Introduction and adoption of innovations in horticultural production systems

Horticultural production occurs in various production systems, dominated by greenhouse and open-field production. During the last decade, alternative production systems with more advanced technologies, such as LED lighting and artificial intelligence, have started to appear, e.g., plant factories with artificial lighting. This opens up new opportunities where increased attention from venture capitalists and investors highlights food-tech as an innovative field of interest. Technological development can also accelerate possibilities, mainly for firms producing in greenhouses, if they can adopt relevant knowledge and innovations from other production systems. Another aspect is the increased interest in start-up initiatives and businesses in urban settings, e.g., urban farming, vertical farming, aquaponics, or rooftop greenhouses, to mention a few models. In parallel, low-tech initiatives are developing, e.g., market gardening and small-scale artisan production, which can also be important niches for the sustainable production of vegetables. The innovative production systems often use alternative food networks and different business models, e.g., Community Supported Agriculture or Product Service Systems, often with shorter supply chains. These different initiatives are also associated with positive movements influencing society and increasing consumers’ awareness of sustainable food production. However, the fact that new actors are entering the market could also create tensions between urban and rural contexts due to the different backgrounds of business owners. This is further accelerated by the different conditions for the firms, e.g., depending on support and policies from the innovation system and society in general

Farming-as-a-service initiative in the making: Insights from emerging proto-practices in Sweden

This paper focus on the emergence of farming-as-a-service initiatives that combines ideas about controlled environment agriculture with digital technologies to produce food in cities. These initiatives are founded upon the view that it can secure local food provision while reducing the environmental impacts of food systems. While there are promising value claims surrounding such initiatives, knowledge about their actual effects is limited. This paper begins to address this research gap by investigating the early uptake of such practices in user context. Exploratory case study research was conducted focusing on the emergence of farming-as-a-service initiatives in Sweden. Drawing on practice theory of innovation, it explores the implementation of digitally augmented and service-oriented farming practices in user contexts. The findings shows that its implementation follows a transformational alignment process where new practices detach or attach to existing flows of practices. While new practices of service-oriented farming are fluid and unstable in relation to established practices, they hold transformative potential. Thus, our study contributes with an in-depth understanding of the implementation of farming-as-a-service and highlight potential implication for further uptake of such practices

