Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems Towards the Future

This paper offers a perspective on the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System. The first chapter gives an introduction to the subject and explains the role of SCAR and of the Strategic Working Group AKIS. The second chapter investigates the AKIS and their role in innovation, including the policy context of the European Innovation Partnership “Agricultural productivity and sustainability”. Chapter 3 discusses the relation in a globalised world between Agricultural Research (AR) and Agricultural Research for Development (ARD). This is followed by two chapters that focus on ICT-trends: chapter 4 discusses ICT in the food chain and its implications for research and innovation. It is followed by a chapter on E-science to see how ICT and “Big Data” could support the interactive innovation model. These trends are one of the inputs for a scenario analysis in chapter 6 on the future developments in AKIS. Chapter 7 focuses on policy recommendations for AKIS and especially on its advisory services. The report ends with recommendations for the SCAR (EU and Member States) and the AKIS stakeholders. This chapter also functions as a summary of the findings of the Strategic Working Group.