Monitoring the twin transition of industrial ecosystems : agri-food : analytical report.
Date: 2024-01-30
Institutions: European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency
Subjects: agro-industry, business model, digital transformation, environmental impact, green economy, innovation, investment, performance measurement, report, sample survey, skilled worker, start-up, sustainable development

Monitoring the twin 
transition of industrial 
ecosystems 

AGRI-FOOD 

Analytical report 

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Authors:  Els  Van  de  Velde,  Daniela  Kretz,  Laura  Lecluyse,  IDEA  Consult,  and  Kincsö  Izsak, 

Technopolis Group  

Data  collection  supported  by:  Carmen  Moreno,  Paresa  Markianidou,  Owen  McColgan, 

Technopolis Group 

EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs 

Directorate D – Networks & Governance 

Unit GROW.D.2 – Industrial Forum, Alliances, Clusters 

European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) 

Unit I.02 – SMP/COSME Pillar 

E-mail: EISMEA-SMP-COSME-ENQUIRIES@ec.europa.eu 

European Commission 
B-1049 Brussels 

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ISBN: 978-92-9469-682-3  doi:10.2826/403075  EA-06-23-093-EN-N 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 
Executive summary ............................................................................................ 5 

1. Introduction ................................................................................................... 8 

1.1. Objectives ................................................................................................ 8 

1.2. Definition of the ecosystem ........................................................................ 9 

1.3. Industry state of play .............................................................................. 11 

2. Challengers of the industry: green and digital technological trends ............. 14 

2.1. Technological trends ................................................................................ 16 

2.2. Tech startups linked to the twin transition in the agri-food ecosystem ........... 18 

2.3. Scaleups in agri-food ............................................................................... 23 

3. Uptake of green and digital technologies and business models .................... 24 

3.1. Survey................................................................................................... 24 

3.2. Technology centres supporting SME’s access to technology .......................... 33 

4. Investment and funding ............................................................................... 38 

4.1. Venture capital and private equity investments ........................................... 41 

4.2. Foreign direct investment in agri-food ....................................................... 42 

4.3. EU research and innovation funding into agri-food ...................................... 43 

5. Skills ............................................................................................................. 46 

5.1. Green and digital skills in the agri-food industry ......................................... 48 

5.2. Skills demand ......................................................................................... 50 

6. Green performance of the ecosystem ........................................................... 53 

6.1. Resource consumption ............................................................................. 54 

Appendix A: References .................................................................................... 58 

Appendix B: Methodological notes .................................................................... 63 

TABLE OF FIGURES 
Figure 1: Overview of monitoring industrial ecosystems and relevant data sources ........ 8 

Figure 2: Main technologies monitored in the project ................................................. 9 

Figure 3: Positioning of the agri-food industrial ecosystem definitions ........................ 10 

Figure 4: Production performance of agri-food industrial ecosystem in EUR thousands for 

2008-2021.......................................................................................................... 12 

Figure 5: Trends in the evolution of patent applications related to the agri-food industrial 

ecosystem as shares in the world patent applications ............................................... 16 

Figure 6: Trends over time ................................................................................... 17 

Figure  7:  Patents  distribution  in  agri-food  by  digital  and  green  transition  related 

technologies ....................................................................................................... 18 

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Figure 8: Evolution in the number of green and digital agri-food tech companies established 

over time ............................................................................................................ 19 

Figure 9: Share of agri-food tech startups per technology established over three selected 

periods  (2011-2015;  2016-2019  and  2020-2023)  within  total  number  of  agri-food  tech 

firms in the database ........................................................................................... 20 

Figure 10: Share of agri-food tech startups per main business model over the period 2015-

2022 .................................................................................................................. 22 

Figure  11:  Share  of  revenue  invested  in  green  transformation  by  SMEs  in  the  agri-food 

industrial ecosystem on average annually ............................................................... 25 

Figure 12: Adoption of green technologies within the agri-food industrial ecosystem .... 26 

Figure 13: Share of recycled material that is used within production by SMEs in agri-food 

that adopted this technology ................................................................................. 26 

Figure 14: Share of renewable energy use within total energy consumption ................ 27 

Figure 15: Adoption of green business models and non-technological solutions within the 

agri-food ecosystem ............................................................................................ 28 

Figure  16:  Percentage  of  agri-food  SMEs  stating  that  they  have  been  certified  on 

environmental standards ...................................................................................... 29 

Figure 17: Number of environmental certificates issued ............................................ 30 

Figure 18: Share in revenue is invested in digital transformation on average annually .. 30 

Figure 19: Adoption of digital technologies within the agri-food industrial ecosystem ... 31 

Figure 20: Use cases of AI .................................................................................... 32 

Figure 21: Use cases of Internet of Things .............................................................. 32 

Figure 22: Use cases of robotics ............................................................................ 33 

Figure 23: Technology centres per country – agri-food ............................................. 34 

Figure 24: Drivers of demand for finance in the agri-food sector ................................ 39 

Figure 25: Digital investment and long-term investment expectation (share of firms in %), 

by industrial ecosystems ...................................................................................... 40 

Figure 26: Investment plans to tackle climate change impact, by industrial ecosystem . 40 

Figure 27: Private equity and venture capital investment into EU agri-food tech companies 

per main investment type (2010 onwards) .............................................................. 41 

Figure 28: Distribution of private equity and VC investment into agri-food tech companies 

by type of technology (2010-2022) ........................................................................ 42 

Figure 29: Foreign direct investment in agri-food ..................................................... 43 

Figure 30: Share of job advertisements with a reference to digital or green skills ........ 46 

Figure 31: Share of professionals with  specific  green and digital skills  employed in agri-

food and with a profile on LinkedIn ........................................................................ 48 

Figure 32: Breakdown of green and digital skills by type .......................................... 49 

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Figure 33: Trends in the number of professionals with green and digital skills employed in 

the agri-food industrial ecosystem and with a profile on LinkedIn .............................. 50 

Figure 34: Share of online job advertisements in agri-food with a requirement for digital or 

green skills within total in the EU27 ....................................................................... 51 

Figure 35: Top 15 digital skills on job advertisements in agri-food (2019-2022) in the EU27 

 ......................................................................................................................... 51 

Figure 36: Top green skills on job advertisements in agri-food (2019-2022) in the EU27 

 ......................................................................................................................... 52 

Figure 37: Agricultural emissions ........................................................................... 55 

Figure 38: Indicators to capture the green transition of the agri-food industrial ecosystem 

in the EU, Exiobase .............................................................................................. 56 

Figure 39: Representativeness of agri-food industry professionals on LinkedIn compared to 

Eurostat statistics on persons employed in agri-food ................................................ 66 

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Executive summary  

Measuring  performance  and  monitoring  change  within  an  industrial  ecosystem  are  vital 
components  that  enable  policymakers  and  industry  stakeholders  to  track  progress  over 
time  and  obtain  valuable  feedback  on  whether  the  system  is  moving  in  the  desired 
direction. This report is a contribution to the ‘European Monitor of Industrial Ecosystems’ 
(EMI)  project,  initiated  by  the  European  Commission's  Directorate  General  for  Internal 
Market,  Industry,  Entrepreneurship,  and  SMEs,  in  partnership  with  the  European 
Innovation  Council  and  SMEs  Executive  Agency  (EISMEA).  Its  primary  objective  is  to 
present the current state and the advancements achieved over time in terms of the green 
and digital transition of the Agri-Food Industrial Ecosystem. 

The agri-food industrial ecosystem is essential to Europe. In 2019, 16 million people were 
employed in the industrial ecosystem, compared to 21.5 million in the entire food supply 
chain, and the value-added was roughly €603 bn (or 6.4% of the EU total). The agri-food 
ecosystem is typically formed by SMEs, with 99% of food and drink enterprises being SMEs, 
and  more  particularly,  micro-enterprises.  The  EU  agri-food  ecosystem  is  known  for 
providing  high-quality  and  safe  products,  and  the  EU  is  the  number  one  food  and  drink 
exporter  in  the  world.    However,  the  ecosystem  is  subject  to  several  challenges  and  is 
historically known for its high environmental impact in terms of greenhouse gas emissions 
(GHG) and energy consumption. 

The agri-food industrial ecosystem is witnessing a shift towards a EU sustainable 
food system, powered by green and digital technologies such as biotechnology, advanced 
materials, advanced manufacturing and robotics and Internet of Things (IoT), to support 
the twin transition. 

In this project, the green and digital transition of industrial ecosystems have been analysed 
based on a tailored monitoring framework and dataset. The data include a business survey, 
text mining of company websites, startup data, patent applications, trade and production, 
investments, online job advertisements and job profiles and environmental impact data. 
The  methodology  of  the  data  calculations  is  included  in  report  on  the  conceptual  and 
methodological framework.  

Key findings about the green transition 

Technological  trends  underpinning  the  green  transition  in  the  agri-food  industrial 
ecosystems  have  been  analysed  based  on  patent  statistics  and  startup  data.  Within  the 
green transition technologies, biotechnology, advanced sustainable materials and air 
& water pollution reduction related technologies lead the patent share within the 
EU  total  in  the  agri-food  domain.  The  EU27  and  USA  are  on  equal  level  in  terms  of 
relative share for these technologies, leading China in all instances. 

Biotechnology  remained  the  most  important  technology  that  agri-food  tech  startups 
used related to the twin transition and for innovating within the industry over the period 
since 2010. Circular economy, production of healthy food and precision agriculture make 
up  for  the  top-three  business  models  in  the  startup  data  set  over  the  indicated  period. 
Further  topics  related  to  nutrition  as  well  as  alternative  proteins  round  out  the  top  five. 
Within circular economy business models, startups include firms that address food waste, 
such as platforms that monitor and reduce waste during production, or AI-based solutions 
that reduce or valorise food waste. In addition, companies that valorise food/agricultural 
waste  to  energy  are  also  included  in  the  category,  together  with  waste  valorisation  for 
uptake in other industries. There has been also an increasing number of scaleups in agri-
food linked to green transition objectives. 

The  business  survey  conducted  as  part  of  the  project  and  the  text  mining  of 
company websites in the agri-food ecosystem found that a significant portion of 
companies  in  the  agri-food  ecosystem  has  been  actively  embracing  the  green 
transformation.  

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• 

• 

• 
• 

• 

29%  of  agri-food  companies  text  mined  have  been  found  to  reference  the 
adoption of green transformation technologies 
53%  of  the  respondents  reported  a  positive  increase  in  their  investments 
dedicated to the green transition and environmental sustainability over the past 
five years 
34% indicated having adopted energy saving technologies 
32% confirmed that they use recycled materials and 32% any other recycling 
technologies 
Regarding food waste, 26% of the respondents indicated that they took actions 
to reduce food waste. 

The  agri-food  industrial  ecosystem  is  particularly  challenged  by  decreasing 
investment trends, related to sector specific challenges in obtaining finance. While the 
need  for  modernisation  of  production  is  evident,  the  profit  margins  themselves  are 
relatively low, reducing incentive for investment and preferring investment in fixed assets. 
Crunchbase and Net Zero Insights data indicates that private equity and venture capital 
investment in agri-food tech companies linked to the green transition have been volatile 
include 
over 
biotechnology  and  related  agri-tech  with  over  €1  bn  in  investment,  as  well  as 
recycling  technologies  with  €272  m.  Public  intervention  through  Horizon  2020  in  the 
area of Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine and maritime and inland 
water research and the bioeconomy accounted for €488 m (13% of the total funding).   

the  past  decade.  The  green 

technologies  attracting 

investment 

Workers in the agri-food ecosystem are often low skilled, ageing workers or third-country 
nationals, sometimes with lower qualification levels. There is an increasing need for high 
skilled workers such as agronomists, machinery and contact material specialists, C-level 
employees,  sustainability  experts,  circular  and  biotech  experts,  food  scientists,  food 
technologists,  and  high  craftsmanship  in  the  different  sub-sectors.  Many  initiatives  are 
taken to address this labour and  skills  shortage, including education and training, social 
protection  policies,  immigration,  supporting  collaborations,  developing  partnerships  and 
platforms to share knowledge and best practices including the Pact for Skills. The supply 
and  demand  of  skilled  professionals  relevant  for  the  green  transition  has  been 
captured based on LinkedIn data. Within the registered professionals on LinkedIn employed 
in  the  agri-food  industrial  ecosystem,  3%  indicated  to  have  environmental  protection 
related  skills  (green  skills).  Circular  economy  is  the  most  important  green  skill  followed 
closely by low carbon, energy saving technologies and renewable energy. The most popular 
environmental  skills  on  job  advertisements  have  been  corporate  social  responsibility, 
energy efficiency and environmental legislations. 

Key findings about the digital transition 

The  digital  transition  in  agri-food  is  less  apparent  in  technological  trends  related  to  the 
development of patents but show an increase  over time. Digitalisation, automation, and 
the  use  of  new  and  advanced  technologies  have  proved  to  enable  efficiency  gains, 
sustainability, and circularity in the agri-food ecosystem. For the technologies underpinning 
the digital transition patenting, advanced manufacturing and robotics as well as Internet 
of Things (IoT) have the highest relative share.  

Agri-food tech startups have played a key role in the transition of the agri-food ecosystem 
by  developing  and  providing  digital  tech  solutions  for  agriculture  and  food  production. 
Artificial  Intelligence  and  online  platforms  have  gained  ground  and  witnessed  a  sharp 
relative  increase  at  the  expense  of  other  software  services  developed  in  agri-food  tech 
startups. Online platforms and mobile applications have been another popular form of using 
digital technologies in the agri-food industry and gained further importance since the Covid 
pandemic period. Robotics technology has become more and more important over time as 
the number of agri-food tech startups established shows, even if the relative importance 
of the technology compared to others such as AI shifted. Business models related to the 
digital  transition,  while  less  prevalent  than  the  green  transition,  include  precision 
agriculture, smart sensors agri-food/Internet of Things, and advanced manufacturing and 
robotics. 

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With  regard  to  the  digital  transition,  the  text  mining  of  company  websites  found  that 
approximately  25%  of  agri-food  companies  have  adopted  at  least  one  digital 
transformation  enabling  technology.  The  business  survey  with  agri-food  SMEs 
provided the following insights: 

• 

• 

• 
• 
• 

• 
• 

48% of SMEs increased their investment into digital technologies over the past 
five years 
35%  of  the  respondents  invested  between  5  and  9%  of  revenue  in  digital 
transformation. 
30% of SMEs adopted online platforms  
27% of agri-food SMEs used cloud technologies 
Big  data  and  related  data  analytics  were  applied  by  17%  of  the  survey 
respondents, while Artificial Intelligence was pointed out to be used by 11% of 
the respondents 
Robotics technologies have been taken up by 11% of the SMEs in the ecosystem 
Internet  of  Things  solutions  have  been  already  adopted  by  10%  of  the 
respondents. 

The supply and demand of skilled professionals relevant for the digital transition has been 
captured based on LinkedIn data. Within the registered professionals on LinkedIn employed 
in the agri-food industrial ecosystem, 6% indicated to have one type of advanced digital 
skill (including technological knowledge such as IoT, AI, connectivity, big data, advanced 
farm  management  software  etc).  Digital  skills  are  led  by  advanced  software  for  farm 
management or food production, followed by cloud related skills and artificial intelligence. 

In addition, the skills demand in the agri-food industrial ecosystem was analysed based on 
the skills intelligence insights of Cedefop. Online job advertisements that can be related to 
the digital transition were analysed for the main digital skills including both general and 
more advanced digital skills. The top five digital skills that appeared most often over the 
period from 2019-2022 include office software, technical drawings, business ICT, but also 
database and programming related skills. 

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Introduction 

1.1. Objectives 

This report has been prepared within the ‘European Monitor of Industrial Ecosystems’ 
(EMI)  project,  initiated  by  the  European  Commission,  Directorate  General  for  Internal 
Market,  Industry,  Entrepreneurship  and  SMEs  and  the  European  Innovation  Council  and 
SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). The overall objective of the project is to contribute to 
the analysis of the green and digital transformation of industrial ecosystems and 
progress made over time.  

The EU’s updated industrial strategy1 has identified 14 industrial ecosystems2 – one of them 
being  ‘Agri-food’  -  that  is  in  the  focus  of  this  report.  The  industrial  strategy  defined 
industrial  ecosystems  as  encompassing  all  players  operating  in  a  value  chain:  from  the 
smallest startups to the largest companies, from academia to research, service providers 
to  suppliers.  The  notion  of  ecosystems  captures  the  complex  set  of  interlinkages  and 
interdependencies among sectors and firms across the EU. Industrial transition is driven 
by  technological,  economic,  and  social  changes,  and  in  particular  by  green  and  digital 
technologies and the shift to the circular economy. The process is however characterised 
by  complex,  multi-level,  and  dynamic  development.  To  make  transition  sustainable, 
technological  change  needs  to  be  coupled  with  new  business  models,  the  necessary 
investments,  skills,  regulatory  framework  conditions  and  behavioural  change  across  the 
ecosystem.  

Measuring performance and change is vital to allow policymakers and industry stakeholders 
to track progress over time and get feedback whether the system is moving in the desired 
direction. To measure performance, a dedicated monitoring and indicator framework 
has been set up for the purposes  of this project with an aim to capture them in regular 
intervals (see the overview of the monitoring framework in Figure 1).  