The relationship between vegetable growers and the supermarkets

The supermarkets in Europe have over the last decades gained increased control within the food supply chain. Globalisation has made it easier to trade and this comes with good and bad effects for the food system. In both Scotland and Sweden we find suppliers and producers within horticulture. These are getting increasingly affected by the supermarkets authority because they rely on supermarkets actions within the supply chain. There is an increasing demand on producers to be competitive and innovative to be able to survive in the tougher market climate. There are different methods for developing a competitive strategy, such as better organisation of the producers or labelling of the produce. Another opportunity could be to increase the profit margin by adding value to the crops. The producers can also try to find other routes or methods to sell their produce through. The aim of this study is to briefly describe the structure of the vegetable industry in Scotland as well as Skåne, Sweden. The industry will be analysed from an economic perspective with focus on the theory of Porter's common competition strategy and the model of five rivalry forces. I shall also describe the alternative market channels to supermarkets for sale of vegetables. Since supermarkets are the dominating market channel for vegetable producers the relationship between supermarkets and the growers will be an important part of the study. Also the marketing situation for fresh produce shall be investigated along with examination of the hierarchies in the supply chain. The results from the different countries are compared to each other and similarities and differences will be evaluated. The studies of literature and articles have been an important part of the investigation along with the case study. Several personal interviews have been carried out in Scotland as well as Sweden. The method which has been used for the case study is a qualitative examination with opened question during the interviews. This has made it possible for the respondents to easier express their opinions concerning the issue. The results show that depending on the size and structure of the company the grower can achieve a more or less successful business relation to their buyers. Therefore it is important to choose a suitable market channel along with developing a good strategy to reach a competitive position on the horticultural market. The conclusion of this study is that the relation between growers and the supermarkets are considered to be satisfying from some growers' perspective whilst other producers are negative to the supermarkets way of doing business. Some tendencies shown from the interviews are that larger companies, selling to supermarkets have a propensity to be more positive to the supermarkets than smaller growers. The larger companies also consider themselves unable to sell the produce through other channels. The growers dealing directly with their buyers and avoiding a middle hand are generally more positive to the situation and relationship to the supermarkets.Dagligvaruhandeln i Europa har under de senaste årtiondena fått utökad kontroll av värdekedjan för livsmedel. Genom globaliseringen har det blivit lättare att bedriva handel, vilket har medfört både positiva och negativa effekter för värdekedjan. I Skottland såväl som i Sverige finns det leverantörer och producenter inom trädgårdsnäringen. Dessa påverkas av dagligvaruhandelns ökande auktoritet eftersom de är beroende av deras agerande. Det finns ett ökande krav på odlarna att vara konkurrenskraftiga och innovativa för att kunna överleva i det hårdare klimatet på marknaden. Dessutom har det blivit viktigare att utveckla en konkurrenskraftig strategi med bättre organisation av producenterna samt marknadsföring. En annan möjlighet att öka odlarnas vinstmarginal kan vara genom vidareförädling av grönsaker. Odlarna har också alternativet att försöka hitta andra kanaler att sälja sina jordbruksprodukter genom. Syftet med undersökningen är att kortfattat beskriva strukturen hos grönsakssektorn i Skottland och Sverige. Industrin kommer att analyseras ur ett ekonomiskt perspektiv med fokuseringen på Porters strategiska konkurrensteori och femkraftsmodell. Även alternativa marknadskanaler till dagligvaruhandeln för försäljning av grönsaker kommer att behandlas. Eftersom dagligvaruhandeln är den dominerande marknadskanalen till vilken odlarna säljer sin produktion kommer relationen mellan dessa att vara en viktig del av undersökningen. Även marknadsföringen av grönsaker kommer att undersökas tillsammans med hierarkierna i värdekedjan för livsmedel. Resultaten från de olika länderna kommer under utvärderingen visa de likheter och skillnader som existerar mellan industrin i Skottland jämfört med Skåne, Sverige. Litteraturstudier har varit en viktig del av undersökningen kombinerat med en fallstudie med intervjuer utförda i de båda länderna. Metoden som använts i studien är en kvalitativ undersökning och respondenterna har intervjuats med stöd från öppna frågor. Detta har underlättat för deltagarna i studien att spekulera och utveckla sina åsikter rörande ämnet. Resultatet visar att beroende av storleken och strukturen av företaget kan odlare uppnå en mer eller mindre framgångsrik relation till sina kunder. Detta bidrar till att det är viktigt att göra ett strategiskt val av passande marknadskanal för att få en konkurrenskraftig position på den hortikulturella marknaden. Slutsatsen av undersökningen är att relationen mellan odlare och dagligvaruhandeln anses vara tillfredsställande enligt vissa odlares åsikter medan andra producenter är negativa till dagligvaruhandelns förhandlingsmetoder. Vissa tendenser som påvisas från fallstudien är att större företag som säljer till dagligvaruhandeln visar ansatser till att vara mer positiva till dagligvaruhandeln än mindre odlare. Dessutom anser större företagare inte att det finns något realistiskt alternativ till andra kunder än dagligvaruhandeln, som marknaden ser ut i dagsläget. Odlare som säljer direkt till sina kunder och undviker mellanhänder är även mer positiva till förhållandet med dagligvaruhandel

Alternative food networks in food system transition—values, motivation, and capacity building among young Swedish market gardeners

