There seems to be a persistent impression that food and agriculture is slow with the adoption of innovation, and in particular of new technologies. At least, I hear this comment regularly, but is it really the case?

Personally, I do not share that negative sentiment, although I can understand both the frustration of innovators and the resistance from the sector. Food and agriculture are often perceived as being conservative and slow to change. In my opinion, this is not quite a correct assessment. Food production has undergone major and profound transformations over the years. In that regard, the sector has proven that it is far from opposed to change. Today’s food production is quite different than it was 40, 25, 10 or even just 5 years ago.

Consumer demand, natural conditions, government policies and the tools available to producers have all changed dramatically. The complexity and the challenges have strongly increased and the food industry has adapted accordingly and successfully. Unfortunately, the sector has been too timid in its communication about progress. It should showcase its evolution much more blatantly. The general public would benefit greatly from knowing how agriculture has been able to be at the forefront of innovation, while keeping its values rooted in common sense. The latter is probably why the sector is considered conservative. It is so to some extent, but the real reason is that food producers, and farmers in particular, do not jump on every hype. They observe and think first. Before everything else, they need to be convinced, and that is the main challenge for innovators who often would like to skip that step.

The main mistake innovators make is to have a push production-driven approach while they should be more market-oriented. A few simple factors greatly improve the chances of the adoption of innovation.

The first one is to make sure to solve the problem. I insist here on use “the” and not “a”. The solution that an innovation offers must be quite specific to the problem for the user. Solving a problem might do just that, but it might not be the problem that needs to be solved. Then, the result is a mismatch. That is the drawback of developing an innovation first and then try to push it in the market. It might not meet as much interest as expected.

The second factor depends directly on the first one. A solution that solves the problem of the users means that it does add value to them. The value can be of an economic, financial, time saving or organizational nature. In a B2B environment, value is often about objective and measurable parameters. It is rational and usually easily supported with numbers and calculations. These are essential to move the customer from indecision to a frank “Yes”. My personal experience has always been to put myself in the customer’s shoes and find out what added value truly means. In other words, what does the innovation have that existing options don’t? Once you show the numbers that mean an advantage for the customer, adoption is much easier and natural. For consumer products, value is much more of a subjective nature and demonstrating it is quite a different exercise. It is a topic of its own, perhaps for another column.

A third essential factor to boost the adoption of innovation, and especially of new technologies, is to make sure it is user friendly and reliable. Food producers, especially farmers, will not go for a long, complicated and uncertain learning curve. They want something that can be implemented quickly and effectively, and that will not need regular troubleshooting. Since technology is only as good as the user, training is essential. No new technology should be brought on the market without a user’s manual and proper testing. The customer must never be the quality control or the guinea pig, unless they agree to be.

Creating the best conditions possible is essential for the adoption of innovation. Without customers, innovation remains just a nice idea, and a business just remains a hobby. It is never too early to start marketing activities and place the customer at the centre of innovation.

Copyright 2026 – Christophe Pelletier – The Food Futurist – The Happy Future Group Consulting Ltd.