Figure 1: Overview of monitoring industrial ecosystems and relevant data sources 

Source: Technopolis Group, IDEA Consult and Fraunhofer ISI 

1 European Commission (2020). A New Industrial Strategy for Europe, COM/2020/102 final and European Commission (2021). 
Updating the 2020 New Industrial Strategy: Building a stronger Single Market for Europe’s recovery, COM(2021) 350 final 
2 The 14 industrial ecosystems include: construction, digital industries, health, agri-food, renewables, energy intensive 
industries, transport and automotive, electronics, textile, aerospace and defense, cultural and creative culture industries, 
tourism, proximity and social economy, and retail. 

8 

 
 
 
 
 
 
The  indicator  framework  includes  a  set  of  traditional  and  novel  data  sources  that 
allow shedding new light on ongoing transformation patterns. The novelty of the 
analysis  lies  in  the  exploratory  and  innovative  data  sources  used  across  the  different 
chapters.  Due  to  its  effort  to  analyse  industrial  ecosystems  using  a  more  or  less 
standardised set of indicators, the study cannot address all aspects of the green and digital 
transition. Therefore, additional analysis and industry-specific data sources should be used 
to supplement a full assessment.   

The  methodological  report  that  sets  the  conceptual  basis  and  explains  the  technical 
details  of  each  indicator  is  found  in  a  separate  document  uploaded  on  the  EMI  website.  
Moreover, some of the specific industry codes used throughout this analysis have been also 
included  in  Appendix  B.  The  green  and  digital  technologies  considered  in  this  study  are 
presented in Figure 2. 

Figure 2: Main technologies monitored in the project 

Source: Technopolis Group, IDEA Consult and Fraunhofer ISI 

This report contributes to the analysis of the key pillars put forward in the ‘Blueprint 
for  the  development  of  transition  pathways’3  of  the  Industrial  Forum  developed  in 
2022.  

1.2. Definition of the ecosystem 

This section highlights the definitions used to delineate the agri-food industrial ecosystem 
(see Figure 3).  

The  agri-food  industry  typically  refers  to  both  agriculture  &  farming  (NACE  A)  and  food 
processing activities (NACE C10-12). For the purpose of this study, we focus on the agri-
food  industrial  ecosystem  as  it  is  outlined  in  the  Industrial  Strategy4  and  Annual  Single 
Market Report5. 

According to the European Commission’s Annual Single Market Report 2021, the agri-food 
industrial ecosystem “covers all operators in the food supply chain (farmers, food industry, 
food  retail  and  wholesale,  and  food  service)  and  their  suppliers  of  inputs  and  services 

3 https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/49407/attachments/1/translations/en/renditions/native 
4 European Commission European Industrial Strategy https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-
2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/european-industrial-strategy_en  
5 European Commission (2022) Annual Single Market Report 2022 https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/48877  

9 

Green transformationAdvanced Sustainable MaterialsBiotechnologyEnergy Saving technologiesClean Production technologiesRenewable Energy technologiesSolar PowerWind PowerOther (geothermal, hydropower, biomass)Recycling technologiesCircular business modelsDigital transformationAdvanced Manufacturing & RoboticsAdvanced ManufacturingRoboticsArtificial IntelligenceAugmented and Virtual RealityBig DataCloud technologiesBlockchainDigital Security & Networks/ CybersecurityInternet of ThingsMicro-and Nanoelectronics & PhotonicsOnline platforms 
 
 
 
 
 
(seeds, pesticides, fertiliser, machinery, packaging, repair, transport, finance, advice and 
logistics). The ecosystem hence has a very long border – and overlaps – with the Tourism 
and the Retail ecosystems.”6  

Figure 3: Positioning of the agri-food industrial ecosystem definitions 

Source: IDEA Consult based on the definition of the agri-food ecosystem as described in the Annual Single Market 
Report (2022) 

Practically following this definition, this report will, in data collection and analysis, focus on 
activities in agriculture and farming, and food and beverages. In doing so, the following 
activities will be excluded: 

•  Forestry & logging 

•  Cannabis 

•  Equestrian 

•  Transportation related to food delivery and logistics  

• 

Industrial equipment and machinery related to agri-food 

•  Chemicals, especially pesticides, fertiliser and other agricultural chemicals 

•  Hunting & trapping 

•  Cooking and recipes 

For  each  of  the  fourteen  industrial  ecosystem,  a  pathway  for  the  green  and  digital 
transition, i.e., a transition pathway, is or will be developed. For the agri-food ecosystem, 
this transition pathway is planned for Q4of 2023.7,8 

6 European Commission (2021) Annual Single Market Report 2021 https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2021-
05/swd-annual-single-market-report-2021_en.pdf  
7 Transition pathways for European industrial ecosystems. https://single-market-
economy.ec.europa.eu/industry/transition-pathways_en  
8 European Commission (2023) Annual Single Market Report 2023. https://single-market-
economy.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023-01/ASMR%202023.pdf  

10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
1.3. Industry state of play  

The agri-food ecosystem is essential to Europe. In 2019, 16 million people were employed 
in the industrial  ecosystem9, compared to  21.5 million in the  entire food supply  chain10, 
and the value-added was roughly  €603 bn (or 6.4%  of the EU total).11 On average, the 
agri-food industrial ecosystem has marginally reduced its total employment between 2015 
and  2019  and  increased  its  gross  value-added  growth,  yet  to  a  modest  extent  when 
compared to the other industrial ecosystems12. The agri-food ecosystem is typically formed 
by SMEs, with 99% of food and drink enterprises being SMEs, and more particularly, micro-
enterprises. While only 1% of food and drink companies are leading large enterprises, they 
employ 40% of the workforce and generate more than half of turnover of the sector (€442 
bn total). While farms are not classified as SMEs in business statistics, many of them are, 
however,  small:  only  1%  of  the  EU  farm  holdings  have  an  annual  turnover  of  over 
€500 000.13 

Production performance of the agri-food industrial ecosystem can be represented in many 
different  ways  and  can  give  insight  into  the  economic  performance  of  the  sector  or 
ecosystem  depending  on  the  dataset  in  question.  When  available  across  time  series, 
production performance allows to position the overall evolution of the sector or industrial 
ecosystem.  While  primary  agricultural  and  fishery  production  can  be  represented  in  the 
form  of  e.g.  crop  production,  livestock  population,  meat  production,  milk  production  or 
marine  fishing  areas  catch,  the  food  part  of  ‘agri-food’  is  much  wider,  covering  the 
preparation, distribution and service of food and drink.14 The food and drink industry is a 
leading manufacturing industry in the EU in turnover, value added and investment.15 The 
value  of sold production in the EU and  experienced a roughly 14% increase in activities 
from 2011 to 2021.16   

The total production value for the agri-food industrial ecosystem gives insight into 
the  production  performance  of  the  overall  ecosystem.  Data  on  production  were 
extracted  from  Eurostat.17  Prodcom  statistics  reveal  the  total  values  of  production  of 
manufactured goods carried out by enterprises located in EU27 over 14 years (from 2008 
until 2021). The agri-food industrial ecosystem is delineated by the NACE 2 classification 
and weights identified in the Annual Single Market Report.18 Results depicted in Figure 4 
present  the  weighted  sum  of  production  of  manufactured  goods  aggregated  at  NACE  2-
digit level for the agri-food industrial ecosystem (thousands of euros).  

9 European Commission (2022) Annual Single Market Report 2022. https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/48877  
10 Food Drink Europe (2022) Data & trends EU Food and Drink Industry https://www.fooddrinkeurope.eu/wp-
content/uploads/2023/01/FoodDrinkEurope-Data-Trends-2022-digital.pdf 
11 European Commission (2022) Annual Single Market Report 2022. https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/48877  
12 European Commission (2022) Annual Single Market Report 2022. https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/48877  
13 European Commission (2021) Annual Single Market Report 2021. https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2021-
05/swd-annual-single-market-report-2021_en.pdf   
14 Eurostat (2022) Key figures on the European food chain – 2022 edition.  
15 Food Drink Europe (2022) Data & trends EU Food and Drink Industry https://www.fooddrinkeurope.eu/wp-
content/uploads/2023/01/FoodDrinkEurope-Data-Trends-2022-digital.pdf 
16 Eurostat (2022) Industrial production statistics https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-
explained/index.php?title=Industrial_production_statistics#The_five_largest_manufacturing_activities  
17 Eurostat Prodcom https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/prodcom/data/database   
18 European Commission (2021) Annual Single Market Report 2021. https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2021-
05/swd-annual-single-market-report-2021_en.pdf  

11 

 
 
 
 
 
Figure 4: Production performance of agri-food industrial ecosystem in EUR thousands for 2008-2021 

Source: IDEA Consult based on Eurostat [prom] 

Continuous growth of the production value underlying the agri-food industrial ecosystem 
can  be  observed  over  the  indicated  period,  highlighting  the  increasing  importance  of 
agriculture and food for internal consumption and exports. The years 2009 and 2020 show 
minor dips, which can be associated with the financial crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic, 
however the growth trend outweighs them.   

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the agri-food ecosystem suffered from sudden challenges 
(especially  during  the  first  wave),  but  has  proven  to  be  resilient  overall 19,20.  Some 
important challenges that arose were the sudden changes in consumption patterns and the 
disappearance of key outlets. For instance, in high-income countries, consumers became 
platform  clients  contributing  to  shifting  towards  more  digital  transactions21,  the  sales  of 
frozen  and  packaged  foods  increased  steeply22,  the  demand  for  healthy  and  local  food 
increased, and, at some moments, there were issues with panic buying and stockpiling by 
consumers.  Also,  while  the  supply  chains  of  the  food  industries  remained  relatively 
resilient, there were bottlenecks due to the closed borders, which caused distortions in the 
supply  of  inputs  and  transport  of  goods,  and  a  shortage  of  labour.23  24  In  the  end,  the 
production levels and turnover in the industry decreased  slightly, but less than in  many 
other  industries,  and  recovered  fairly  well.  Currently,  the  war  in  Ukraine  poses  serious 
threats for many countries in terms of food security given the excessive dependence on 
essential products, such as grains, fertiliser and energy.25 

Challenges for the industry 

The EU agri-food ecosystem is known for providing high-quality and safe products, and the 
EU is the number one food and drink exporter in the world.26 However, the ecosystem is 
subject to several challenges and is historically known for its high environmental impact in 
terms of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and energy consumption (as further analysed 
in Chapter 5).  

19 European Commission (2021) Annual Single Market Report 2021.  
20 European Parliament. Policy Department for Economic, Scientific and Quality of Life Policies. (2021). Impacts of the 
COVID-19 pandemic on EU industries.  
21 Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). (2022). Future of Food.  
22 European Parliament. Policy Department for Economic, Scientific and Quality of Life Policies. (2021). Impacts of the 
COVID-19 pandemic on EU industries.  
23 European Parliament. Policy Department for Economic, Scientific and Quality of Life Policies. (2021). Impacts of the 
COVID-19 pandemic on EU industries.  
24 FoodDrink Europe. (2020). Economic Bulletin Q2 of 2020. https://www.fooddrinkeurope.eu/resource/economic-
bulletin-q2-of-2020/  
25 Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). (2022). Future of Food. 
https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cc0959en 
26 European Commission (2021) Annual Single Market Report 2021.  

12 

 
 
 
 
 
 
When it comes to labour productivity and innovation, the EU food industry is lagging slightly 
behind. The ecosystem is known for its dispersed innovation research and the EU food and 
drink  industry  has  a  lower  R&D  investment  intensity  than  some  of  its  global 
competitors27,28. That being said, innovation in agri-food is needed in order to meet the 
food  demands  of  the  future  (increasing  pressure  per  hectare),  while  contrasting  the 
consistently high emissions due to the use of non-renewable energy sources in agri-food 
chains. Both public and private R&I investments are needed in order to foster the necessary 
developments.29  

Overall, the agri-food ecosystem is using more and more digital, technologies yet this may 
still be regarded as insufficient. This is because for many farmers (who are often confronted 
with price variations and low incomes30) and agri-food companies (of which 99% are SMEs) 
the  economic  feasibility  of  investing  in  technologies  like  robotics  and  sensors  remains  a 
significant  hurdle.  On  top  of  that,  many  farmers  and  food  processors  are  not  aware  or 
motivated to take up new technologies as it drastically changes the way they work and the 
gains of such technologies are often insufficiently demonstrated.31 At the same time, the 
ecosystem struggles to attract high-quality staff, and the digital skills of farmers and food 
processors  (which  may  go  hand-in-hand  with  the  aging  of  the  workforce)  are  often 
insufficiently developed.32  

Globally,  the  growing  world  population,  high  urbanisation  rates,  and  climate  change  are 
rapidly posing a series of grand challenges to the agri-food industry. These societal changes 
make that securing sufficient and safe food inclusively and sustainably will require major 
transformations in the whole food system. Particularly, natural resources will need to be 
used  more  efficiently  and  processes  will  need  to  be  optimized,  thereby  expanding  the 
output and significantly reducing food waste and losses and environmental impact. 33  

At the same time, food prices have significantly increased in recent years, with food being 
around 30% more expensive than in the 1990s, and consumer food prices have increased 
faster  than  the  general  price  index  between  2000  and  2020.34  This  is  mainly  caused  by 
inflation, high energy prices, and increasing transport, packaging, machinery, and labour 
costs as  well as rising  costs  of animal  feed and fertilizers.35 Additionally,  consumers are 
shifting  demand  towards  more  environmentally  and  socially  responsible,  nutritious,  and 
quality  products,  creating  space  for  innovations  in  food,  such  as  the  use  of  alternative 
proteins to replace meat.36 37 38 

27 Food Drink Europe. (2022). Data & Trends of The European Food and Drink Industry 2022. 
https://www.fooddrinkeurope.eu/resource/data-trends-of-the-european-food-and-drink-industry-2022/  
28 European Commission (2021) Annual Single Market Report 2021.  
29 European Commission (2023) Food systems Research and innovation investment gap study: Policy report 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/1747dc15-be80-11ed-8912-01aa75ed71a1  
30 European Commission (2021) Annual Single Market Report 2021.  
31 European Commission (2020). Advanced Technologies for Industry. Sectoral Watch. Technological trends in the agri-
food industry. https://ati.ec.europa.eu/reports/sectoral-watch/technological-trends-agri-food-industry  
32 OECD (2023). Labour and skills shortages in the agro-food sector. https://www.oecd.org/publications/labour-and-
skills-shortages-in-the-agro-food-sector-ed758aab-en.htm  
33 Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). (2022). Future of Food. 
https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cc0959en 
34 Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). (2022). Future of Food. 
https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cc0959en  
35 Food Drink Europe. (2022). Economic Bulletin on Input Costs up to June/July/August 2022. 
https://www.fooddrinkeurope.eu/resource/economic-bulletin-on-input-costs-jun-aug-2022/  
36 The European Consumer Organisation (2020). One Bite At A Time: Consumers And The Transition To 
Sustainable Food. Analysis of a survey of European consumers on attitudes towards sustainable food. 
https://www.beuc.eu/sites/default/files/publications/beuc-x-2020-
042_consumers_and_the_transition_to_sustainable_food.pdf  
37 EIT Food (2021). The top 5 trends for the agrifood industry in 2021.  https://www.eitfood.eu/blog/the-top-5-trends-
for-the-agrifood-industry-in-2021#3_-alternative-proteins-continue-to-gain-grounds-with-consumers  
38 EIT Food (2023). Top 5 European food trends in 2023. https://www.eitfood.eu/blog/top-5-european-food-trends-in-
2023 

13 

 
 
 
 
 
2. Challengers of the industry: green and 
digital technological trends  

Key findings 

Maintaining  sustainable  food  systems  is  imperative  for  future  security  and  a  healthy 
society39. Technologies including digital technologies and clean technologies that reduce or 
eliminate  negative  environmental  impact  promise  to  increase  safe  and  healthy  food 
production and save natural resources. Technological trends related to the twin transition 
in the agri-food industrial ecosystems have been analysed based on patent statistics and 
startup data. These two metrics yield different types of information.  

The EU27 had the highest share of the world patent applications in agri-food in 
2020,  although  its  leadership  has  been  continuously  declining  since  2010.  This 
relative decline is due to the increasing patenting activity in China and South Korea. The 
USA has managed to keep its position more or less stable over the past years. 

The green transition in agri-food has been enabled by a high number of patent applications 
most related to biotechnology, advanced materials and water pollution reduction. 
Digital  technologies  are  less  apparent  in  patents  but  show  an  increase  over  time. 
Digitalisation, automation, and the use of new and advanced technologies  have 
proved  to  enable  efficiency  gains,  sustainability,  and  circularity  in  the  agri-food 
ecosystem. For the technologies underpinning the digital transition patenting,  advanced 
manufacturing and robotics as well as Internet of Things have the highest share.  

On the other hand, tracking startup data has provided valuable insights into the innovation 
portfolio within the agri-food sector. Results have indicated indiating that they play a key 
role in the transition of the agri-food ecosystem by developing and providing digital and 
clean tech solutions for agriculture and food production.  The creation of agri-food tech 
startups related to the twin transition has increased sharply since 2013, more in 
the  field  of  digital  technologies  than  for  environmental  solutions.  Despite  these  positive 
figures,  digitalisation  in  the  agri-food  ecosystem  is  increasing  is  still  regarded  as 
insufficient. 