This study sheds light on a new generation of Swedish food producers, market gardeners, who are attracting attention in terms of food system sustainability, prompted by increasing consumer awareness about the value of healthy and locally produced food. Market gardening is part of a global agroecological movement opposed to industrialized agriculture and its negative impacts on the environment and rural communities. These food producers challenge the incumbent agri-food regime through the building of alternative food networks. This case-based study involving 14 young vegetable producers showed that young people who engage in market gardening are strongly motivated by dual incentives, namely entrepreneurship and transformation to sustainability. Six main competences were identified as important for market gardeners: practical skills related to growing vegetables, business management, innovation and continuous learning, systems thinking, pioneering, and networking. Individuals develop their skills through continuous experiential learning and gain knowledge through peer-to-peer learning using social media. However, they need to acquire certain skills relating to their daily work in the field and to managing a business. Market gardeners currently face a number of barriers erected by the sociopolitical environment, in particular regarding access to research-based knowledge, extension services, and business support

Urban farming with rooftop greenhouses: a systematic literature review

The environmental impacts of food systems will increase in tandem with rapid urban population growth, which calls for alternative solutions, such as urban agriculture, to reach the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Among several urban agriculture systems, rooftop farming and its subset, rooftop greenhouses, are promising technologies. They optimize land use, increase profitability for building owners, deliver good yields per unit area, increase water use efficiency, and reduce the energy use of both greenhouse and host buildings while mitigating the urban heat island effect. A systematic literature review of the rooftop greenhouse technology was carried out to examine the benefits and challenges associated with this technology. This review was based on 45 articles, covering themes such as the impact of rooftop greenhouse technology on yields, energy use, water use, environmental impacts, and life-cycle costs; some benefits identified are the symbiotic heat, water, and CO2 exchanges between the rooftop greenhouse and its host building, and the possibility of delivering yearround production. The additional investment, operational costs, limited availability of flat roofs, and various regulations were challenges to overcome. The relevance of symbiosis between rooftop greenhouses and buildings to enhancing sustainability, and meeting the SDGs was explored. This review also outlines that rooftop greenhouses are increasing in scale, system diversity, societal acceptance and popularity among commercial operations in large cities. The future of rooftop farming lies in customizing the right technology for selected building typologies globally, where food production is fully integrated into the urban landscape

Innovationer och kunskapsspridning vid produktion av bladgrönsaker

Produktion av bladgrönsaker representerar höga värden och har visat en ökande omsättning i konsumtionsled under senare år. I en studie vid SLU Alnarp undersöktes produktion av bladgrönsaker i olika produktionssystem genom intervjuer med företagare. Syftet med studien är att förstå rollen av innovation och teknikanvändning i produktion av bladgrönsaker i olika odlingssystem

Introduction and adoption of technical innovations – a study of sustainable production of leafy vegetables in different production systems

Production of leafy vegetables can take place in a variety of different production systems. Open field and greenhouse production have traditionally been used but alternative production systems with advanced technologies have started to appear lately, e.g. Plant Factories with Artificial Lighting (PFAL). This opens up for new opportunities with increased attention from venture capitalist and investors highlighting food-tech as a new field of interest. At the same time, the technology development can open up for possibilities mainly for firms producing leafy vegetables in greenhouses if they can adopt relevant knowledge and innovations from different production systems. There is also an increased interest for start-up initiatives and businesses in urban settings e.g. urban farming, vertical farming, aquaponics or roof top farms to mention a few models (Thomaier et al., 2015). In contrast, there is furthermore low tech initiatives with market gardening, CSA (community supported agriculture) and small-scale artisan production that can also be important niches for sustainable production of vegetables (Drottberger et al., 2021). These different initiatives can be seen as positive movements influencing society and increasing consumers’ awareness when it comes to food production since the producers often use different business models and alternative food networks compared to the traditional value chain (ibid.). But the fact that new actors are entering the market could also create tensions between urban and rural contexts due to the different backgrounds of the grower and sometimes different possibilities for the businesses e.g. depending on support and policies from society

Innovationsspridning och upptagandet av innovationer i lantbrukssföretag och företag i agri-food. - En systematisk kartläggning och översikt av forskningen

