Project
Add Kentucky Horti-AgTech Knowledge System
Kentucky has the ambition to develop an AgTech Ecosystem. The focus of the research will be an overview of best practices on both education, governance and technology/innovation level with clear references and advice for implementation/collaboration, supporting the business development of the AgTech Ecosystem in Kentucky.
The State of Kentucky has the ambition to develop an AgTech Ecosystem, initiated by AppHarvest, an ambitious greenhouse/indoor production company. This study in particular zooms in on the conditions that are necessary to achieve broad application and adoption of Dutch knowledge and skills in Kentucky, in particular:
- Education & training (‘Software’): access to sufficient knowledge, knowledge development and education, knowledge sharing in networks, experimentation with applied knowledge, perspective for a future workforce, etc.).
- Governance (‘Orgware’): Strengthen the role of government (local, regional, national) in creating favorable business location conditions (spatial, legal, financial, procedural). Exploration if the Greenports Netherlands’ governance model could be useful for the situation in Kentucky.
- Examples of Dutch Clusters for sustainable production (‘Hardware’).
By using Dutch knowledge and experience new business opportunities are created for Dutch companies and this will open up market access for larger groups of companies and other parties.
The objective of this research is to utilize the Dutch “Triple Helix” model and Strategic Plans for Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) in developing a plan to develop the needed ecosystem in Kentucky, focusing focus on best practices and how this could be translated to the Kentucky situation.
The research is done in collaboration and coordination with the University of Kentucky and the University (UK) of Pikeville (UPike) who will bring in local expertise and information on the current situation. Together with the results from this study WUR, UK and UPike will come to clear outlines for implementation.
The result of this part of the research will be an overview of best practices on both education, governance and technology/innovation level with clear references and advice for implementation/collaboration. As part of the UK/UPike study, WUR will be asked to combine these findings with their information and together formulate clear scenarios for implementation.