Biotechnology remained the most important technology that agri-food tech startups used 
related to the twin transition and for innovating within the industry over the period since 
2010. Artificial Intelligence and online platforms have gained ground and witnessed 
a sharp relative increase at the expense of other software services developed in agri-food. 
Circular economy, healthy food and precision agriculture make up for the top-three 
business models in the startup data set over the indicated period. Further topics related to 
nutrition as well as alternative proteins round out the top five. 

Within  circular  economy  business  models,  startups  include  firms  that  address  food 
waste, such as platforms that monitor and  reduce waste during production, or AI-based 
solutions  that  reduce  or  valorise  food  waste.  In  addition,  companies  that  valorise 
food/agricultural waste  to energy  are  also included in the category, together  with  waste 
valorisation for uptake in other industries.  

Business  models  related  to  the  digital  transition,  while  less  prevalent  than  the  green 
transition,  include  precision  agriculture,  smart  sensors  agri-food/Internet  of 
Things, and advanced manufacturing and robotics. 

39 see https://food.ec.europa.eu/horizontal-topics/farm-fork-strategy_en  

14 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Technological  trends  in  the  agri-food  industrial  ecosystem  are  driven  by  the  need  for  a 
green and digital food system that sustainably responds to the needs of a growing world 
population.  

Green transition in the agri-food industrial ecosystem is driven by the vital need to reduce 
the  environmental  impact  of  the  industry  by  improving  energy  and  natural  resource 
efficiency,  reducing  emissions,  decreasing  food  waste  and  losses  while  exploring 
innovations  such  as  alternative  proteins  and  sustainable  packaging  to  improve  the 
environmental  impact.  This  is  apparent  from  the  use  of  green  technologies,  such  as 
recycling technologies, energy saving technologies and renewable energy technologies as 
well as biotechnology. The latter, food biotechnology, is an umbrella term covering a vast 
variety of processes for using living organisms—such as plants, animals, microbes, or any 
part of these organisms—to develop new or improved food products.40 

Digitalisation,  automation,  and  the  use  of  new  and  advanced  technologies  are 
indispensable  to  improve  the  efficiency,  sustainability,  and  circularity  in  the  agri-food 
ecosystem. For instance, advanced manufacturing and robotics are indispensable for smart 
food  processing,  hence  increasing  productivity  and  food  safety.41  Several  recent  reports 
forecast a Compound  Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of  more than 10% until 2028 in food 
robotics.42 Other digital technologies are projected to have a great impact on the agri-food 
ecosystem and food processing in the industry, namely big data, Internet of Things (IoT), 
use  of  digital  twins  and  blockchain.  Systems  of  connected  sensors,  devices,  machinery, 
and data analytics are helping the sector to improve efficiency, quality, and safety while 
reducing costs, waste, and time to market. This revolution is formalized by the concept of 
Industry  4.0  of  which  the  derivative  ‘Factory  4.0’  refers  to  such  smart  factories  with 
automated processes, digitised operations, and connectivity throughout the factory  floor 
for real-time monitoring through data collection and analysis.  

While  the  recent  figures  acknowledge  that  digitalisation  in  the  agri-food  ecosystem  is 
increasing, it is still regarded as insufficiently high.43 Several challenges are hindering the 
uptake of digitalisation, such as the high costs of robotic equipment, and lack of awareness, 
skills and education on the latest technological developments. 

The Methodological Report of the European Monitor of Industrial Ecosystems (EMI) project 
outlines the core technologies considered as a part of the green and digital transition in 
this  project,  with  industry  specific  technologies  highlighted  for  the  agri-food  industrial 
ecosystem.  

In  the  next  sections,  technological  trends  and  new  business  models  in  the  agri-food 
ecosystem have been captured by a range of different indicators, stemming from different 
data  sources,  such  as  patent  and  startup  data.  In  addition  to  the  data  presented  here, 
there are other sources that report on startups, including EIT Food. More details about the 
startups mapped and the programmes available can be found on their community website 
for startups.44  

40 The Food Industry Association (2013). Food Biotechnology. https://www.fmi.org/blog/view/food-safety-
backgrounders/2013/04/01/food-biotechnology-general-scientific-principles-safety-and-regulations  
41 European Commission (2021). Advanced Technologies for Industry – Product Watch Robotics for food processing and 
preparation. https://ati.ec.europa.eu/reports/product-watch/robotics-food-processing-and-preparation  
42 Knowledge Based Value (2023). Europe Food Robotics Market Size, Share & Industry Trends Analysis Report By 
Application. https://www.kbvresearch.com/europe-food-robotics-market/; Report Linker (2020). Europe Food Robotics 
Market Forecast 2019-2028. https://www.reportlinker.com/p05914897/EUROPE-FOOD-ROBOTICS-MARKET-
FORECAST.html  
43 European Commission (2021) Annual Single Market Report 2021. https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2021-
05/swd-annual-single-market-report-2021_en.pdf   
44 EIT Food (2023) Startups https://www.eitfood.eu/community/startups  

15 

 
 
 
 
 
2.1. Technological trends  

Technology developments has been tracked by patenting activities related to the specific 
sectoral  activities  based  on  patent-based  classifications.  The  analysis  is  based  on 
'transnational  patents'  (Frietsch/Schmoch,  2010)  (i.e.  PCT/WIPO  filings  or  direct 
applications  at  the  EPO,  excluding  double  counts)  and  was  conducted  on  an  extended 
version  of  the  EPO's  Worldwide  Patent  Statistical  Database  that  Fraunhofer  ISI 
implemented  locally.  Technologies-relevant-to-ecosystems,  in  this  case  the  agri-food 
industrial  ecosystem,  are  defined  based  on  a  search  that  refers  to  patent  classifications 
(IPC)  and/or  use  keywords  to  identify  relevant  applications  across  classes.  The  detailed 
methodology is presented in the Methodological Report. 

In  the  agri-food  sector,  the  number  of  patents  tends  to  be  lower  compared  to  other 
ecosystems.  This  can  be  attributed  to  many  companies  choosing  to  protect  their 
innovations  through  trade  secrets,  recipes,  and  know-how  instead  of  seeking  patent 
protection. As a consequence, patents are typically concentrated in specific technological 
fields such as digitalization, biotechnology, or processing technology.  

In  fact,  according  to  a  focus  group  with  FoodDrinkEurope  carried  for  a  recent  DG  RTD 
report, only 10% of R&I undertaken by companies in the food sector is patented45. 

Figure 5 presents the trends in the evolution of patent applications related to the agri-food 
industrial ecosystem as a share of world patent applications and shows a general reduction 
over time.  

Figure 5: Trends in the evolution of patent applications related to the agri-food industrial ecosystem as shares in 
the world patent applications 

Source: Fraunhofer calculations, Patstat 

A more detailed analysis was done linked to the digital and green transition. The analysis 
of digital and green patent applications related to the agri-food industrial ecosystem was 
based on the analysis of the 2022 edition of the OECD REGPAT database. The industrial 
ecosystem was classified into a set of Cooperative Patent Classification (CPC) categories. 
A text mining algorithm was used to search for key words and their specific association in 
the  text  of  patent  documents  as  well  as  in  the  Cooperative  Patent  Classification 
nomenclature.  By  using  this  approach,  we  can  representatively  capture  the  patenting 

45 European Commission (2023). Food Systems. Research and innovation investment gap study: policy report. 
Available at: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/1747dc15-be80-11ed-8912-
01aa75ed71a1 

16 

 
 
 
 
 
 
activity in agri-food and observe trends in distribution and development as indicated in this 
section.  The  classification  of  green  transition  technologies  builds  upon  the  OECD  green 
patents classification that we augmented by including additional technologies particularly 
relevant to the ecosystems and extended the CPC association. The identification of digital 
transition technologies builds on earlier work on Industry 4.0 (Balland and Boschma 2021) 
and includes additional technologies particularly relevant to the ecosystem. 

Building on this, Figure 6 shows the number of green and digital patent applications over 
the years from 2010 onwards. Overall, it can be seen that the trends over time for green 
transition are considerably higher than for the digital transition in the agri-food industrial 
ecosystem and the  related patenting activity.  That being said, 2020 shows a decline for 
the  number  of  patent  applications  related  to  the  green  transition  within  agri-food  which 
could potentially be attributed to COVID-19.  

Figure 6: Trends over time 

Source: Balland, 2022 based on PATSTAT 

Zooming in on the specific technologies related to the green and digital transition, Figure 
7  shows  the  distribution  of  patents  by  digital  and  green  transition  related  technologies 
applied  in  the  agri-food  industrial  ecosystem.  Within  the  green  transition  technologies, 
biotechnology,  advanced  sustainable  materials  and  air  &  water  pollution 
reduction related technologies lead the patent share within the EU total in the agri-food 
domain.  The  EU-27  and  USA  are  on  equal  level  in  terms  of  relative  share  for  these 
technologies, leading China in all instances. For the technologies underpinning the digital 
transition  patenting,  advanced  manufacturing  and  robotics  as  well  as  Internet  of 
Things  (IoT)  have  the  highest  relative  share.  The  EU27  leads  for  IoT  in  the  share  of 
patenting activities.  

17 

 
 
 
 
Figure 7: Patents distribution in agri-food by digital and green transition related technologies  

Legend: 

Source: Balland, 2022 based on PATSTAT 

2.2.  Tech  startups  linked  to  the  twin  transition  in  the  agri-food 
ecosystem 

Trends in agri-food tech startups have been captured by analysing the Crunchbase and Net 
Zero  Insights46  data  sources.  In  the  context  of  this  report,  agri-food  tech  startups  have 
been defined as any company providing a solution or technology that supports the green 
and digital transition of the Agri-food ecosystem.  

Net Zero Insights is a database specialised in capturing environmental sustainability driven 
startups,  while  Crunchbase  collects  data  primarily  on  venture  capital-backed  tech 
companies.  Digital and green technologies have been  linked to  startups within agri-food 
and are described in the methodological report (the selected industry tags and technologies 
please see in Annex A).  

Figure 8 presents the creation of these agri-food tech companies over time, where 2 748 
digital and green startups have been identified over the period from 2010 to 2022. Digital 
tech startups in the agri-food context include companies that address a particular challenge 
in the industry with the help of digital technologies (such  as using Internet of Things to 
enhance productivity in agriculture or offering real time data analytics specifically in food 
production). Green-tech startups have a focus on environmental sustainability and provide 
a clean, less polluting solution such as reduction of food waste with sorting technologies or 

46 https://netzeroinsights.com/ and www.crunchbase.com  

18 

TechnologiesUSA comparisonChina comparisonGreen transitionBiotechnology48,07%33,0%51,4%15,6%Advanced sustainable materials13,68%45,0%40,6%14,4%Air & Water pollution reduction5,99%39,3%44,1%16,6%Waste management4,38%39,1%48,7%12,2%Biofuels2,82%36,5%53,6%9,9%Water related adaptation technologies2,49%19,0%53,1%27,9%Recycling technologies2,21%36,2%50,7%13,2%Batteries1,01%26,6%39,4%34,0%Solar energy0,88%23,7%52,7%23,7%Greenhouse gas capture0,28%31,8%50,0%18,2%Hydrogen0,28%7,4%90,5%2,1%Other energy storage0,24%66,7%33,3%0,0%Wind energy0,20%45,5%18,2%36,4%Geothermal energy0,04%1,7%98,3%0,0%Marine & hydro energy0,04%1,6%92,1%6,3%Digital transitionAdvanced manufacturing and robotics9,13%38,2%40,2%21,5%Internet of Things3,91%48,8%46,4%4,8%Artificial intelligence1,49%21,4%69,9%8,7%Cloud computing0,36%13,4%71,6%14,9%Smart grids0,16%30,8%69,2%0,0%Cybersecurity0,12%15,0%55,0%30,0%Blockchain0,08%5,7%82,9%11,4%EU27 share of tech within EU total10,0%50,0%100,0%Lower relative shareHigher relative share 
 
 
 
 
 
 
a software to make better predictions in farming. It is not surprising that a growth can be 
observed  over time  in the number  of both types  of companies, in particular since 2013. 
Digital technologies witnessed a  stronger increase but are  closely followed up by green-
tech companies most recently. A dip in the year 2020 can be also observed which can be 
attributed to COVID-19.  

Figure 8: Evolution in the number of green and digital agri-food tech companies established over time 

Source: Technopolis Group based on Net Zero Insights and Crunchbase, 2023 

Zooming in on the specific technologies related to the green and digital transition, Figure 
9  presents  the  share  or  agri-food  tech  startups  per  technology.  Three  periods  of 
observation  are  presented  in  order  to  depict  change  in  the  relative  importance  of 
technologies over time. The picture shows that the type of digital/green/other technologies 
relevant for agri-food remained the same but their relative importance changed. Artificial 
Intelligence  and  online  platforms  increased  in  importance  significantly  over  time. 
Blockchain and augmented and virtual reality solutions although still niche have also gained 
some more ground. 

Biotechnology  has  been  the  most  important  technology  applied  within  agri-food  among 
others also for sustainability purposes and creating healthier food. For example, knowledge 
of  advanced  emulsions,  micro-encapsulations  and  cell  culture  are  being  used  to  create 
alternative solutions for a healthier and environmentally sustainable nutrition. 

19 

 
 
 
 
Figure 9: Share of agri-food tech startups per technology established over three selected periods (2011-2015; 
2016-2019 and 2020-2023) within total number of agri-food tech firms in the database  

Source: Technopolis Group based on Net Zero Insights and Crunchbase, 2023 

Artificial  Intelligence  is  increasingly  explored  by  agri-food  tech  startups  in 
various new applications throughout the agri-food value chain. AI allows farmers and 
food  production  companies  to  turn  data  such  as  on  soil  quality,  crop  yields,  production 
volumes or prices into insights and better decisions. Based on Crunchbase 105 AI startups 
have  been  identified  established  after  2010  and  with  headquarters  in  the  EU27,  where 
62% of these companies are serving agriculture and 38% the food and beverage 
production industries.  

Most of these startups use AI to analyse agricultural data and can for example determine 
the amount of fertilisers, fungicides and pesticides needed per land or make forecasts about 
crop development and allow for traceability. AI is usually linked to sensors.  

Many  of  these  startups  are  developing  autonomous  robots  using  deep  learning-based 
computer  vision  for  example  for  weed  elimination  or  vineyard  crawling.  They  are  often 
linked to precision farming solutions. 

In  the  field  of  food  production,  AI  is  used  as  part  of  food  data  science  and  food  data 
monitoring.  It  allows  gathering  intelligence  about  targeted  food  market  segments  and 
provide insights into the taste of customers. It is also used for logistics management and 
supply chain management in combination with Internet of Things technologies. 

A  large  share  of  these  AI  solutions  promises  to  solve  inefficiencies  in  the  food  system, 
climate management, disease prevention, energy use, natural disaster response. Several 
startups are related to food waste, where AI is used for better planning and elimination of 
waste during the food production process. 

20 

 
 
 
 
Box 1: Artificial Intelligence for environmental sustainability and the circular economy in agri-food47  

Connecterra48  is  a  software  developer  from  the  Netherlands  specialised  in  the  dairy 
industry. It created Ida, an AI that connects farmers along the value chain to identify issues 
on  the  farm,  recommend  solutions  and  support  farmers  to  make  the  transition  to 
sustainable farming. 

SPRK49  is  a  developer  of  an  AI-based  distribution  platform  addressing  the  food  waste 
challenge. It offers a  reduction in  food disposal costs and an artificial intelligence-based 
online food distribution system to produce and procure food for cities and surplus food for 
the poor by establishing a pragmatic and functioning circular economy. 

Foodforecast50 is a German tech company that uses AI to reduce food waste. It analyses 
historical  bakery  store  sales  and  combines  them  with  influencing  factors  to  create  an 
automated sales forecast for the next order.  

Online  platforms  and  mobile  applications  have  been  another  popular  form  of  using 
digital technologies in the agri-food industry and gained further importance since the Covid 
pandemic period. These firms have developed online marketplaces and trading platforms 
for  farmers  and  contractors,  or  more  targeted  for  regenerative  agriculture.  Linkinfarm51 
offers  farmers  the  opportunity  to  outsource  the  management  of  their  land  in  order  to 
maintain and transmit their assets. Other examples include mobile applications that allow 
tracking the origin of ingredients and verifying the certificates of organic products. Other 
apps create healthy meal plans and share food product recommendations.  

Robotics  has  a  range  of  use  cases  in  agriculture  and  food  production  such  as  in 
picking,  packing  and  transporting  of  fruit,  vegetables  and  other  food  products.  It  allows 
sophisticated automation in food processing.  Robotics technology has  become more and 
more  important  over  time  as  the  number  of  agri-food  tech  startups  established  shows, 
even if the relative importance of the technology compared to others such as AI shifted. 

Box 2: Robotics tech startups in agri-food  

Naio  Technologies52  develops  and  markets  machines  for  agriculture  and  viticulture.  It 
features electric tools for weeding, hoeing, and harvesting that help farmers collect and 
harvest  their  products.  The  company  specialises  in  agriculture,  AI  and  robotics.  Naio 
Technologies was founded in 2011 and headquartered in France. 

