Innovative agrifood value chains

This data-set has been produced in the frame of H2020 project CO-FRESH, in Deliverable 1.2 "List of value chains and a data-set on the characteristics of the identified sustainable, innovative and competitive agrifood value chains"

Grand societal challenges, such as climate change, environmental degradation, food security, immigration, and digital transformation, urge value chains actors from farm to fork to interact for improving the system. In this context, innovation, that has long been considered as a factor of growth and competitiveness, becomes an increasingly important factor to create value while addressing sustainability challenges (both environmental, social and economic).

The CO-FRESH project aims to enhance collaboration for sustainability-oriented innovation in the agri-food sector, by proposing interventions for re-designing fruit and vegetables (F&V) value chains across Europe. To reach these objectives, Work Package 1 takes the lead in Identification, Analysis and Design of Innovative and Sustainable Agri-food Value Chains. The current report is the outcome of Task 1.2. Identify innovative agri-food value chains and collect empirical data.

Deliverable 1.2. presents a list of value chains and a data-set on the characteristics of the identified sustainable, innovative and competitive agrifood value chains. This list is the results of a participatory inventory led by WUR and involving all the CO-FRESH consortium partners.

This report contains three core elements. First, it presents the methodology that was used for the inventory creation, drawing on the concepts and selection criteria developed in D1.1.Review state of the art. Second, the report provides the list of the selected 100+ value chains and their general characteristics. Third, the report shows the different types of sustainability-oriented innovations implemented in these value chains, as well as the various modes of collaboration used to design and implement the innovations.

The inventory has been presented to the CO-FRESH consortium during a workshop held 7 October 2021 (CO-FRESH Milestone 2). The inventory will be used in the next step of the project for further data collection and analysis (Task 1.3). For the next milestone, a survey will be addressed to a representative of each of these 100+ value chains in order to gain better understanding of the drivers of collaboration and to assess the impact of the sustainability-oriented innovation implemented. Second, the inventory will be used to select and investigate a portfolio of business models in the Task 1.4. Based on this inventory and the following analysis in Task 1.3 and Task 1.4, recommendations will be developed for interventions to redesign the value chains of the CO-FRESH pilot cases.