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

AgriLink aims to stimulate sustainability transitions in European agriculture through better understanding the roles played by farm advice in farmer decision-making.

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AgriLink is a project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme.  The project aims to help stimulate the transition towards more sustainable agriculture by improving understanding of the role played by agricultural advisors in strengthening knowledge flows, enhancing learning and boosting of innovation on the wide variety of different farm types that exist in Europe.​

AgriLink is running for 4 years from 2017 to 2021.  It is implemented by a diverse consortium of academic and non-academic partners that cuts across classical boundaries in research, policy and practice.

AgriLink is an excellent example of how EU-funded scientific research works in practical ways to help farmers put food on our tables whilst maintaining and protecting the natural resources we all depend upon.

AgriLink is implemented in Norway by RURALIS – Institute for Rural and Regional Research.

More info on the official website: https://www.agrilink2020.eu/.

Here is the project presentation by EC: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/rcn/210165_en.html

More detailed information:

To this end, AgriLink will analyse and improve the role of farmer advice in 8 innovation areas that combine challenges identified in the “Strategic Approach to EU Agricultural Research & Innovation”. AgriLink builds on the premise that the full range of advice-providing organisations need to be included in the assessment of service provision and innovation adoption.

The methodology combines theoretical insights with cutting edge research methods within a multi-actor, transdisciplinary approach. It draws on ‘micro-AKIS’ (individuals and organisations from whom farmers seek services and exchange knowledge with) analysis in 26 focus regions, sociotechnical scenario development and ‘living laboratories’ where farmers, advisors and researchers work together. Research in focus regions will provide insight in farmers’ micro-AKIS, advisory suppliers’ business models, and regional farm advisory systems. This will feed an assessment of the efficacy of governance of farm-advice-research interactions across Europe. Newly developed advisory methods and new forms of research-practice interaction will be validated and further developed in Living Laboratories. A socio-technical scenario method will be used to explore, jointly with stakeholders, transition pathways towards more sustainable agriculture.

Crucially, AgriLink builds on insights and experiences from both research and practice. The consortium consists of researchers from different disciplines (institutional economics, innovation studies, AKIS studies, sociology of networks), as well as of advisors (from public, private and farmer-based organisations) from across the EU. Actors from advisory services will be active in the validation and dissemination of results, to ensure that all project findings are both scientifically sound and practically useful.

Project details

Contact persons

Project leaders

Egil Petter Stræte

Senior Researcher

External project coordinator

Pierre Labarthe, Frankrike

External Project Manager

Other project members

Gunn-Turid Kvam

Research Manager/Senior Researcher

Renate Marie Butli Hårstad

Researcher, PhD

Katrina Rønningen

Senior Researcher

Odd Roger Langørgen

Administrator IT/Information

Subject areas

Project number

6363

Project period

01/06/2017 - 30/11/2021

Collaboration partners

Participants from Norway are CRR as a research partner, while TINE, Landbruk21 Trøndelag and County Governor of Sør-Trøndelag joins as user partners.

Financing

Horizon 2020, EU.

News

Agriculture is becoming increasingly complex: Improved advice can be part of the solution

16.07.24

Agriculture faces a number of challenges, both nationally and globally. Farmers must deal with the impact of climate…

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To develop agricultural advice with a long-term perspective

15.09.21

Many farmers are pondering what to do in the future – new investment, maintenance or downsizing? From Ruralis’s Trend survey in 2020, we know that…

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Publications

  • Note

2024

N-3/24 Politikk for jordbruksrådgiving i EUs medlemsland

Contributors:
About the Result

EU har en egen politikk for rådgiving til jordbruket i sine medlemsland. Den omfatter et påbud om å tilby rådgiving til alle bønder. Det er stor variasjon mellom landene i hvordan rådgivingen er organisert og hvordan påbudet følges opp. Et generelt påbud om å tilby rådgiving synes ut fra norske forhold å være mindre aktuelt. Det kan imidlertid være spesielle tema som gjør påbud aktuelt.

Link to PDF
  • Note

2024

N-2/24 Jordbrukets kunnskaps- og innovasjonssystem

Contributors:
About the Result

Ved å studere jordbrukets kunnskaps- og innovasjonssystem kan vi få økt innsikt i hvordan kunnskap bidrar i arbeid med innovasjon og i bondens daglige arbeid. Viktige støttespillere til bonden er rådgiving, forskning og utdanning.

Link to PDF
  • Note

2023

N-5/23 Visjonsbaserte scenarier for å avdekke fremtidige rådgivningsbehov

Contributors:
About the Result

I forskningsprosjektet AgriLink ble Visjonsbaserte scenarier brukt for
å avdekke rådgivningsbehov i framtida for et definert tema. Her
blir de generelle trekkene ved metoden presentert, samt resultater
og anbefalinger fra bruk av metoden når det gjelder fremtidig
rådgiving til bønder.

Link to PDF
  • Note

2023

N-4/23 Anbefalinger fra prosjektet AgriLink

Contributors:
About the Result

Målet med forsknings- og innovasjonsprosjektet AgriLink var å
styrke rådgiving til bønder for økt innovasjon og bærekraft. Her skal
vi presentere og relatere de fire hovedanbefalingene fra AgriLink
til norske forhold. Temaene for anbefalingene er å: 1) sikre
uavhengig rådgivning 2) sikre rådgivere livslang læring 3)
inkludere alle som er aktuelle for rådgivning i jordbruket og 4) sikre
mer integrert rådgivning for økt bærekraft.

Link to PDF
  • Note

2023

N-3/23 Rådgivning ved innføring av digital teknologi

Contributors:
About the Result

Innføring av digital teknologi kan være utfordrende for bonden og
han eller hun vil i mange tilfeller ha nytte av rådgiving i prosessen.
Behovet for råd avhenger imidlertid av hvilken digital teknologi
som er aktuell og av bondens digitale kompetanse, noe vi gir
eksempler på i dette notatet. Vi avslutter med anbefalinger til
rådgivere for å møte bondens behov ved innføring av digital
teknologi.

Link to PDF
  • Note

2023

N-2/23 Levende laboratorium som arbeidsverktøy

Contributors:
About the Result

Levende laboratorium, eller Living Lab, er en arbeidsmetode som
kan brukes for å løse et problem når løsningen ikke er åpenbar og
krever involvering av flere interessenter. Det må gjøres en god
vurdering av behovet for bruk av metoden før en setter i gang et
arbeid. Her anbefales hva en spesielt bør vurdere.

Link to PDF
  • Article

2023

A-1/23 Advancing AKIS with assemblage thinking

Contributors: Lee-Ann Sutherland Anda Adamsone-Fiskovica Boelie Elzen Alexandros Koutsouris Catherine Laurent Pierre Labarthe
  • Article

2022

A-7/22 Living Labs as an Approach to Strengthen Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems

Contributors: Jorieke Potters Kevin Collins Herman Schoorlemmer Emils Kilis Andy Lane Heloise Leloup

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