Odd.Bot 53develops weed removal robots that provide a higher yield and allow for reducing 
the use of polluting chemicals. 

Business  models  present  the  patterns  related  to  the  underlying  technologies, 
where  in  some  cases  one  business  model  will  rely  on  a  combination  of 
technologies  (e.g.,  precision  agriculture  relies  on  a  combination  of  sensors,  IoT, 
platforms, etc.). Figure 10 presents the share of agri-food tech startups per main business 
model over the period 2018-2022. Circular economy, healthy food and precision agriculture 
make for the top-three business models in the startup data set over the indicated period. 
Further topics related to nutrition as well as alternative proteins round out the top five.  

47 The companies presented in Box1 have been selected to show three different AI applications that enable the 
green transition of the agri-food ecosystem. 
48 https://www.connecterra.io/about/ 
49 https://sprk.global/ 
50 https://foodforecast.com/ueber-foodforecast/ 
51 https://www.linkin.farm/ 
52 https://www.naio-technologies.com/ 
53 https://www.odd.bot/ 

21 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Within  the  circular  economy  business  model,  we  find  diverse  companies.  There  are 
firms that address food waste, such as  linkee54, an association that collects and  surplus 
food to people in precarious situations. There are also platforms that monitor and reduce 
waste during production, or AI-based solutions that reduce or valorise food waste.   

In  addition,  waste  to  energy  valorisation  companies  are  also  included.  For  example, 
BIO2CHP55 is company that offers micro-scale bio-based energy production units for small 
and medium agro-industries with organic wastes. Other circular economy business models 
focus  on  waste  valorisation  for  uptake  in  other  industries,  such  as  textiles  cosmetics  or 
construction. As an example, Yellow Pallet56 is a company that produces and sells shipping 
pallets  and  blocks  made  from  100%  sustainable  agri-fibres,  including  banana,  bamboo, 
coconut, and pineapple waste. 

The  healthy  food  business  model  relates  to  the  use  of  ingredients,  human  health, 
organic food as well as supplements and additives. A selection of examples of companies 
includes  the  seller  and  developer  of  nature-based  ingredients  Fluxome  (acquired  by 
Evolva)57, and the protein food focused Goodlife company58 and MyLab Nutrition Group59.  

Alternative  proteins  as  a  business  model  includes  a  growing  number  of  firms  is 
innovating  using  high-value  insect  protein  or  natural,  plant-based  meat  alternatives.  In 
some  examples,  food  products  like  gels,  powders  and  dietary  fibres  are  made  from 
specialised proteins obtained from water lentils. EntoCube presents a Finnish example of 
farming insects.60  

Figure 10: Share of agri-food tech startups per main business model over the period 2015-2022 

Source: Technopolis Group based on Net Zero Insights and Crunchbase, 2023 

Business  models  related  to  the  digital  transition,  while  less  prevalent  than  the  green 
transition,  include  precision  agriculture,  smart  sensors  agri-food/Internet  of 
Things, and advanced manufacturing and robotics. Examples of precision agriculture 

54 See https://linkee.co/a-propos/  
55 See https://www.bio2chp.com/about-us.html  
56 See https://www.yellow-pallet.com/  
57 See https://evolva.com/  
58 See https://www.goodlife-company.de/  
59 See https://www.mylabnutrition.net/  
60 See https://entocube.com/en/  

22 

 
 
 
 
 
 
startups  include  Dilepix61,  Agrirobotica62  and  Polariks63,  enabling  vision  and  monitoring 
tools  for  farmers.  In  the  area  of  robotics,  Nordluft  Automation64  and  Vitalgia  Labs65 
develop drones and systems for heated greenhouses, respectively.  

2.3. Scaleups in agri-food 

Young firms that are scaling up are key drivers of innovation and potential disruptions in 
any industrial ecosystem including agri-food. They challenge the status quo and push other 
industrial firms to adapt their production and operation models. This is why they play a key 
role also in digitalisation and the green transition. As a recent JRC report concluded, the 
number  of  scaleup  businesses  and  unicorns  in  the  EU  lags  behind  the  US  and  China66. 
Europe hosts only around 10% of the world scaleups as concluded by recent researchers67. 
In comparison with the USA, scaling up is a challenge in the EU and the number of unicorns 
is still low even if the number of startups has increased significantly over the past years68. 
There are various definitions for scaleups and unicorns. The OECD defines a scaleup “as a 
company  that  has  achieved  20%  annual  growth  in  headcount  or  revenue  over  the  past 
three  years”.  Other  researchers  define  scaleups  according  to  growth  funding  and  other 
expansion  criteria.  The  European  Scaleup  Monitor69  adopted  a  definition  “as  young  fast-
growing companies 10 years old or younger that have received at least €1 million within 
the past 10 years”. 

Following  the  above  definition,  this  study  identified  293  active  scaleups  in  the  agri-food 
industrial ecosystem in the EU27 based on Crunchbase data (data retrieved in June 2023). 
This number represents 5% of all agri-food startups in the database. As a comparison, the 
number of scaleups was 675 in the USA, which is 6% of all US startups.  

Key examples of scaleups include the following: 

• 

• 

Infarm that builds and distributes efficient vertical farms throughout cities (and was 
already cited above).  
InnovaFeed is a biotech company that produces a new source of protein from insect 
rearing for animal feed and aquaculture in particular.  

•  yfood Labs is a food-tech startup which designs smart food solutions for a modern 
generation.  The  product  portfolio  currently  compromises  ultra-convenient  and 
complete-nutrition drinks, drink powders and bars. 

•  Matsmart sells surplus food online in order to address the challenge of food waste. 
As it is claimed on their website, in 2017, Matsmart saved 2022 tonnes of food from 
going to waste. Matsmart was founded by Karl Andersson, Erik Södergren and Ulf 
Skagerström, and launched in Sweden in 2014. Since then, the company has also 
expanded to Norway and Finland. 

•  Meatable is a food production company that produces guilt-free meat. Meatable is 

a company that creates manufactured meat using stem cell technology. 

61 See https://www.dilepix.com/en/  
62 See https://www.agrorobotica.it/  
63 See https://polariks.com/  
64 See https://www.nordluftautomation.com/  
65 See www.vitalgia.com or https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/vitalgia-labs  
66 European Commission JRC (2022). Tackling the Scale-up Gap 
67 Vlerick (2022) 
68 See the analysis of ATI 2021 
69  European  ScaleUp  Monitor  (2021).  European  scaleups  got  knocked  down,  but  are  up  again,  Erasmus  Centre  for 
Entrepreneurship, available at: https://www.eur.nl/media/100543  

23 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
3. Uptake of green and digital technologies 
and business models 

Key findings 

A business survey was conducted as part of the project about the status in the uptake of 
digital and green technologies and related business models in SMEs operating in the agri-
food ecosystem. In addition, company websites in the agri-food ecosystem have been text 
mined  and  analysed  in  terms  of  their  technology  uptake.  The  results  of  both  analysis 
indicate  that  a  significant  portion  of  companies  in  the  agri-food  ecosystem  has 
been actively embracing the green transformation.  

•  29% of agri-food companies text mined have been found to reference the adoption of 

green transformation technologies 

•  53% of the respondents reported a positive increase in their investments dedicated to 

the green transition and environmental sustainability over the past five years.  

•  34% indicated having adopted energy saving technologies. This finding is not a surprise 
since energy-saving has become very important since the start of soaring energy prices 
in 2021. 

•  32%  confirmed  that  they  use  recycled  materials  and  32%  any  other  recycling 

technologies 

•  Regarding  food  waste,  26%  of  the  respondents  indicated  that  they  took  actions  to 

reduce food waste. 

With  regard  to  the  digital  transition,  the  text  mining  of  company  websites  found  that 
approximately  25%  of  agri-food  companies  have  adopted  at  least  one  digital 
transformation enabling technology.  

•  48% of SMEs in the EMI survey  responded that they had increased their investment 

into digital technologies over the past five years. 

•  35%  of  the  respondents  invested  between  5  and  9%  of  revenue  in  digital 

transformation. 

•  30% of SMEs adopted online platforms  

•  27% adopted cloud technologies 

•  Big data and related data analytics were applied by 17% of the survey respondents 

•  Artificial Intelligence was pointed out by 11% of the respondents 

• 

Internet of Things solutions have been already adopted by 10% of the respondents 

3.1. Survey  

With the objective of monitoring the status in the uptake of digital and green technologies, 
a large-scale business survey has been implemented in the framework of this study. The 
survey  collected  data  about  the  progress  towards  the  green  and  digital  transition  of 
European  SMEs  across  industrial  ecosystems  such  as  Agri-food  and  gather  information 
about  the  related  investments.  The  survey  was  based  on  using  Computer  Assisted 
Telephone Interviewing (CATI). The final sample included 3 900 companies in all industrial 
ecosystems and 1 045 interviews for Agri-food in particular. The mainstage fieldwork 

24 

 
 
 
 
 
 
was conducted between 15 January and 15th May 2023. A prerequisite for each reach-out 
and interview was to have a respondent with adequate capacities and knowledge to answer 
the questionnaire (for more details please see the methodological report of the project).  

Complementing the survey, technology uptake was also monitored by text mining company 
websites. The objective of the big data analysis in the agri-food ecosystem was to provide 
empirical evidence on the adoption of green and digital technologies. This exercise relied 
on large volumes of data which enabled regular and up-to-date monitoring of the adoption 
of  sustainable  practices  and  innovations  using  digital  technologies  by  the  industrial 
ecosystem.  The  analysis  covers  a  sample  of  29 051  companies  comprising  a  total  of 
4 963 412  webpages.  This  sample  is  further  divided  into  9%  large  companies  and  89% 
SMEs from the agri-food industrial ecosystem. 

3.1.1 Green transformation 

Both  the  survey  and  the  text  mining  of  company  websites  found  that  companies  in  the 
agri-food  ecosystem  had  progressed  towards  green  transition  objectives  to  varying 
degrees.  

In  terms  of  adoption  rate  approximately  29%  of  companies  text  mined  have  been 
found to reference the adoption of green transformation technologies. As part of the 
EMI survey, SMEs in the agri-food ecosystem were asked about their investments towards 
the  green  transition  and  environmental  sustainability  over  the  past  five  years.  Results 
indicate  that  53%  of  respondents  reported  to  increase  their  investments  into 
environmental  sustainability  actions.  Furthermore,  the  survey  inquired  about  the 
percentage of annual revenue allocated by agri-food companies for green transformation. 
The findings reveal that the majority of SMEs (41.9%) invested between 10% and 14% of 
their revenue annually. This indicates that a significant portion of companies in the agri-
food sector are actively embracing these technologies. 

Figure 11: Share of revenue invested in green transformation by SMEs in the agri-food industrial ecosystem on 
average annually 

Source: Technopolis Group and Kapa Research, 2023 

The detailed survey results demonstrate that SMEs in the agri-food industrial ecosystem 
are concerned about their energy use and 34% indicate having adopted energy saving 
technologies.  This  finding  is  not  a  surprise  since  energy-saving  has  become  very 
important since the start of soaring energy prices in 2021. The Flash Eurobarometer found 
that  57%  of  SMEs  in  agri-food  adopted  measures  including  non-technological  actions  to 
save energy.  

25 

 
 
 
 
Figure 12: Adoption of green technologies within the agri-food industrial ecosystem  

Source: Technopolis Group and Kapa Research, 2023 

Recycling 

The survey results show that 32% confirmed that they use recycled materials and 
32% any other recycling technologies. A further question investigated the proportion of 
recycled materials that is used within  production or the products of  those that have  adopted 
recycling. As shown in the Figure below, close to half declared to be using between 20% and 
50% of recycled materials. 

Regarding food waste, 26% of the respondents indicated that they took actions to reduce food 
waste and recycle them. 

Figure  13:  Share  of  recycled  material  that  is  used  within  production  by  SMEs  in  agri-food  that  adopted  this 
technology 

Source: Technopolis Group and Kapa Research, 2023 

26 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sustainable  packaging  were  referenced  on  11%  of  the  company  websites  with 
practices often involving the utilisation of eco-friendly materials such as biodegradable or 
compostable  packaging,  recycled  content,  reduced  packaging  waste  and  international 
standards such as ISO 9001. Advanced technologies enable the design and manufacturing 
of  packaging  solutions  that  minimise  resource  consumption  and  pollution.  These  include 
innovative designs to optimise space utilisation, lightweight packaging to reduce material 
usage,  and  efficient  distribution  systems  to  minimise  transportation-related  emissions. 
Moreover,  intelligent  packaging  technologies,  such  as  QR  codes  or  RFID  tags,  facilitate 
better supply chain management, reducing overstock and food waste. 

Renewable energy 

The EMI survey found that 28% of the respondents invested in renewable energy 
technologies, and 56% of those cover between 20 and 50% of their total consumption 
with renewable energy.  

Figure 14: Share of renewable energy use within total energy consumption  

Source: Technopolis Group and Kapa Research, 2023 

The  adoption  of  renewable  energy  technologies  has  been  also  pronounced  on 
company websites with 16% of companies in the sample referencing it. Solar energy and 
the utilisation of organic materials for energy production are the dominant sources  cited 
by companies on their website. Hydrogen, geothermal, wind and nuclear are present but 
comparatively to a lesser extent. 

In  solar  energy  several  companies  have  installed  photovoltaic  systems  on  rooftops  and 
open  spaces  which  represents  a  mature  technology  with  widespread  adoption.  Organic 
materials  include  for  instance  companies  which  have  incorporated  biomass  technology, 
using  organic  materials  for  heat  generation  and  power  production.  Wind  power  includes 
wind  turbines  being  employed  to  generate  clean  electricity.  Geothermal  energy  systems 
are utilised for heating and cooling purposes, showcasing an innovative approach to energy 
efficiency. The adoption of advanced technologies like microbial fuel cells and LED lighting 
further  underscores  the  industrial  ecosystem’s  capacity  to  innovate  and  environmental 
stewardship.  In  addition,  various  aspects  of  heating,  cooling,  and  energy  efficiency  are 
frequently referenced associated to technologies that aim to improve energy efficiency and 
promote sustainability. 

Advanced sustainable materials and alternative proteins 

Advanced  sustainable  materials  were  indicated  by  27%  of  the  SMEs  participating  in  the 
EMI survey. More specifically, the text mining of company websites found that alternative 
proteins  have  been  highlighted  on  15%  of  the  websites.  Several  cutting-edge 
technologies are driving innovation in the alternative protein sector. These advancements 
include  hydrolysis  and  purification  processes  to  create  bio-functional  animal  proteins.  In 
addition,  3D  food  printing  technology  is  being  employed  to  produce  plant-based 
alternatives.  Bacteriophages  are  also  gaining  prominence  for  their  potential  to  combat 
health  challenges  in  aquaculture  through  targeted  interventions.  Further  innovations 
involve  the  use  of  mycoprotein  as  a  novel  ingredient  in  aquaculture  feeds,  aiming  to 
enhance  sustainability.  Notably,  methane  inhibitors  are  being  developed  to  reduce 

27 

 
 
 
 
greenhouse gas emissions from livestock, and fish oil alternatives derived from algae offer 
a sustainable option for aquaculture feed. 

Circular business models 

Agri-food  SMEs  were  surveyed  about  the  adoption  of  circular  business  models  and 
other  circular  practices  such  as  repair,  renting,  leasing  or  design  for  durability.  The 
results indicate 25.3% pays attention to circular design, 19.3% of the respondents adopted 
design for durability followed by repair and maintenance services (18%).  

Renting,  leasing  and  related  service  models  were  taken  up  by  18%  of  the  respondents. 
Taking  actions  regarding  transparent  supply  chains  was  indicated  by  11%  of  the 
respondents.  Digital  product  passports  as  highlighted  in  the  sustainable  products 
initiative70 of the European Commission will be the norm for all products with tags identified 
and linked to data relevant to their circularity and sustainability. 

Figure 15: Adoption of green business models and non-technological solutions within the agri-food ecosystem 

Source: Technopolis Group and Kapa Research, 2023 

Using digital technologies for environmental sustainability 

The role of digital technologies in mitigating the environmental impact of agri-food 
includes IoT devices, data analytics, automation, and smart packaging solutions, as found 
by the analysis of company websites. These are utilised to optimise agricultural processes, 
through  real-time  data  monitoring,  streamline 
minimise  resource  consumption 
manufacturing operations for energy efficiency, and enhance traceability to reduce plastic 
waste and promote recycling.  

Advanced  technologies  to  reduce  water  consumption  include  irrigation  control 
systems, precision irrigation techniques, water recycling, and sustainable water resource 
management.  Controlled  release  fertilizers  with  polymeric  coatings  optimise  nutrient 
release  and  reduce  water  usage.  Innovative  farming  solutions,  sensors,  and  precision 
irrigation  systems  further  contribute  to  significant  water  savings.  Recirculation  systems 
and  specialised  diets  are  utilised  in  aquaculture  to  lower  water  consumption.  Reverse 
osmosis  systems  are  employed  to  ensure  clean  water  quality  in  pools  while  conserving 

70 https://ec.europa.eu/info/law/better-regulation/have-your-say/initiatives/12567-Sustainable-products-initiative_en  

28 

 
 
 
 
 
 
water. Additionally, advanced testing methods and recirculating water systems are applied 
in aquaculture research to monitor health and welfare while minimising water use. 

