While the competitiveness of the agro-industrial sector is tied to its specific performance, the authors explain that it also depends heavily on the character and degree of innovation.
The researchers point out that research and development (R&D) collaboration is a vital tool for helping agri-food companies integrate biotechnology and offer innovative products, which adds value and differentiation within the biobased value-chain.
To support their developed R&D collaboration model, the study conducted a diagnosis of biotechnological tools used for food safety, quality, health, and the creation of new ingredients, integrating survey results from partners within an agri-food Association.
The results reveal that micro-businesses in the wine, fruticulture, and olive culture subsectors do not develop biotechnology research internally. According to the survey, only 27.3% of these companies claimed to have developed research activities in partnership with external research centers, and none were associated with higher education institutions.
The authors highlight that the most significant barriers to implementing biotechnology are limited access to capital and a lack of specialized human resources. Ultimately, these findings reinforced the need for a specifically designed R&D collaboration strategy to help these small businesses overcome such obstacles.
Learn more about this study here: https://doi.org/10.3390/joitmc6040116
Reference:
Paiva, T., Ribeiro, M., & Coutinho, P. (2020). R&D Collaboration, Competitiveness Development, and Open Innovation in R&D. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 6(4), 116.