The aim of this study is firstly to systematically explore, analyse, report on and synthesise the scientific studies on the topic of diffusion and adoption of innovations from the agri-food firms’ perspective, and secondly, to frame the results in a conceptual overview comprising key elements in the research over the period. The specific objectives are 1. to determine variables important in the diffusion and adoption of innovations from the agri-food firms’ perspective, 2. based on the results, to suggest development and improvements of capabilities in the supporting knowledge systems, in order to increase the sectors’ adoption of innovations 3. to discuss the implications for research. The study is based on systematic mapping of the literature (academic papers published in scientific journals) in the period 1997-2017. In total, abstracts for 202 papers were included in the mapping and analysed with an exploratory analytical approach. A delimitation of the study is to cover research in OECD-countries. Nine broad categories of key elements studied have been derived from the mapping: 1) Farm/firm characteristics; 2) Farmers’/managers’ characteristics; 3) Firm management practices; 4)  Adoption-diffusion behaviours and learning; 5) Sources of information and innovation; 6) Innovation characteristics; 7) Networks and relations; 8) Contextual variables, and 9) The agricultural knowledge and innovation system, AKIS. The open access data material consists of a spreadsheet containing included mapped studies, coding of abstracts, a meta-table with categorised keywords from the 202 papers, and unique reference numbers attached to each mapped item to allow tracing the themes from the meta-table to the connected excel sheet. All the mapped items have received a reference number, which is used in both the meta-tables of categorised keywords and the adhered excel spread sheet (data file). The data file shows the list of items included in the mapping and items removed in the later stages of the screening process. The data contains of: Meta-Table with categorised keywords Excel sheet with extracted information Notes on procedure (the procedure of the mapping process and analysis)Studiens syfte är att systematiskt göra en översikt, analysera, beskriva och sammanställa vetenskapliga studier på temat innovationsspridning och upptagandet av innovationer hos lantbruksföretag och företag inom agri-food, utifrån företagets perspektiv. Vidare att inrama resultaten i en konceptuell översikt som omfattar forskningens nyckelelement under perioden. Specifika mål med studien är att: 1) avgöra vilka variabler som är viktiga från företagets perspektiv för innovationsspridning och företagens upptag av innovationer; baserat på resultaten, föreslå områden för kunskap och förmågor i det stödjande kunskapssystemen, med syftet att öka sektorns upptag av innovationer; och; 3) diskutera implikationer för forskningen. Studien baseras på en systematisk kartläggning av litteraturen (akademiska artiklar publicerade i vetenskapliga tidskrifter) under perioden 1997-2017. Sammanlagt 202 artiklar inkluderas i kartläggningen och analyseras med en exploration analytisk metod. En avgränsning är gjord till OECD-länder. Nio huvudkategorier av nyckelelement som studerats har identifierats i kartläggningen: 1) Variabler som beskriver företaget; 2) Variabler som beskriver företagaren; 3) Företagsmanagement/-styrning; 4) Beteenden relaterade till upptagandet av innovationer och lärande; 5) informationskällor; 6) Innovationernas egenskaper; 7) Nätverk och relationer; 8) Sammanhangsvariabler, och 9) Lantbrukets kunskaps- och innovationssystem (AKIS). Det tillgängliga datamaterialet består av ett Excelblad med de kartlagda studierna, kodning av artiklarnas sammanfattningar, en metatabell med kategoriserade nyckelorden från 202 artiklar som är identifierbara med unika referensnummer som gör dem sårbara mellan metatabellen och Excelbladet. De kartlagda artiklarna har erhållit ett referensnummer som används både i metatabellen med kategoriserade nyckelord och i det tillhörande Excelbladet (datafilen). Datafilen visar förteckningen över artiklar inkluderade i kartläggningen, men även de artiklar som exkluderats i de senare stegen av screeningprocessen. Datat består av: metatabell med kategoriserad nyckelord/nyckelelement Excelblad inklusive full information om artiklarna och de extraherade nyckelorden Noteringar rörande proceduren, både avseende kartläggningen (sökning, screening, urval) och analysen