Modern technologies for soil health and fertility include precision irrigation systems such 
as  drip  irrigation  and  satellite  imaging  for  real-time  monitoring  and  efficient  water 
management. They utilise organic and natural fertilisers, practicing cover cropping, green 
manure,  and  composting  to  promote  soil  nutrient  enrichment  and  biodiversity. 
Implementing regenerative agriculture techniques such as minimum tillage, crop rotation, 
and  mechanical  soil  management  helps  in  maintaining  soil  structure  and  preventing 
erosion. Additionally, some companies explore innovative approaches like biochar usage to 
enhance soil quality and carbon sequestration, while others focus on sustainable practices 
in  dairy  farming  and  vineyard  management  to  improve  soil  health  and  overall 
environmental impact. 

Companies are incorporating digital technologies to support the circular economy by 
developing  high-performance  materials,  utilising  waste 
renewable  energy, 
implementing  organic  farming  practices,  adopting  eco-friendly  packaging,  optimising 
resource  usage  through  automation  and  data  analytics,  conducting  research  to  reduce 
waste, collaborating with educational institutions for knowledge exchange, extending food 
shelf  life  through  preservation  methods,  offering  clean  label  ingredients,  and  embracing 
ethical values for responsible consumption and production. 

for 

Environmental standards 

When  asked  about  the  certification  on  any  environmental  standards,  46%  of  the 
respondents indicated that they had been certified (see Figure 16).  

Figure 16: Percentage of agri-food SMEs stating that they have been certified on environmental standards 

Source: Technopolis Group and Kapa Research, 2023 

The  agri-food  ecosystem  is  guided  by  different  sets  of  environmental  definitions  and 
guidelines, including ISO standards.   ISO 14001 is a set of standards that any company 
can follow to implement an effective environmental management system. By adopting the 
good  practices  suggested  by  the  standard,  firms  can  substantially  reduce  their 
environmental footprint. The number of environmental certificates issued in the industry 
indicates  the  progress  towards  the  application  of  environmentally  friendly  business 
practices and production methods. For the purposes of this report, ISO data were accessed 
via the ISO survey of certifications to management system standards71.  

The  analysis  of  the  data  shows  that  companies  operating  in  the  agri-food  ecosystem 
obtained less and less ISO environmental certificates over time. Since reaching the peak 

71 ISO (2022) ISO Survey of certifications to management system standards. Accessed 
on https://isotc.iso.org/livelink/livelink?func=ll&objId=18808772&objAction=browse&sort=name&viewType=1 

29 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
in 2012, the number of companies using environmentally friendly standards has steadily 
decreased.  The  annual  ISO  survey  indicates  that  there  were  1,660  certificates 
issued to agri-food companies in the EU27 in the year 2021,  which is a decrease 
compared to 2,380 certificates issued in 2012 and which is below the industry average. 

Figure 17: Number of environmental certificates issued 

Source: Technopolis Group, 2022, based on ISO 

3.1.2 Digital transformation 

In  terms  of  overall  adoption  rate,  the  text  mining  of  company  websites  found  that 
approximately  25%  of  companies  in  the  investigated  sample  have  adopted  at  least  one 
digital transformation enabling technology. This indicates that  a quarter of companies 
in the agri-food sector are actively embracing these technologies.  

When asking agri-food SMEs, whether they had increased their investments dedicated to 
digital technologies during the past five years 48% responded positively. A further question 
was  related  to  the  percentage  in  terms  of  revenue  that  retailers  had  invested  in  digital 
transformation on average annually. As shown in Figure 18 below, the responses show that 
35%  of  the  respondents  invested  between  5  and  9%  of  revenue  in  digital 
transformation, and altogether 74% invested less than 15%. 

Figure 18: Share in revenue is invested in digital transformation on average annually 

Source: Technopolis Group and Kapa Research, 2023 

The Figure below details the level of adoption of specific digital technologies. The detailed 
results demonstrate that besides the popularity of online platforms (used by 30% of the 
respondents), SMEs have adopted cloud software and computing (27%). This is also 

30 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
reflected in Eurostat72 data, where the survey on ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises 
found  30%  of  food  and  beverage  manufacturing  companies73  had  bought  computing 
services used over the internet in 2021. From a technological perspective, traceability, food 
safety  and  precision  agriculture  are  gaining  traction  among  both  large  companies  and 
SMEs.  

Figure 19: Adoption of digital technologies within the agri-food industrial ecosystem 

 Source: Technopolis Group and Kapa Research, 2023 

The  use  of  Artificial  Intelligence  was  pointed  out  by  11%  of  the  respondents. 
Moreover,  according  to  the  survey  results,  Internet  of  Things  solutions  have  been 
already adopted by 10% of the respondents. A higher share  of use  emerges in the 
ICT survey74, where 29.5% of the surveyed companies indicated to be already using some 
form of IoT.  

Further questions revealed the areas where Artificial Intelligence have been focused 
in the agri-food ecosystem. The highest share  of the  responses includes  optimisation 
and automation (indicated by 63% of SMEs) and quality control and error detection (41%). 
Moreover, AI technologies have been adopted with the objectives of supporting material 
sourcing,  analysis  of  supply  chain  data,  and  predictions,  forecasting  and  assistance  to 
decision making. 

72 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ISOC_CICCE_USEN2__custom_6885490/default/table?lang=en 
73 Data available correspond to NACE codes C10, C11 and C12. 
74 https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/ISOC_EB_IOTN2__custom_6886017/default/table?lang=en 

31 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 20: Use cases of AI  

Source: Technopolis Group and Kapa Research., 2023 

Survey results indicated that the Internet of Things is used by 10% of the respondents. 
IoT is used for energy efficiency (49%) and traceability for logistics (47%). Other common 
applications  include  sensor-based  production  systems  and  remote  asset  monitoring  and 
management, as shown in Figure 21 below. 

Figure 21: Use cases of Internet of Things  

Source: Technopolis Group and Kapa Research, 2023 

Various agricultural enterprises are harnessing the power of remote sensing technologies 
to revolutionise their operations. By integrating IoT sensors, drones, and satellite imagery, 
these  businesses  are  gaining  insights  into  environmental  factors  like  humidity, 
temperature,  and  crop  health.  This  data-driven  approach  enables  optimised  irrigation, 
fertilizer  usage,  and  pest  management,  while  also  reducing  waste  and  minimising 
environmental  impact.  Precision  farming  techniques,  guided  by  remote  sensing 
technologies, provide accurate mapping of crops and fields, enhancing growth monitoring 
and  decision-making.  These  advancements  establish  the  foundation  for  sustainable 
practices, ensuring efficient resource utilisation, higher yields, and improved overall quality 
across the agri-food supply chain. 

32 

 
 
 
 
 
Digitalisation  and  precision  agriculture  were  present  on  13%  of  all  company 
websites.  The  agri-food  ecosystem  has  been  adopting  precision  agriculture  through 
various  advanced  technologies.  These  include  the  use  of  sensors,  drones,  geographical 
information systems, software, remote-controlled underwater vehicles, image analysis, AI, 
satellite tech, and hyperspectral cameras. These technologies enable real-time monitoring, 
data collection, and analysis to optimise crop management, reduce environmental impact, 
enhance  animal  welfare,  ensure  product  quality,  and  improve  overall  efficiency  and 
sustainability throughout the agricultural process. 

Robotics technologies have been adopted by 11.2% of the  SMEs in the broader 
agri-food  industrial  ecosystem.  According  to  Eurostat,  10%  of  companies  that 
manufacture food products, beverages and tobacco products (10 persons or more) declared 
to have used industrial or service robots in 2022. 

Figure 22: Use cases of robotics  

Source: Technopolis Group and Kapa Research, 2023 

Augmented and virtual reality has been mentioned by a lower number, notably 7% of 
the respondents. The top three applications on the use of AVR are inventory visualisation 
and management (indicated by 78% of respondents), virtual material sourcing (76%) and 
workflow management (73%). 

Although blockchain technologies were indicated by only 4% of the respondents, 
the  analysis  of  company  websites  identified  a  higher  importance  dedicated  to 
traceability and food safety, accounting for 18% of all companies. Agri-food SMEs 
can leverage digital technologies such as blockchain, QR codes, real-time monitoring, and 
traceability  systems  to  ensure  food  safety  and  enhance  transparency  throughout  their 
supply chains, underscoring their commitment to quality and sustainability. 

3.2. Technology centres supporting SME’s access to technology 

Innovation  actors  are  at  the  core  of  industrial  ecosystems  and  gathering  and  sharing 
information about them in a structured way is crucial to detect gaps, improve collaboration, 
foster innovation and strengthen innovation ecosystems. The Technology Centre Mapping 
comprises information on technology centres that are key actors in innovation ecosystems 
due to their technical expertise and their ability to bring together and steer collaboration 
among various types  of actors in their  own  ecosystems and beyond.  Figure  23 presents 
the  number  of  technology  centres  (TCs)  that  are  active  in  the  agri-food  industrial 
ecosystem per European country and shows that Spain (29) is the country with the highest 
number of technology centres in the EU, followed by France (22) and Belgium (11). These 
countries  might  host  additional  technology  centres  active  in  the  agri-food  industrial 
ecosystem, which are currently not registered to the technology centres mapping. 

33 

 
 
 
 
 
Figure 23: Technology centres per country – agri-food 

Source: Analysis based on Advanced Technologies for Industry Technology Centre Mapping, 2023 

The following examples serve to illustrate the  activities and scope of  technology centres 
active in agri-food, their links with the broader ecosystem as well as examples of recent 
activities in which they are involved.  They include the following three cases Center of Bio 
immobilisation and Innovative Packaging Materials (PL) (see Box ), CMYK Ingredients (BG) 
(see Box ), VTT industrial biotechnology, synthetic biology, and food processing (FI) (see 
Box ).  

Box 3: Example Technology Centre: Center of Bio immobilisation and Innovative Packaging Materials, CBIMO (PL) 
75 

Name of the Centre 

Location and scope 

Center  of  Bio 
and 
Innovative  Packaging  Materials,  CBIMO 
(PL) 

immobilisation 

CBIMO is a self-financing entity, located in the region of Western Pomerania in Poland. The centre 
operates under the Faculty of Food Sciences and the Faculty of Fisheries of the West Pomeranian 
University of Technology in Szczecin, but it is considered an independent body of this one. The 
centre not only focuses on the packaging itself, but also on the production and operation of the 
packaging materials. Therefore, CBIMO is specialised in the following fields: modern technologies 
and packaging, innovative materials, and new immobilization techniques, such as immobilization 
of cells, bacteria, and particles.  

75 CBIMO (2023) Centrum Bioimmobilizacji i Innowacyjnych Materiałów Opakowaniowych (CBIMO) https://cbimo.zut.edu.pl/  

34 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Main services and equipment 

CBIMO  offers  various  technological  services  in  the  formation,  modification,  testing,  and 
characterization of packaging materials. CBIMO, has, among others, a service for characterization 
of basic and functional properties,  devices for biotechnological research and  bio immobilization 
processes, a laboratory device for obtaining functional materials and specialized in research and 
measurement equipment, including pilot-scale trials, and a service for obtaining, modifying, and 
purifying new substances of biological origin. CBIMO has also experience in the preparation and 
joint implementation of research projects with economic partners and research and development 
units  co-financed  from  various  sources  (national:  Ministry  of  Science  and  Higher  Education, 
National Center for Research and Development, departmental, structural funds, and EU framework 
projects). Finally, CBIMO offers a service for the commercialization of research results. 

Recent projects related to the green and digital transition in agri-food 

CBIMO is involved in several international and national projects, contributing to the development 
of innovative, environmentally friendly solutions with a potential for industrial applications. A few 
examples include:  

•  HumidWrap The objective of this project is to use active packaging materials for storage 
and release of water to achieve the proper humidity level of paper and plastic packages 
in order to optimally conserve the goods freshness, shelf life, self-value, and quantity.76 

• 

FreshInPac seeks to develop bio-based packaging for perishable foods (fruits, vegetables, 
and flowers) with multiple functionalities (ethylene scavenging, rejection of plant-based 
antimicrobials, control of water vapour condensation). The uniqueness of this project lies 
in the way the packaging development is carried out by digital simulation, which rarely 
has been done before for these multifunctional packaging materials.77 

•  ActInPak: the Action intends to create a knowledge-based network on sustainable, active, 
and intelligent fibre-based packaging in order to optimise the supply value chain and to 
promote the consumer awareness of food usage.78 

Source: Advanced Technologies for Industry Technology Centre Mapping, 2023, CBIMO 2023 and IVLV 2023 

Box 4: Example Technology Centre: CMYK Ingredients (BG) 79 

Name of the Centre 

CMYK Ingredients (BG) 

Location and scope 

CMYK Ingredients is a food-tech development centre located in Bulgaria. Its mission is to develop 
more healthy and tasty products available for retail and on grocery shelves, in supermarkets and 
online,  and  in  a  wide  range  of  packaging  formats.  CMYK  implements  food-tech  solutions  and 
develops new foods (functional, organic, nutraceutical and microbiome supportive) for different 
kinds  of  consumers,  including  food  minorities  (i.e.,  those  with  food  allergy,  diabetes,  sugar 
intolerance, KETO diet, among others) 

Main services and equipment 

76 IVLV HumidWrap https://www.ivlv.org/en/project/humidwrap/, accessed on 18 April 2023  
77 IVLV FreshInPac https://www.ivlv.org/en/project/freshinpac/, accessed on 18 April 2023  
78 http://www.actinpak.eu/  
79 CMYK (2023) CMYK Ingrediens https://www.cmykingredients.com/  

35 

 
 
 
 
 
The  services  of  the  CMYK  are  based  on  two  major  technological  focal  points:  ingredient 
fermentation  and  sprouting.  Therefore,  CMYK  has  a  fermentation  research  laboratory  for  the 
development  and  improvement  of  fermentation  related  production  processes  with  diverse 
equipment for cultivation of microbial cultures, incubators and laboratory fermentation reactors, 
and a pilot plant with large chambers for scale-up studies and small productions, as well as other 
necessary equipment for innovative techniques in fermentation and extraction of compounds for 
food,  cosmetic  and  pharmaceutical  industries.  The  Centre  also has  a  Department  for  Research 
and Patents accessible for large food retail corporations, SMEs, and startups. Finally, CMYK has 
specific facilities for developing its own prototyping production. 

Recent projects related to the green and digital transition in agri-food 

CMYK is a global top 500 food-tech innovative company. Examples of the activities of CMYK in 
relation to the green and digital transition include:  

• 

• 

In  2019,  CMYK  Ingredients  was  rated  by  Forward  Fooding  for  its  contribution  into  the 
environmental footprint reduction. 

Excellence  in  Innovation  2021  Awards  (Bulgaria):  In  2021  CMYK  was  awarded  by  the 
President of Bulgaria as one of the seven most innovative companies. 

•  SIAL Innovation selection: Four of CMYK’s final products have been selected by SIAL Paris 

Innovation Awards 2020. 

Source: Advanced Technologies for Industry Technology Centre Mapping, 2023 and CMYK, 2023  

Box 5: Example Technology Centre: VTT industrial biotechnology, synthetic biology, and food processing (FI) 80 

Name of the Centre 

Location and scope 

VTT  industrial  biotechnology,  synthetic 
biology, and food processing (FI) 

VTT is a research institution located in Finland. It is a limited liability company that is fully owned 
by  the  Finnish  state  and  runs  under  the  Ministry  of  Economic  Affairs  and  Employment.  VTTs 
mission is to create and design sustainable solutions through research, service activities, reporting 
and  internal  operations.  Within  VTT,  ‘industrial  biotechnology,  synthetic  biology,  and  food 
processing’  is  a  multidisciplinary  team  that  conducts  research  in  biotechnology  looking  at  the 
interface with industrial processes.  

Main services and equipment 

In the area of Food Industry, VTT has built the so-called concept Food Economy 4.0. This vision 
involves:  

- 

- 

- 

promoting circular economy nutrients, energy, and water as an integral part of primary 
production and the manufacturing industry,  

the utilization of food raw materials in a versatile way,  

the fostering of more sustainable food solutions which support health and well-being and  

80 VTT (2023) VTT: Welcome to VTT https://www.vttresearch.com/  

36 

 
 
 
 
 
 
- 

the  evolution  of  the  food  value  chain  into  a  service  with  smart  packaging  and  agile 
logistics.  

To put this vision in practice, VTT provides research infrastructure for industrial biotechnology, 
synthetic biology, and food processing. The research facilities are equipped with a comprehensive 
set of bioreactors such as high-throughput screening robotic station, over 50 advanced laboratory 
scale fermenters, and a pilot plant with food pilots including a malting and brewing pilot, a pilot 
bakery as well as pilot facilities for dry and wet grinding, fractionation, drying and extrusion. VTT 
also has state-of-the-art analytical tools, in-house databases for comparative genomics and cell 
sorting,  culturing,  and  imaging  facilities  (flow  cytometers,  imagers,  spinning  disk  and  other 
microscopes). 

