Investing in key technologies is investing in the future of the (Eastern) Netherlands. Three key technologies are prominent in making agri-food more sustainable:

• biotechnology: innovative breeding of plants, animals and micro-organisms;
• information technology: development and application of AI for food, sensorics, big data, IoT and connectivity;
• smart systems: combined high-quality technologies as used in robotics, monitoring and control, digital production processes, process automation and conversion and separation technology in production processes.

Key technologies

Investment agenda on five themes

We use East Netherlands' strengths and skills to make the difference in the five themes: circular food system, smart food production, next generation protein solutions, living labs and key technologies.

Investments are essential to move these topics forward successfully. Various inventories - including a recent one for FoodSwitchNL - show that the regional business community and knowledge institutions also want to co-invest in these topics. In order to further increase the impact, we ask the national government and Europe to explore with us these five themes in which East Netherlands has chosen to actively participate and to play a leading role. Based on the current inventory of projects from East Netherlands, there is a great demand for investment in order to make an impact regionally, nationally and internationally.

In East Netherlands, we test system changes (circular, protein & digital) in practice and further development takes place with (end) users. We do this under the name of 'Proeftuinen' (living labs). This way of working is an essential link in the implementation and further rollout of agri-food innovations. The East Netherlands in particular has a well-developed innovation ecosystem, an appropriate scale and wants to play an important role in this.

Specifically, we are thinking of collaborations such as shared pilot and research facilities, living labs for various sectors (poultry/insects/beef cattle/fruit) and around specific challenges such as drought on sandy soils and around the theme of fertilisers and emission reduction.

Living labs

Examples of investment initiatives:

Examples of investment initiatives:

• In the area of key technologies, the "proposition AI East Netherlands" offers great opportunities for application in the animal sector, but also in the fruit sector or at food companies;
• OnePlanet Research Centre wants to work with parties from the region to implement key technologies in the field of sensoring to tackle societal challenges (such as emission reduction, healthy living and circular use of raw materials) with data. The investment initiative for this is called OpenPlanet;
• Linking systems that collect data (e.g. drones with sensors) to systems that perform processing steps (e.g. robots that harvest, prune, mow, etc.), especially for precision agriculture. This requires major investments in data exchange and platform building. It can be implemented in living lab projects in multiple sectors and around specific challenges. Think of the FruitBridge initiative as described above.

Examples of investment initiatives:

• implementing plans for expansion and start-up of new partnerships in which innovations can be tested, demonstrated and scaled up. Particularly sector-oriented, such as in poultry production, insect cultivation, cattle or fruit, cooperation can be quickly set up and scaled up. For example, an Insect Experience Centre at Aeres MBO in Barneveld, the expansion of activities at The Green East in Raalte, or the living lab initiatives mentioned earlier around the themes of circularity, alternative proteins and smart food production;
• investing in an extension of the Shared Pilot Facility scheme offers opportunities for more innovative Food entrepreneurs from the East Netherlands to convert their innovations from the lab into (pilot) productions;
• creating living labs around specific challenges such as drought on sandy soils and around the theme of fertilisers and emission reduction (a Field lab nitrogen reduction Overijssel).

• FruitBridge: implementation of a digital and connecting ecosystem and platform for the fruit sector, organised from Fruit Tech Campus;
• icon Think East Netherlands "Data Driven Transition in Food";
• World Food Center B2B innovation showcase: show the world the food and food technology solutions from the broad business community (like the World Horti Center in Naaldwijk);
• Making dairy farming more sustainable, through the application of data and sensing, both to
  boost agricultural cycles and to achieve long-lived, healthy cows.

Examples of investment initiatives:

• The Protein Cluster and R&D parties such as the WUR and NIZO Food Research: building production capacity for protein refining, expanding the ecosystem and investing in the production of alternative proteins through fermentation;
• improve protein crops through rapid plant breeding (e.g. lupin and field beans)
• Hub for Insect Knowledge transfer with themes such as setting up a central test site for insect cultivation with a focus on, among other things, new cultivation systems and the production of alternative feed;
• upscaling of water lentil production and its protein refining;
• salmon farming on land.

• Circular solutions in animal husbandry, such as by Stichting Future Farm in Hardenberg (Overijssel)
  and at the De Marke experimental farm
• Large-scale technological investment projects on the subject of residual waste processing,
  of e.g. beer brine and yeast, and setting up bundling initiatives such as waste hubs
• A knowledge & innovation centre on climate change, soil and dehydration for the agro,
  food and industry sectors, InnoDrought

Examples of investment initiatives:

The strong position of East Netherlands within the theme of protein transition forms the basis for further steps that contribute to a diet with less animal protein. Both knowledge institutions and companies are already fully committed to this. New investments are necessary to explore and develop more alternative sources of protein. We are thinking of relatively unknown vegetable protein sources that could be suitable for human consumption, but also of new sources such as water lentils and algae. Refining proteins from residual flows is promising, but requires expensive hardware in pilot facilities. Solutions will eventually find application in consumer products and also in animal feed (as an alternative to imported soya).

In order to actually be able to process new proteins into products, it is important to pay specific attention to optimal functionality (for example, binding in bakery products) and the correct amino acid composition in order to offer a healthy alternative. The production and application of new proteins also necessitates investments in the area of food safety (including the development of 'novel food' dossiers).

Next generation protein solutions

Smart solutions are needed to provide a growing world population with healthy and sustainable food. The use of chip and sensor technology and Internet of Things (IoT) to achieve smart connections in production environments has been chosen as the ThinkEast Netherlands 'icon'.

Smart technologies lead to less waste (by detecting declining quality very early), fewer emissions or higher animal welfare. Robotics is also advancing rapidly and is becoming an essential production factor, both for the farmer and the food producer. Digital connections in the system up to the consumer lead to chain changes, such as shorter chains.

Smart food production 

Circular food system 

The systemic change towards circular agriculture is a transition that can only be achieved by making substantial investments and by engaging in more intensive collaboration between parties. From farm to fork, in which raw materials retain their value and residual flows are put to good use and - if possible - upgraded in the (food) chain. The East Netherlands has everything needed to become a hub for a circular food system. There are prominent knowledge institutions, motivated and experienced intermediary organisations, leading entrepreneurs from the primary sector, small and large food companies with R&D centres in the region and regional collaborations with food as a spearhead.

We invest in technological solutions, but also in system changes (e.g. chain shortening) and the development of new business models (e.g. ecosystem services).