Focus Area 3: Individuals

Technological innovations based on new technology platforms are needed to cope with increasing demand and the need for a more sustainable food supply on a global scale. At the same time, technological change affects routines, mindsets, or even organizational and individual identities, which cause turbulence in society. This raises the question of whether certain innovations and promised benefits (e.g., health-promoting properties of special ingredients or more efficiency in crop production) are able to increase adoption and diffusion of novel technologies across the agri-food ecosystem. In this regard, a greater understanding of the real benefit of a technology and which vision organizations and individuals have for its use are specifically important for constructing a shared frame of such innovations. Taking the example of precision farming, the tendency to focus on the technology itself and developers results in there being little known about the envisioning of farmers regarding the new digital reality. This creates a sizable blind spot in the understanding of advancing the adoption and implementation of innovations and business models.