Recent projects related to the green and digital transition in agri-food 

VTT carries out several projects and activities in support of the green and digital transition. Some 
examples include:  

•  VTT participates in the EU-funded CANMILK81 research project exploring the use 
of plasma technology to capture the methane in barn air and break it down into 
carbon  dioxide.  In  Finnish  conditions,  the  methane  emissions  generated  in 
conjunction with milk production account for about 50 percent of milk’s carbon 
footprint.  The  goal  of  the  research  project  is  to  develop  equipment  that  can 
convert  the  greenhouse  gas  methane  that  is  captured  from  barn  air  into  less 
harmful carbon dioxide. 

•  The Food without Fields project82, coordinated by VTT, examined the possibilities 
and  challenges  of  new  food  production  methods  in  Finland.  These  methods 
included cellular agriculture, i.e., harnessing microbes and plant cells to produce 
feed  and  food,  as  well  as  the  production  of  new  protein-rich  crops  under 
controlled conditions, such as in greenhouses and vertical farming environments. 
With  these  new  methods  and  renewable  energy,  food  could  be  produced  with 
less emissions. Agricultural land use could be reduced by over 90%, which would 
free up land for carbon sequestration by other means. 

•  The demands on food packaging are growing: the Single-Use Plastics Directive 
(SUPD)  requires  natural  polymers  to  be  used,  and  a  review  of  the  Packaging 
Waste Directive (PPWD) is coming. VTT and other research institutes have risen 
to  the  challenge  and  are  actively  searching  for  SUPD-compliant  solutions.  The 
challenge  is  to  combine  several  desirable  properties,  such  as  recyclability 
combined  with  strength,  heat-saleability,  and  oxygen  and  grease  barrier 
properties. 

•  On the digital transformation VTT offers both producers and consumers tools for 
gathering and monitoring information on the consumption habits of individuals, 
specifically,  an  application  that  monitors  dining  rhythm  is  currently  under 
development at VTT. Indeed, the “Snack tracker”  83 application recognises and 
records the times of eating, eating speed, time spent eating, and the location. 
Its purpose is to guide individuals towards more balanced eating habits.  

Source: Advanced Technologies for Industry Technology Centre Mapping, 2023 and VTT, 2023  

81 See https://www.vttresearch.com/en/news-and-ideas/valio-and-vtt-researching-use-plasma-technology-convert-
barn-air-methane-carbon  
82 See https://www.vttresearch.com/en/news-and-ideas/recent-study-introduction-new-food-production-technologies-
would-lead-finland  
83 See https://www.vttresearch.com/sites/default/files/pdf/visions/2017/V10.pdf  

37 

 
 
 
 
 
4. Investment and funding 

Key findings 

The agri-food sector is particularly challenged by decreasing investment trends, related to 
sector specific challenges in obtaining finance.  

Private  investments  in  new  and  advanced  technologies  aiming  at  digitalising  and 
greening the sector have generally been on the rise. For instance, investments in the agri-
food tech industry have grown steadily, with a record amount of investment in 2021. 

Crunchbase and Net Zero Insights data indicates that private equity and venture capital 
investment in agri-food tech companies linked to the digital and green transition have 
been volatile over the past decade.  

Foreign  direct  investment  Outwards  EU27  investments  from  EU27  countries  are 
considerably higher than the intra EU and foreign direct investment into the EU27 over the 
observed period. While foreign direct investment into the EU27 is comparably high in 2017, 
it  remains  otherwise  low.  Outward  EU27  investment  from  EU27  countries  is  variable, 
though clearly on the rise from 2020 onwards into 2022. 

Under Horizon 2020, a total funding of €3.8 bn is attributed to the agri-food industrial 
ecosystem. The digital and green transition related projects accounted for €1.7 bn. Among 
the funded projects, ICT projects accounted for 18%, followed by food security, sustainable 
agriculture  and  forestry,  marine  and  maritime  and  inland  water  research  and  the 
bioeconomy (13%). 

Technologies such as renewable energy technologies (wind, solar and other (geothermal, 
hydropower, biomass) power; 15%), and advanced manufacturing & robotics (11%) make 
up important segments in terms of technological focal areas. 

Source: Technopolis Group based on investment data, 2023 

38 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Investments  play  a  central  role  in  transforming  agri-food  systems.  According  to  the 
‘Financial needs in the agriculture and agri-food sectors in the European Union’ summary 
report,  the  agri-food  sector  is  particularly  challenged  by  decreasing  investment  trends, 
related to sector specific challenges in obtaining finance. While the need for modernisation 
of  production  is  evident,  the  profit  margins  themselves  are  relatively  low,  reducing 
incentive  for  investment  and  preferring  investment  in  fixed  assets.  Five  drivers  of  the 
demand  for  finance  in  the  agri-food  sector  include  efficiency,  capacity  expansion, 
compliance, product differentiation and working capital (see Figure 24).84   

Figure 24: Drivers of demand for finance in the agri-food sector 

Source: European Investment Bank, 2020  

The recent FAO report on the Future of Food85 indicates that, globally, investments in the 
agri-food system are growing since the 2008 food price crisis especially thanks to private 
investments  which  constitute  the  bulk  of  investments  in  the  sector.  Also  ‘new’  private 
actors, such as pension funds, specialised investment funds, endowment funds, and impact 
investors,  are  entering  the  sector.  Indeed,  private  investments  in  new  and  advanced 
technologies aiming at digitalising and greening the sector have generally been on the rise. 
For instance, investments in the agri-food tech industry have grown steadily, with a record 
amount of investments in 2021. Especially the US dominates the investments in the agri-
food  tech  sector,  followed  by  Asia.86  The  report  also  indicates  that  there  is  increased 
investor attention to climate solutions; and that in 2022, the alternative protein segment 
has declined in terms of investments (but is still rather large).  

With regard to the public investments, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) report 
shows that the global share of the government expenditure on agriculture slightly increased 
from 1.7% in 2001 to 2.2% in 2020. However, in Europe and central Asia, the percentage 
decreased from 2.5% to 1.7%. In general, the proportion of public resources allocated to 
the sector is limited, especially compared to the sector’s weight in the economy. The report 
forecasts  that  private  investments  will  continue  to  make  up  the  bulk  of  the  total 
investments in the sector.  

The Annual Single Market Report (2022)87 highlights that the agri-food ecosystem is quite 
in  the  middle  compared  to  the  other  industrial  ecosystems  with  regard  to  investments 
related to the digital transition (see Figure 25) as well as the green transition (Figure 26). 

84 European Investment Bank (2020). Financial needs in the agriculture and agri-food sectors in the European Union: 
Summary report. https://www.fi-
compass.eu/sites/default/files/publications/financial_needs_agriculture_agrifood_sectors_eu_summary.pdf  
85 Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). (2022). Future of Food. 
https://www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cc0959en  
86 Agfunder (2023). Global Agri-foodTech Investment Report 2023. https://agfunder.com/research/agfunder-global-
agrifoodtech-investment-report-2023/  
87 European Commission (2022) Annual Single Market Report 2022. https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/48877 

39 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Particularly, with regard to the digital transition, about 50% of the firms in the ecosystem 
have invested in digitalisation as a response to the COVID-19 crisis and almost 60% are 
planning investments in the long term. On the green transition, more than 40% of the EU 
firms in the ecosystem have already invested in efforts to mitigate the impact of physical 
and transition risks and reduce carbon emissions, which approximately coincides with the 
percentage of EU firms across all industrial ecosystems. Additionally, over 50% have plans 
to  make  such  investments  in  the  next  three  years,  which  is  slightly  higher  than  the 
percentage of firms across all industrial ecosystems.  

Figure  25:  Digital  investment  and  long-term  investment  expectation  (share  of  firms  in  %),  by  industrial 
ecosystems 

Source: European Commission 2022, Annual Single Market Report and sources therein 

Figure 26: Investment plans to tackle climate change impact, by industrial ecosystem 

Source: European Commission 2022, Annual Single Market Report and sources therein 

40 

 
 
 
 
 
4.1. Venture capital and private equity investments 

The scale of venture capital and private equity investment in agri-food tech companies that 
focus on digital and green technologies and business models has been calculated using a 
combined data set from Net Zero Insights and Crunchbase sources88. 

Crunchbase and Net Zero Insights data indicates that private equity and venture capital 
investment in agri-food tech companies linked to the digital and green transition have been 
volatile over the past decade.  

Figure 27 below presents the picture  of annual private  equity and VC funding into EU27 
agri-food tech startups per main investment type (seed, early, late and exit)89. The picture 
of investment by subclass is equally volatile, though with late-stage funding attracting the 
most  important  amount  of  investment  for  agri-food  tech  startups  and  especially  in  the 
recent  years,  early,  seed  and  exit  having  considerably  lower  investment  amounts 
comparatively.  

Figure 27: Private equity and venture capital investment into EU agri-food tech companies per main investment 
type (2010 onwards)  

Source: Technopolis Group calculations based on Crunchbase and Net Zero Insights, 2022 

Looking  at  the  technologies  attracting  investment,  not  surprisingly  biotechnology  and 
related agri-tech leads the way with over €1 bn in investment, followed by online platforms 
(€400  m)  and  recycling  technologies  (€272  m)  the  latter  is  explained  by  the  capital 
intensity of such investments, see Figure 28.  

89 For the purpose of this study, we classify funding arounds according to the following considerations: 

Seed.  This  stage  includes  all  funding  instruments  that  occur  in  the early  phase  of  development  of  startups. 
Types of funding under this stage include: Pre-Seed, Seed, Angel, Accelerator/incubator, Product Crowdfunding, 
Equity Crowdfunding, Crowdfunding, Award/Prize 
Early Development. Here we include early Venture Capital investment rounds (up to €20 million), Convertible 
Note, Series A, Corporate and Private Equity (up to €20 million) 
Late Development. Operations within this stage include advanced VC rounds (>€20 million), starting from Series 
B.  
Exit.  Here  we  include  operations  for  very  well  establish  startups,  including  offering  corporate  shares  to  the 
general public, acquisition and merger operations. 

41 

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
  
  
  
Figure 28: Distribution of private equity and VC investment into agri-food tech companies by type of technology 
(2010-2022)   

Source: Technopolis Group calculations based on Crunchbase and Net Zero Insights, 2023 

In addition, the data reveal information on the number of unicorns in agri-food tech by 
world region. Over the indicated time period, the EU27 recorded 15 agri-food tech unicorns 
compared to 85 in the USA and 32 in China. A few examples include:  

•  Flink Food,90 an online platform for grocery products 

• 

InFarm,91 developing technologies for vertical farms  

•  HelloFresh,92 bringing pre-portioned ingredients to people’s homes on a subscription 

basis  

4.2. Foreign direct investment in agri-food  

Figure 29 presents the total capital investment over time of foreign direct investment (FDI) 
agri-food projects (from EU or to EU). The figure showcases the evolution over time of total 
capital expenditure of agri-food FDI projects from or to EU member states. Three categories 
of movement are visible: Intra EU (FDI projects from EU27 countries to EU27 countries), 
foreign direct investment from non-EU  countries into the EU27, and  outwards EU27 FDI 
from EU27 countries.  

fDi intelligence93 is a data tool that tracks cross-border greenfield investment both intra 
EU, extra EU and globally, covering the agri-food industrial  ecosystem. It provides  real-
time monitoring of investment projects, capital investment and job creation with powerful 
tools  to  track  and  profile  companies  that  are  active  investors  in  the  agri-food  industrial 
ecosystem. The data source tracks projects that are expected to create new jobs and do 
not  cover  merges  and  acquisitions  as  these  are  already  part  of  the  venture  capital  data 
analysis above. 

Outwards EU27 investments from EU27  countries are considerably higher than the intra 
EU and foreign direct investment into the EU27 over the  observed period.  While foreign 
direct  investment  into  the  EU27  is  comparably  high  in  2017,  it  remains  otherwise  low. 

90 See https://www.goflink.com/en/  
91 See https://www.infarm.com/  
92 See https://www.hellofresh.be/  
93 https://www.fdiintelligence.com/ 

42 

 
 
 
  
 
 
 
Outward EU27 investment from EU27 countries is variable, though clearly on the rise from 
2020 onwards into 2022.  

Figure 29: Foreign direct investment in agri-food 

Source: Technopolis Group calculations based on fdi Insights 

4.3. EU research and innovation funding into agri-food 

A  recent  study  ‘Food  systems:  Research  and  innovation  investment  gap  study: 
Policy report’ highlights the public and private expenditure when it comes to food systems 
and food-related innovation activities. In terms of EU funding for food systems, €18.4 bn 
is estimated to have gone to food systems related projects between 2007 and 2020, with 
€2.1  bn  going  to  the  primary  production  sector.  Based  on  an  analysis  of  company  data 
related to patenting activity, the study estimates €93 bn have been invested in food-related 
innovation  by  the  private  sector  between  2012  and  201894,  the  majority  of  which  in 
Germany and the Netherlands, and largely related to ‘climate smart and environmentally 
sustainable food systems’.95  

In this study, Horizon 2020 funding data was further analysed with regard to digital and 
green  transition  related  investments  within  agri-food.  Horizon  2020  was  the  European 
Union’s  multiannual  research  and  innovation  programme  for  the  period  2014-2020. 
According  to  data  from  the  Community  Research  and  Development  Information  Service 
(CORDIS),  the  programme  funded  955  projects  classified  under  the  agri-food 
industrial ecosystem with a total funding of €3.8 bn in 2014-2020.  

The digital and green transition related projects accounted for €1.7 bn. 

Among the funded projects, ICT projects accounted for 18% of the total funding according 
to the coding available in CORDA96, followed by food security, sustainable agriculture and 

94  The  study  also  acknowledges  the  inherent  difficulties  in  tracking  private  investments  in  the  agri-food  sector, 
highlighting that this value might be underestimated. 
95  European  Commission  (2023)  Food  systems  Research  and  innovation  investment  gap  study:  Policy  report 
https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/1747dc15-be80-11ed-8912-01aa75ed71a1 
96 CORDA data is a private version of CORDIS data. It includes the NACE code of the beneficiaries, therefore allowing to 
a sector-based analysis. 

43 

 
 
 
 
 
forestry, marine and maritime and inland water research and the bioeconomy (13%) see 
Table 1.  

Zooming in on the technologies as defined in the Methodological Report of the Monitoring 
industrial ecosystems (EMI) project, Table 2 outlines the total cost per technology related 
to the agri-food industrial ecosystem. With more specific technologies such as renewable 
energy  technologies  (wind,  solar  and  other  (geothermal,  hydropower,  biomass)  power; 
15%), and advanced manufacturing & robotics (11%) making up important segments in 
terms of technological focal areas.  

Table 1: CORDA EU R&I funding in EUR in agri-food - High level technology area coding  

Technology - High level 
(coded in CORDA) 

 Total Cost  

 FP Contribution  

 Other investment   

 Share  

Climate action, 
environment, resource 
efficiency and raw materials  
Food security, sustainable 
agriculture and forestry, 
marine and maritime and 
inland water research and 
the bioeconomy  
ICT  

Nanotechnologies, Advanced 
Materials, Biotechnology and 
Advanced Manufacturing and 
Processing (NMBP) 
Smart, green and integrated 
transport  
Space  

Total investments in twin 
transition projects 
TOTAL Agri-Food  

73.504.569  

67.202.580  

6.301.988  

488.609.891  

450.461.171  

38.148.720  

685.414.196  

462.692.702  

222.721.493  

410.762.643  

313.340.372  

97.422.272  

2% 

13% 

18% 

11% 

0,4% 

15.892.994  

12.319.193  

3.573.800  

2% 
-                              

85.055.777  

170.104.209  
         1.306.016.018  

1.759.240.070  

85.048.432  

368.168.274  

3.890.269.015  

6.483.115.398  

644.986.127  

45% 

100% 

Source: Technopolis Group based on CORDA, 2022 

Table 2: CORDA EU R&I funding in EUR in agri-food – Technology based classification 

Technology & IE  

 Total Cost  

 FP Contribution  

 Other investment   

 Share 
in total 
(using 
Total 
cost)  

Advanced Manufacturing & 
Robotics 
Artificial Intelligence (& 
Machine Learning & 
Computational intelligence) 
Digital Security & Networks/ 
Cybersecurity 
Digital Tech for Mobility 

Internet of Things 

Micro- and Nanoelectronics 
& Photonics 
Advanced Materials and 
Nanotechnology 
Biotechnology including 
Medical Biotechnology 
Energy Saving Technologies 

335.742.243  

237.326.116  

98.416.127  

310.911.984  

198.638.204  

112.273.780  

12.189.427  

11.457.756  

731.670  

152.582.250  

129.208.896  

23.373.354  

221.122.006  

153.236.532  

67.885.473  

71.429  

50.000  

21.429  

-    

-    

-    

134.194.852  

117.382.958  

16.811.894  

9.092.902  

7.582.768  

1.510.134  

11% 

10% 

0,4% 

5% 

7% 

0% 

0% 

4% 

0,30% 

44 

 
 
 
                  
                     
                                   
               
                  
                                
               
                  
                             
               
                  
                                
                  
                     
                                   
                  
                  
      
                   
          
              
                   
 
               
                  
                                
               
                  
                             
                  
                     
                                       
               
                  
                                
               
                  
                                
                            
                                
                                          
                                         
                                             
                                                       
               
                  
                                
                     
                        
                                   
Hydrogen technologies 

Wind, Solar and other 
(geothermal, hydropower, 
biomass) Power 
Recycling technologies 
relevant for the circular 
economy 
TOTAL 

2.191.134  

2.180.663  

10.471  

464.588.999  

357.039.040  

107.549.959  

146.480.840  

131.758.268  

14.722.572  

0,07% 

15% 

5% 

100% 

Source: Technopolis Group based on CORDA, 2022 

3.013.558.360  

2.404.169.376  

609.388.984  

45 

 
 
 
                     
                        
                                          
               
                  
                             
               
                  
                                
      
         
                   
5. Skills 

Key findings  

Workers in the agri-food ecosystem are often low skilled, ageing workers or third-country 
nationals, sometimes with lower qualification levels. There is an increasing need for high 
skilled workers such as agronomists, machinery and contact material specialists, 
C-level  employees,  sustainability  experts,  circular  and  biotech  experts,  food 
scientists, food technologists, and high craftsmanship in the different sub-sectors. 
Many initiatives are taken to address this labour and skills shortage, including education 
and training, social protection policies, immigration, supporting collaborations, developing 
partnerships and platforms to share knowledge and best practices including the Pact for 
Skills.  

