people and, of course, a healthy sector. Two parties are central: the farmer, as owner and processor of the land, and the consumer, who ultimately buys and consumes the products. These parties and their behavior generate an enormous amount of data; mostly conscious, sometimes unconscious. We all want to channel, collect and access that data in a smart, safe way. Think of soil testing, laboratory research, but most of all think of data that can be collected automatically. For example, using sensors, but also data from individuals about their purchasing behavior or use. A note in bold: those data remain the property of the parties and those who participate therefore help to build up a great deal of useful knowledge, with which we can make our food production ever more efficient and healthy.'
The Flywheel
The Agri&Food program flywheel as presented by René Langevoort before the AI Hub North Netherlands on Jan. 31 in Hoogeveen.
René Langevoort, transition manager and program booster at the AI hub North Netherlands explains: "In a so-called 'flywheel graph' the intended process is made visible. The final goal is in the vertical line, which is a healthy soil and healthy people. In the horizontal axis the sector that this program is all about. Central to the model are the farmer and "the people," which in this diagram means the end user. Around this are the discs that indicate which elements are involved in the process. Ultimately it is about joint value creation. That is economic (revenue models), but also value for people (health) and nature (soil). The beauty of this flywheel is that it was designed together with many chain parties and new actors.'
Call: join us!
So the strategy has now been established and working groups are already active under the steering committee in which farmers, as well as other SMEs, such as data and AI specialists with a thorough knowledge of the agri & food sector, are already participating. However, a successful process requires many participants, De Vries outlines. 'I call on all companies in the Northern Netherlands that want to be involved in this to join. We are making this transition to a vital agri & food sector together. And then we do good things for people and nature.'
Contact details Joep de Vries: E. jdevries@nom.nl, T. +31 6 253 926 71.
