Co-Innovation and Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Services to Drive Adoption of Smart Farming Technologies at the Farm Level

Kirjoittajat

• Gilbert X. Ludwig Jamk University of Applied Sciences, Institute of Bioeconomy, Tuumalantie 17, FIN-4130 Tarvaala

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33354/smst.181196

Avainsanat:

Multi-actor approach (MAA), Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS), Innovation bootcamp, Farmer-centered innovation, Peer learning, Digital agriculture, Technology adoption, Participatory methods, Knowledge exchange, Facilitation, Agricultural extension services, Horizon Europe

Abstrakti

Despite the growing availability of smart farming technologies, their adoption at the farm level remains limited due to a combination of technical, economic, and social barriers. This article explores how co-innovation and multi-actor advisory approaches can help to overcome these challenges by fostering collaborative, farmer-centered innovation processes. Drawing on the experience of the Horizon Europe TechCoach project’s first innovation bootcamp in Finland, we examine how facilitated co-creation events can operationalize the principles of the Multi-Actor Approach (MAA) to generate practical, context-specific solutions for smart farming adoption. The bootcamp brought together farmers, advisors, researchers, and other stakeholders to collaboratively address real-world challenges, resulting in four solution concepts: peer learning networks, reformed support systems, digital matchmaking platforms, and a lighthouse farm mentoring model. These solutions directly targeted systemic barriers such as knowledge gaps, limited advisory capacity, and fragmented innovation ecosystems. The findings highlight the value of structured facilitation, stakeholder diversity, and trust-building in enabling effective co-innovation. Furthermore, the bootcamp model demonstrated potential to complement traditional advisory services and strengthen Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) by embedding participatory methods and enhancing the role of advisors as innovation facilitators. The article concludes that multi-actor co-innovation formats like the TechCoach bootcamp can play a critical role in accelerating the digital and sustainable transformation of agriculture by aligning technological development with farmers’ needs and capacities.