The supply of skilled professionals relevant for the green and digital transition  has been 
captured based on LinkedIn data. Within the registered professionals on LinkedIn employed 
in  the  agri-food  industrial  ecosystem,  6%  indicated  to  have  one  type  of  advanced 
digital  skill  (including  technological  knowledge  such  as  IoT,  AI,  connectivity,  big  data, 
advanced farm management software etc), and 3% to have environmental protection 
related skills (green skills). 

Digital  skills  are  led  by  advanced  software  for  farm  management  or  food  production, 
followed by cloud related skills and artificial intelligence. Circular economy is the most 
important green skill followed closely by low carbon, energy saving technologies and 
renewable energy.  

Skills  demand  in  the  agri-food  industrial  ecosystem  was  analysed  based  on  the  skills 
intelligence insights of Cedefop. Online job advertisements that can be related to the 
digital transition represented 25% of all job ads in agri-food in 2022 in the EU27. 
This share is 11% for advanced digital technologies. Regarding the green transition, 2.1% 
of job vacancies were found requesting a green skill in 2022. 

Figure 30: Share of job advertisements with a reference to digital or green skills 

Source: Technopolis Group calculations based on Cedefop, 2023 

The top digital skills that appeared most often on agri-food job advertisements over the 
period  from  2019-2022  include  office  software,  technical  drawings,  business  ICT, 
but  also  database  and  programming  related  skills.  The  most  popular  environmental 
skills  on  job  advertisements  have  been  corporate  social  responsibility,  energy 
efficiency and environmental legislations. 

The agri-food ecosystem is facing critical labour and skills shortages that may impede the 
sector’s productivity growth, resilience and sustainable development.  

Labour  and  skills  shortages  and  the  strong  skills  mismatch  in  the  industry  are  a  major 
concern in the agri-food sector across  OECD  countries.  Particularly, workers in the agri-
food ecosystem are often low skilled, ageing workers or third-country nationals, sometimes 

46 

 
 
 
 
 
with  lower  qualification  levels.97  These  challenges  are  compounded  by  the  perceived 
unattractiveness  of  the  sector,  with  low  wages  and  limited  career  prospects,  98 and  the 
transformations  the  sector  is  facing  with  regard  to  technological  and  economic  change, 
climate change, and global value chains, requiring workers to develop new knowledge and 
skills.99 As such, there is an increasing need for high skilled workers such as agronomists, 
machinery  and  contact  material  specialists,  C-level  employees100,  sustainability  experts, 
circular and biotech experts, food scientists, food technologists, and high craftsmanship in 
the different sub-sectors.101 Yet, an important characteristic of the agricultural labour force 
is the relatively low interest and investment in formal education, with a strong preference 
for informal and experimental pathways to acquiring skills via learning on the job and within 
the environment of the farm. 

The nature of skills required in the agri-food ecosystem varies substantially depending on 
the technology intensiveness of the sector. For instance, in regions with more a technology 
intensive  agri-food  sector,  there  is  a  high  demand  for  highly  skilled  workers  who  can 
operate  these  technologies.  In  regions  with  more  traditional  production  technologies, 
demand  for  medium-skilled  workers  may  be  more  frequent.102  Yet,  in  general,  stronger 
digital  skills  are  needed  in  the  agri-food  workforce  to  allow  for  the  uptake  of  advanced 
technologies  required  for  a  digital  and  green  transition.103  To  foster  the  development  of 
digital  skills  and  encourage  younger  highly  qualified  workers  to  the  sector,  targeted 
investment in skills and jobs programmes and support will be needed. 

As  a  response,  many  initiatives  are  taken  to  address  this  labour  and  skills  shortage, 
including  education  and  training,  social  protection  policies,  immigration,  supporting 
collaborations,  developing  partnerships  and  platforms  to  share  knowledge  and  best 
practices  etc.  Importantly,  the  EC  has  launched  the  Pact  for  Skills104,  a  flagship  action 
under  the  European  Skills  Agenda105,  which  is  a  shared  engagement  model  for  skills  in 
Europe. Particularly, for the agri-food sector, the Pact for Skills represents an opportunity 
to upskill and reskill the workforce and make the agri-food ecosystem more attractive to 
young people, while providing career and life-long learning perspectives to both employers 
and workers.106 It brings together various stakeholders including social partners, training 
and  educational  organisations  including  Vocational  Education  and  Training  (VET), 
companies, trade associations and public authorities among others.107  

Specific projects also seek to tackle the modernisation of skills and competences needed 
for the future in the agri-food industrial ecosystem, such as askfood108, as well as fields109 

97 Pact for skills – Agrifood. 
https://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=25257&langId=en#:~:text=Its%20objective%20is%20ensuring%20th
e,including%20the%20agri%2Dfood%20ecosystem.  
98 OECD (2023). Labour and skills shortages in the agro-food sector. https://www.oecd.org/publications/labour-and-
skills-shortages-in-the-agro-food-sector-ed758aab-en.htm  
99 Assembly of European Regions (2021). Digital Transformation & Skills in the Agri-food Sector. 
https://aer.eu/upskilling-agri-food/  
100 Persons in charge of certain departments with a ‘chief’ designation such as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Technical 
Officer, etc.  
101 Pact for skills – Agrifood. 
https://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=25257&langId=en#:~:text=Its%20objective%20is%20ensuring%20th
e,including%20the%20agri%2Dfood%20ecosystem. 
102 OECD (2023). Labour and skills shortages in the agro-food sector. https://www.oecd.org/publications/labour-and-
skills-shortages-in-the-agro-food-sector-ed758aab-en.htm 
103 European Commission (2020). Advanced Technologies for Industry. Sectoral Watch. Technological trends in the 
agri-food industry. https://ati.ec.europa.eu/reports/sectoral-watch/technological-trends-agri-food-industry 
104 European Commission Pact for Skills https://pact-for-skills.ec.europa.eu/index_en  
105 European Commission European Skills Agenda https://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1223&langId=en  
106 Pact for skills – Agrifood. 
https://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=25257&langId=en#:~:text=Its%20objective%20is%20ensuring%20th
e,including%20the%20agri%2Dfood%20ecosystem. 
107 Food Drink Europe Agri-food pact for skills https://www.fooddrinkeurope.eu/agri-food-pact-for-skills/  
108 askfood https://www.askfood.eu/project  
109 fields https://www.erasmus-fields.eu/home-2/  

47 

 
 
 
 
 
which  aims  to  address  future  skills  needs  related  to  sustainability,  digitalisation  and  the 
bioeconomy in agriculture. Both projects co-funded by the ERASMUS+ programme of the 
European union. 

5.1. Green and digital skills in the agri-food industry 

This  section  aims  at  analysing  trends  in  the  supply  and  demand  of  skilled  professionals 
relevant for the green and digital transition based on LinkedIn data. LinkedIn is the largest 
professional  network  platform  with  rich  information  like  profile  summary,  job  title,  job 
description  and  field  of  study,  which  can  be  used  for  the  identification  of  skilled 
professionals  in  advanced  technologies  and  both  in  digital  and  green  transition.  It 
represents the single most comprehensive source currently available for the construction 
of technology-specific skills related indicators. To harvest the data from LinkedIn, keywords 
capturing  skills  by  advanced  technology  have  been  defined  and  reviewed  by  technology 
experts. Queries have subsequently been constructed to filter the database by location and 
industry.  

To capture the agri-food industrial ecosystem the following LinkedIn tags have been used: 
dairy,  fishery,  wine  &  spirits,  ranching,  farming,  food  production,  food  &  beverages.  In 
order to capture the number of professionals working in the sector, occupations related to 
the industrial ecosystem have been taken into account.  

Green  skills  have  been  identified  as  skills  related  to  environmental  protection, 
environmental services, environmental policy, environmental sustainability, environmental 
standards,  low  carbon  technologies,  renewable  energy,  the  circular  economy  including 
circular  design  and  recycling,  and  clean  production  technologies  and  business  models 
related skills. 

Advanced digital skills  have been defined in the context  of the main digital technologies 
captured  in  this  project  notably  in  artificial  intelligence,  cloud  computing,  connectivity, 
robotics, Internet of Things, augmented and virtual reality and blockchain, but in additional 
advanced software technologies have been also included that are relevant for the industrial 
ecosystem (such as farm management software).  

Green and digital skills 

Based on the analysis of LinkedIn data, a picture of the supply of professionals with green 
and digital technological skills relevant to the agri-food industrial ecosystem be obtained. 
Within the  registered professionals  on  LinkedIn employed in the agri-food industry,  3% 
indicated to have one type of green skill and 6% to have an advanced digital skill 
(see Figure 31).  

Notably within the green and digital skills breakdown (Figure 32), several skills are placed 
within a similar range of importance. Digital skills are led by cloud related skills followed 
by skills related to artificial intelligence. Circular economy leads the way, followed closely 
by low carbon, energy saving technologies and renewable energy.  

Figure 31: Share of professionals with specific green and digital skills employed in agri-food and with a profile on 
LinkedIn 

Source: Technopolis Group calculations based on LinkedIn, 2023 

48 

 
 
 
 
Figure 32: Breakdown of green and digital skills by type 

Source: Technopolis Group calculations based on LinkedIn, 2023 

Progress over time 

The change in the number of professionals with digital or green skills have to be put in the 
context  of  the  overall  employment  patterns.  As  highlighted  above,  the  total  number  of 
professionals in agri-food on LinkedIn has decreased over time and in particular during the 
pandemic period, which is in line with official statistical figures. Compared to this, the share 
of professionals with digital or green  skills has witnessed a steady growth over the past 
years.  

There have been 16% more professionals in the agri-food industrial ecosystem 
claiming  to  have  an  advanced  digital  skill  and  13%  more  with  a  green 
transformation  skill  in  March  2023  than  in  2021.  In  a  broader  context,  available 
Eurostat figures show that the number of ICT specialists in the EU grew by 50.5 % from 
2012 to 2021, almost eight times as high as the increase (6.3 %) for total employment110. 

Figure 33 presents the trends in the number of professions with green and digital skills in 
terms of growth in the EU27 (from 2021 and 2023). For the digital skills, blockchain (41%), 
connectivity  (38.8%),  cybersecurity  (30%),  augmented  and  virtual  reality  (28.3%)  and 
artificial intelligence (23.7%) make up the greatest fragment of growth.  Green skills are 
led by precision agriculture (21%), circular economy (16.3%) and recycling tech (11.7%), 
but  are  considerably  less  important  in  the  recent  growth  figures  than  the  digital 
technologies.  

110 Eurostat https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php?title=ICT_specialists_in_employment  

49 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 33: Trends in the number of professionals with green and digital skills employed in the agri-food industrial 
ecosystem and with a profile on LinkedIn 

Source: Technopolis Group calculations based on LinkedIn, 2021 and 2023 

5.2. Skills demand 

Skills demand in the agri-food industrial ecosystem has been analysed following the skills 
intelligence insights of Cedefop. This dataset covers 28 European countries and is based 
on  the  collection  and  analysis  of  more  than  530  online  job  advertisement  sources  (424 
distinct websites) which are open-access sites. The dataset provides information on most 
requested  occupations  and  skills  across  European  countries  based  on  established 
international classifications, e.g., ISCO-08 for occupations, ESCO for skills, and NACE rev. 
2 for sectors. 

Specific  to  the  agri-food  industrial  ecosystem111,  there  were  826 009  unique  job 
advertisements  from  companies  between  2019-2022  in  the  EU.  The  number  of 
online job advertisements within  agri-food in EU27 countries amounts to  268 954 in the 
year  2022.  Skills  have  been  analysed  related  to  the  green  and  digital  transitions. 
The European  multilingual  classification  of  Skills,  Competences,  Qualifications  and 
Occupations (ESCO) is used as follows: 

•  Green transition related skills (ESCO v1.1.) are those knowledge and skills which 

reduce the negative impact of human activity on the environment.  

•  Moderate  and  Advanced  Digital  skills  (ESCO  v1.1.1  which  is  currently  being 
updated) are competences which involve the confident, critical and responsible use 
of,  and  engagement  with,  digital  technologies  for  learning,  at  work,  and  for 
participation in society. Within digital skills, we distinguish between moderate digital 
skills (that do not include basic Microsoft office skills but include specialised software 
used in the industry, the use of statistical software etc) and advanced digital skills 
(a category that is filtered for digital technologies highlighted in the methodological 

111  In  the  case of  the  tourism  industrial ecosystem  the  dataset was  filtered  for the NACE  industries as defined  in the 
Annual Single Market Report for agri-food 

50 

 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
report  including  AI,  big  data,  robotics,  IoT,  cloud,  augmented  and  virtual  reality, 
blockchain).  

The share of online job advertisements that required any form of moderate digital skills 
(excluding basic IT office skills) was 21.07% over the period from 2019-2022 (25% 
in 2022), while this percentage was 10% for advanced digital skills (11.7% in 2022). 
Requirements  related  to  the  green  transition  appear  less  often  on  the  advertisements 
notably in a very small share 1.89% of the cases (2.1% in 2022). Both the number and 
share of job ads with digital and green skills requirement increased over time. 

Figure 34: Share of online job advertisements in agri-food with a requirement for digital or green skills within 
total in the EU27 

Source: Technopolis Group calculations based on Cedefop SkillsOvate data, 2023 

The  top  15  digital  skills  including  both  general  and  more  advanced  digital  skills  that 
appeared most often on agri-food job advertisements over the period from 2019-2022 are 
presented in the Figure below: 

Figure 35: Top 15 digital skills on job advertisements in agri-food (2019-2022) in the EU27  

Source: Technopolis Group calculations based on Cedefop SkillsOvate data, 2023 

The green skills are significantly more limited compared to digital. The more sought-after 
green skills are: 

51 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 36: Top green skills on job advertisements in agri-food (2019-2022) in the EU27  

Source: Technopolis Group calculations based on Cedefop SkillsOvate data, 2023 

52 

 
 
 
 
 
 
6. Green performance of the ecosystem 

Key findings 

The agri-food ecosystem is traditionally known for its large environmental impact and its 
conspicuous use of (natural) resources. 

Resources  utilisation  is  captured  with  four  main  dimensions  which  are  considered  in 
cross-industry comparisons. The four dimensions are namely,  embodied land use, water 
consumption,  material  consumption,  and  the  energy  mix  supplied  to  the  industrial 
activities.  In  terms  of  environmental  impacts,  there  are  two  additional  dimensions 
monitored: air emissions (incl. GHG), and damage to the ecosystem.  

Materials  extraction  has  been  decreasing  until  2015  and  has,  since  then,  shown  an 
upward trend. Furthermore, it is noticeable that the absolute values of resource use for the 
agri-food ecosystem are well above the industrial ecosystem averages.  

Water and land use of the agri-food ecosystem make up more than half of the total water 
and  land  use  of  all  industries  and  the  material  extraction  in  the  agri-food  industry 
represents almost a third of the material extraction of all industries.  

The greenhouse gas emissions of the agri-food industrial ecosystems are consistently 
high over time with a slight decrease in 2015. Additionally, the emissions of the agri-food 
industry are more than twice as high as the IE average. 

ISO  14001  includes  a  set  of  standards  that  any  company  can  follow  to  implement  an 
effective  environmental  management  system.  The  annual  ISO  survey  indicates  that 
there  were  1 660  certificates  issued  to  agri-food  companies  in  the  EU27  in  the 
year 2021, which is a decrease compared to 2 380 certificates issued in 2012 and which 
is below the industry average. 

