How can we make a connection between people and products? And what is needed to make this connection? How do we efficiently respond to the changes in the world? These are themes that are driven within the Agrofoodcluster. Our pillars: knowledge, innovation, business, and research have emerged from this basis. The Agrofoodcluster develops activities within these four pillars, enabling us to work with our stakeholders on the future.
Our pillars are focused on knowledge, innovation, business, and research in open field production
Knowledge pillar
Knowledge is needed to maintain our position in the agrofood sector. Together with our stakeholders, we have a lot of knowledge. From different perspectives, non-competitive themes, relevant to all stakeholders are discussed within the Agrofoodcluster. These stakeholders are active in one of the four subjects of the Agrofoodcluster: Entrepreneur, Education, in Government and Research By putting our head together and sharing our knowledge, new ideas and insights emerge, which are then taken up by the Agrofoodcluster for immediate practical application.
We like to look ahead and want well-educated people in our sector, now and in the future. Therefore, an essential task of the Agrofoodcluster is to narrow the gap between education and business. This is done in different ways. Learn more about our pillar education here.
Innovation pillar
Steps must continue to be taken to stimulate growth and development in the sector. The continuous response to the latest developments within the sector requires new means and ways of implementing projects and themes. Innovations keep us competitive within the sector. To this end, we work on various projects such as drones and precision agriculture. Unique backgrounds are combined and stimulate optimisation within open cultivation. This is the innovative and entrepreneurial strength of the Agrofoodcluster.
Business & promotion pillar
Agrofoodcluster has an entrepreneurial background. By working together, business opportunities are identified, stimulated and developed. Also, by establishing connections, for example, with foreign delegations, opportunities are created for the stakeholders of the Agrofoodcluster.
Research pillar
The Netherlands has a top position in the worldwide export of the seed potato. Especially the Northern part is active in the potato industry. In 2022 Groningen, Friesland and Flevoland together grew almost 60 percent of the total seed potatoes grown in the Netherlands. This amounts to approximately 28,000 hectares. Together, these provinces form the knowledge platform for seed potato cultivation. Growing potatoes comes with several challenges. Think of challenges in the areas of climate, soil, salinization and quality.
In order to guarantee the top position for this crop, but also for other crops, active research is being conducted.