One of the challenges in UK farming is creating an environment that fosters innovation. In such an environment a two-way exchange exists between knowledge producers and knowledge distributors.
On the one hand, research institutions produce state-of-the-art new knowledge on the latest developments in crop science and on-farm technology. Often, this knowledge is inaccessible to farmers. Either it sits behind publisher’s paywalls or, the language and medium in which it is presented are obscure and time-consuming to digest.
The National Library of Agri-food is an open access online library that provides a weekly newsletter in which subscribers are informed about new knowledge in dozens of fields. These include additions from crop science, information communication technologies but also broader socio-economic updates on food security, for example.
Over the years, I have acted as sub-editor as well as business and partnership developer. My previous experience as researcher and the resources associated with the Business Model Canvas served me well in this role.