The agri-food ecosystem is traditionally known for its large environmental impact and its 
substantial  use  of  (natural)  resources.  Specifically,  the  agri-food  sector,  and  especially 
agriculture112,  negatively  impacts  the  environment  by  the  combined  use  of  a  range  of 
natural  resources  and  input,  such  as    land,  fresh  water113,  pesticides,  fertilisers,  and 
energy,  hereby  affecting  biodiversity,  depleting  natural  resources,  and  leading  to  water 
and  air  contamination,  soil  erosion,  deforestation,  and  greenhouse  gas  emission.114,115 
Recent data show that food processing, packaging and transport tend to be only a small 
part of a food’s carbon footprint, and that the bulk of the carbon footprint is attributable to 
meat  (especially  beef)  production.116  The  Annual  Single  Market  Report  (2022)  indicates 
that the energy intensive industries and the agri-food ecosystem had by far the highest 
level of GHG emission intensity in 2019 compared to the other industrial ecosystems.117 At 
the same time, the agri-food ecosystem can also have positive impacts on the environment 

112 OECD (2022). Environmental impacts along the food supply chain. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/agriculture-and-
food/environmental-impacts-along-food-supply-chains_48232173-en  
113 70% of global freshwater withdrawals are used for agriculture (FAO. 2011. The state of the world’s land and water 
resources for food and agriculture (SOLAW) – Managing systems at risk. Food and Agriculture Organization of the 
United Nations, Rome and Earthscan, London.) 
114 OECD. Agriculture and the environment. https://www.oecd.org/agriculture/topics/agriculture-and-the-environment/  
115 European Environment Agency (2023). Food security and environmental impacts.  
https://www.eea.europa.eu/themes/agriculture/greening-agricultural-policy/food-security-and-environmental-impacts  
116 https://ourworldindata.org/environmental-impacts-of-food?insight=food-emissions-local#key-insights-on-the-
environmental-impacts-of-food  
117 European Commission (2022) Annual Single Market Report 2022 https://ec.europa.eu/docsroom/documents/48877 

53 

 
 
 
 
 
 
for instance by trapping greenhouse gases within crops and soils, and mitigating flood risks 
through the adoption of certain farming practices.118  

In  recent  years,  there  have  been  some  encouraging  signs  that  the  agriculture  sector  of 
OECD  countries  is  capable  of  addressing  its  environmental  challenges  and  mitigating  its 
environmental  impact.  For  instance,  in  the  last  decade,  progress  was  achieved  reducing 
phosphorus balances, ammonia emissions, nitrogen balances, GHG emissions intensities119 
and  the  use  of  renewable  energy  applications  along  the  agri-food  chains120.  However,  a 
lack of progress was observed in reducing GHG emissions.121  

6.1. Resource consumption 

As the agri-food industrial ecosystem heavily resource-dependent, time series on resource 
use  in  the  agri-food  industrial  ecosystem  are  particularly  interesting  to  examine  and 
provide  insights  into  the  progress  of  the  ecosystem  with  regard  to  the  green  transition.  
Several sources can be consulted to capture distinct elements of the environmental impact 
of  the  industrial  ecosystem.  The  data  to  monitor  the  green  transition  is  drawn  from  the 
Eurostat and Exiobase 3.8122 data sources. Whilst Eurostat represent the official European 
statistics,  Exiobase  is  a  legitimate  source  of  information  referred  to  for  example  by  the 
European  Environmental  Agency123,  the  EC/JRC  community124,  Eurostat125,  and  by  the 
European  Commission  to  propose  the  regulation  on  carbon  border  adjustment 
mechanisms126.  Pressure  to  environments  refer  to  trade-embodied  resources  utilisation, 
and trade-embodied impacts. 

Resources  utilisation  is  captured  with  four  main  dimensions  which  are  considered  in 
cross-industry comparisons. The four dimensions are namely,  embodied land use, water 
consumption,  material  consumption,  and  the  energy  mix  supplied  to  the  industrial 
activities.  In  terms  of  environmental  impacts,  there  are  two  additional  dimensions 
monitored: air emissions (incl. GHG), and damage to the ecosystem.  

Figure 23 shows the summary of green performance indicators at EU level and its change 
from 2010 to 2020. 

It is noticeable that the absolute values of resource use for the agri-food ecosystem are 
well  above  the  industrial  ecosystem  averages.  Particularly,  the  water  and  land  use  of 
the agri-food ecosystem make up more than half of the total water and land use 
of all industries and the material extraction in the agri-food industry represents 

118 OECD. Agriculture and the environment. https://www.oecd.org/agriculture/topics/agriculture-and-the-environment/  
119 OECD (2022). Measuring the Environmental Performance of Agriculture Across OECD Countries. 
https://www.oecd.org/publications/measuring-the-environmental-performance-of-agriculture-across-oecd-countries-
4edcd747-en.htm  
120 The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) & The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 
(FAO). (2021). Renewable energy for agri-food systems. https://www.fao.org/3/cb7433en/cb7433en.pdf 
121 OECD (2022). Measuring the Environmental Performance of Agriculture Across OECD Countries. 
https://www.oecd.org/publications/measuring-the-environmental-performance-of-agriculture-across-oecd-countries-
4edcd747-en.htm  
122 Exiobase is a time series of environmentally extended multi-regional input‐output (EE MRIO) tables. Its coverage is 
by country and industry from 1995 to 2021 and has EU and extra rest of the world coverage. Source: Stadler, 
Konstantin, Wood, Richard, Bulavskaya, Tatyana, Södersten, Carl-Johan, Simas, Moana, Schmidt, Sarah, Usubiaga, 
Arkaitz, Acosta-Fernández, José, Kuenen, Jeroen, Bruckner, Martin, Giljum, Stefan, Lutter, Stephan, Merciai, Stefano, 
Schmidt, Jannick H, Theurl, Michaela C, Plutzar, Christoph, Kastner, Thomas, Eisenmenger, Nina, Erb, Karl-Heinz, … 
Tukker, Arnold. (2021). EXIOBASE 3 (3.8.2) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5589597 
123 EEA 2022. Visit 12/10/2022. https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/external/exiobase  
124 Beylot, A., Secchi, M., Cerutti, A., Merciai, S., Schmidt, J. and Sala, S., 2019. Assessing the environmental impacts 
of EU consumption at macro-scale. Journal of cleaner production, 216, pp.382-393. 
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.01.134 
125 Remond-Tiedrez, I. and Rueda-Cantuche, J.M. eds., 2019. EU Inter-country Supply, Use and Input-output Tables: 
Full International and Global Accounts for Research in Input-output Analysis (FIGARO). Luxembourg: Publications Office 
of the European Union. 
126 EC (2021) REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL. Establishing a carbon border 
adjustment mechanism. COM(2021) 564 final.  

54 

 
 
 
 
 
almost  a  third  of  the  material  extraction  of  all  industries.  Land  use  and  water 
consumption  show  increasing  trends,  associated  with  increasing  environmental  impact. 
Materials extraction has been decreasing until 2015 and has, since then, shown an upward 
trend.  

The global emissions of the agri-food industrial ecosystem have remained consistently high 
over time with a slight decrease in 2015. 

Figure 37: Agricultural emissions 

Additionally, emissions of the ecosystem are more than twice as high as the IE average. 
Agri-food systems consume about 30% of the world’s energy127, and a third of agri-food 
systems' emissions of greenhouse gases stem from energy use worldwide.128 Particularly, 
in 2019, the ecosystem had the second highest level of GHG emission intensity compared 
to the other industrial ecosystems.129 

The damage to the ecosystem, which covers biodiversity loss, shows a slightly increasing 
trend since 2014, yet shows signs of levelling off or even reversing in 2019-2020.  

127 The International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) & The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations 
(FAO). (2021). Renewable energy for agri-food systems. https://www.fao.org/3/cb7433en/cb7433en.pdf  
128 European Commission. (2021). Renewable Energy and Agri-food Systems: Advancing Energy and Food Security 
towards Sustainable Development Goals. https://knowledge4policy.ec.europa.eu/publication/renewable-energy-agri-
food-systems-advancing-energy-food-security-towards-sustainable_en  
129 European Commission (2021) Annual Single Market Report 2021. https://commission.europa.eu/system/files/2021-
05/swd-annual-single-market-report-2021_en.pdf  

55 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 38: Indicators to capture the green transition of the agri-food industrial ecosystem in the EU, Exiobase 

56 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Source: Technopolis Group based on Exiobase, 2022 

57 

 
 
 
 
  
 
Appendix A: References 

Agfunder (2023). Global Agri-foodTech Investment Report 2023. 

https://agfunder.com/research/agfunder-global-agrifoodtech-investment-report-2023/  

askfood (n.d.) https://www.askfood.eu/project  

Assembly of European Regions (2021). Digital Transformation & Skills in the Agri-food 

Sector. https://aer.eu/upskilling-agri-food/ 

Beylot, A., Secchi, M., Cerutti, A., Merciai, S., Schmidt, J. and Sala, S., (2019) Assessing 

the environmental impacts of EU consumption at macro-scale. Journal of cleaner 

production, 216, pp.382-393. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.01.134  

CBIMO (2023) Centrum Bioimmobilizacji i Innowacyjnych Materiałów Opakowaniowych 

(CBIMO) https://cbimo.zut.edu.pl/  

CEDEFOP (2022). Foresight study on the implications of the European Green Deal’s 

implementation for employment and skills in the agri-food sector. 

CEDEFOP (2023). Growing green: How vocational education and training can drive the 

green transition in agri-food. Policy Brief, obtained via 

https://www.cedefop.europa.eu/en/publications/9181  

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EIT Food (2021). The top 5 trends for the agrifood industry in 2021.  

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Appendix B: Methodological notes 

Crunchbase and Net Zero Insights 

Tags used in the analysis: 

•  Agriculture  and  Farming  Agriculture,  AgTech,  Animal  Feed,  Aquaculture, 

Farming, Horticulture, Hydroponics, Livestock,  

•  Food and Beverage Bakery, Brewing, Catering, Coffee, Confectionery, Craft Beer, 
Dietary  Supplements,  Distillery,  Farmers  Market,  Food  and  Beverage,  Food 
Delivery,  Food  Processing,  Food  Trucks,  Fruit,  Grocery,  Nutrition,  Organic  Food, 
Seafood, Snack Food, Tea, Tobacco, Wine And Spirits, Winery, Restaurants 

FDI 

fDi intelligence130 tracks  cross-border greenfield investment both intra EU, extra EU and 
globally, covering the agri-food industrial ecosystem among other industries. It provides 
real-time  monitoring  of  investment  projects,  capital  investment  and  job  creation  with 
powerful tools to track and profile companies that are active investors in the field. The data 
source tracks projects that are expected to create new jobs and do not cover merges and 
acquisitions (already part of the VC data analysis above).  

FDI sectors and sub-sectors selected for the analysis: 

•  Food & beverages Fruits & vegetables & specialist foods, Animal food, Food 
services, Tobacco, Soft drinks & ice, Food & beverage Stores, Seasoning & 
dressing, Coffee & tea, Breweries & distilleries, Crop production, Bakeries & 
tortillas,  Snack  food,  Other  (Food  &  Beverages),  Dairy  products,  Sugar  & 
confectionary  products,  Wineries,  Animal  production,  Seafood  products, 
Fishing, Animal slaughtering & processing 

Survey 

The table below presents the overview of the sub-sectors included in the sampling frame, 
with corresponding sections according to the NACE industrial classification.  

Table 3 Survey sampling 

NACE 

A  

C10  

C11  

Agriculture, forestry and fishing  

Manufacture of food products  

Manufacture of beverages  

 Source: Technopolis Group and Kapa Research, 2023 

Sample size of the 
survey 

506 

275 

264 

130 https://www.fdiintelligence.com/ 

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Big Data analysis 

The analysis employs the OPIX platform, which utilises a selection of models specifically 
tailored to the Agri-Food industrial ecosystem and the technological scope of the project. 
The main data source for the analysis is the websites of companies within the Agri-Food 
ecosystem, namely the sectors of agriculture, forestry and fishing and manufacture of food 
products,  beverages  and  tobacco  products.  The  analysis  covers  a  sample  of  29,051 
companies comprising a total of 4,963,412 webpages. This sample is further divided into 
9% large companies and 89% SMEs from the Agrifood industrial ecosystem. 

The  thematic  scope  of  the  green  and  digital  transition  pillars  covered  by  the  analysis  is 
derived  from  a  scoping  exercise  of  policy  documents,  scientific  literature  and  industrial 
practices  on  technologies  related  to  the  green  and  digital  transition  of  the  Agrifood 
ecosystem. 

In  digital  transition,  the  statistics  on  the  adoption  of  AI,  3D  printing,  robotics  and  cloud 
computing services, already covered by Eurostat in the annual survey on ICT usage and e-
commerce in enterprises are used in this report where available and hence for manufacture 
of food products, beverages and tobacco products. 

In  the  Table  below,  the  high-level  categorisation  is  described  for  green  and  digital 
transition. Each category is further broken down in a number of High Priority Clusters. 

Table 4: Technological Scope for the agri-food Big data analysis 

Green transition 

Digital Transition 

Modern  technologies  to  improve  soil  health  and 
fertility 

Digitalisation and precision agriculture 

Remote sensing technologies in agriculture 

Advanced 
consumption 

technologies  used 

to 

reduce  water 

The  role  of  I4.0  technologies  in  mitigating  climate 
change 

Renewable energy 

Sustainable packaging 

Alternative proteins 

Digital technologies to improve traceability and food 
safety 

Emerging  technologies  supporting  agri-food  supply 
chain management 

Digital  technologies 
economy 

in  support  of  the  circular 

Augmented and virtual reality 

Source: Technopolis Group, based on Opix’s big data services. 

The methodological approach of the analysis is supported by models that utilise scientific 
and  industry  data  corpuses  specific  to  the  agri-food  industrial  ecosystem.  These  models 
are designed to provide detailed insights into the scope of the green and digital transition 
pillars. 

The models generate a list of High Priority Clusters (HPCs) that frame the green and digital 
transition pillars using key terms. This approach enables a high level of granularity in the 
analysis,  allowing  for  a  more  precise  understanding  and  interpretation  of  the  activities 
undertaken by companies in the Agri-Food sector. 

By  utilising  HPCs  and  their  corresponding  key  terms,  the  analysis  can  set  minimum 
thresholds for the presence and frequency of these terms within HPCs. These thresholds 
serve as qualifying criteria for companies, determining their inclusion within the Green and 
Digital transition pillars. The team conducting the analysis can adjust the level of stringency 
by setting specific thresholds for key terms, ensuring that companies meeting the criteria 
are considered in the analysis.  

64 

 
 
 
 
 
Overall, the use of models based on scientific and industry data corpuses, combined with 
the  identification  of  HPCs  and  key  terms,  provides  a  robust  and  systematic  approach  to 
analyse the green and digital transition pillars within the Agri-Food industrial ecosystem. 
This approach contributes to obtaining high quality results and addresses risks associated 
to  green  washing  in  companies’  websites.  Combined  with  other  evidence  such  as 
sustainability  certifications  or  eco-labels  etc.  the  results  can  contribute  to  the  regular 
monitoring of twin transition technological uptake in the agri-food industrial ecosystem. 

Environmental certificates 

ISO  annual  surveys  report  the  number  of  companies/organisations  with  environmental 
certificates. Environmental certificates were the ISO 14000, which was updated requiring 
more  stringent  standards  and  practices  in  the  year  2015.  The  new  standard  was  then 
named ISO 14000/2015. Holders of the ISO 14000, starting from the year 2015, had to 
be  re-certified  to  gain  the  new  ISO14000/2015  certificate.  New  sustainability  and 
environmental practices had to be put in place; with organisational change and financial 
requirements implied. Accreditation bodies had also to adopt new verification procedures, 
with  their  corresponding  time  lag.  This  may  explain  the  drop  in  number  of  certified 
companies/organisations from 2015 to 2017.  

Exiobase 

Exiobase  is  a  time  series  of  environmentally  extended  multi-regional  input‐output  (EE 
MRIO) tables. Its coverage is by country and industry from 1995 to 2021 and has EU and 
extra rest of the world coverage. Source: Stadler, Konstantin, Wood, Richard, Bulavskaya, 
Tatyana, Södersten, Carl-Johan, Simas, Moana, Schmidt, Sarah, Usubiaga, Arkaitz, Acosta-
Fernández,  José,  Kuenen,  Jeroen,  Bruckner,  Martin,  Giljum,  Stefan,  Lutter,  Stephan, 
Merciai,  Stefano,  Schmidt,  Jannick  H,  Theurl,  Michaela  C,  Plutzar,  Christoph,  Kastner, 
Thomas,  Eisenmenger,  Nina,  Erb,  Karl-Heinz,  …  Tukker,  Arnold.  (2021).  EXIOBASE  3 
(3.8.2) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5589597 

LinkedIn Representativeness 

To  perform  a  representativeness  analysis  of  LinkedIn,  the  available  industry-specific 
dataset  has  been  compared  to  Eurostat  figures  regarding  the  active  population  in  the 
industrial  ecosystem.  The  results  show  that  countries  such  as  Luxembourg  and  the 
Netherlands,  as  well  as  Denmark,  Malta  and  Belgium  have  a  higher  amount  of  persons 
active in the agri-food industry active on LinkedIn as compared to countries such as Greece, 
Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Poland.  

65 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Figure 39: Representativeness of agri-food industry professionals on LinkedIn compared to Eurostat statistics on 
persons employed in agri-food 

Source: Technopolis Group calculations based on LinkedIn vs Eurostat  - annual enterprise statistics for special 
aggregates of activities (NACE Rev. 2) 

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