Europe’s agrifood sector is facing a number of interconnected challenges. Producers are required to produce safe and adequate food for a growing population, while also being asked to reduce their environmental footprints, and to sustain acceptable incomes for farmers and rural communities that are increasingly pushed into a corner by power imbalances in the value chain.

Until recently, attempts to tackle these issues had mostly been siloed. The Ploutos consortium broke this trend with an innovation framework that involves the whole value chain and looks at the overall impact of each suggested approach.

“Ploutos adopted a systems-based approach,” said Nikos Marianos, who coordinated the project on behalf of Gaia Epicheirein , which represents an alliance of more than 150 000 farmers. The consortium’s objective was to come up with a novel framework designed to foster competitive agri-food production, sustainability and income equality – all this while bearing in mind that the future of agriculture cannot solely hinge on technological advancements.

“Digitisation is not a panacea,” said Marianos. “The last decade has seen an explosion of interest and investment in the use of digital technologies in agriculture under labels such as ‘precision agriculture’, ‘smart farming’ or ‘digital agriculture’. This is seen as an immense opportunity to overcome current agri-food challenges, with a tremendous amount of funding from the EC and the private sector, but these efforts were so technology-driven that their actual uptake by agri-food professionals so far is limited.”

A holistic approach

Through its Sustainable Innovation Framework, Ploutos champions a shift from technology-centric solutions to a holistic model that integrates digital tools with sustainable business and behavioural innovations. This strategy ensures a comprehensive approach, addressing the interconnected challenges of the agri-food sector while paving the way for long-term sustainability.

Empowering stakeholders through collaboration

The success of Ploutos is deeply rooted in its inclusive, multi-actor approach, bringing together stakeholders from across the value chain to co-design solutions that address shared challenges. By centring on farmers while fostering collaboration among a broad spectrum of value chain actors, Ploutos ensures the equitable distribution of benefits, accelerating the uptake of innovations and setting a precedent for stakeholder engagement in the agri-food sector.

The project’s ambition is encapsulated in its 11 Sustainable Innovation Pilots (SIPs), which have showcased groundbreaking potential across Europe. These include: a smart farming solution in Greece aimed at enhancing sustainability and transparency; Serbia and North Macedonia’s FoodSHare platform, which redirects surplus food to those in need; and crowdsourcing-based consumer empowerment initiatives in France and Greece. These pilots highlight not only the project’s capacity for innovation but also its commitment to inclusivity and societal impact.

“The SIPs reflect a multiplicity of sectors and diverse levels of maturity in terms of innovation. We had pilots covering arable, horticulture, perennials, livestock and dairy production, as well as four cross-sector pilots targeting multiple value chains and their agri-food products. We’ve involved farmers, cooperatives, food industry and agri-tech companies, policymakers, advisory services, universities, research centres, service providers and SMEs. Meanwhile, we’ve tested a broad range of unique innovation combinations involving technologies such as satellites, drones, AI, crowdsourcing and semantic tech,” said Marianos.

Navigating future challenges

Asked whether he thinks the project’s findings can help face the current agriculture crisis spreading across Europe, Marianos is optimistic. He said: “We try to help with targeted policy recommendations and solutions and business models that could help everyone. To me, the key to a serene agri-food sector is to ensure that there is proper understanding of the trade-offs when designing an intervention, as well as to ensure that mutuality is secured by providing visible benefits to all relevant stakeholders.”

Ploutos demonstrates that the transition to a sustainable, healthy and environmentally friendly food system is possible through a combination of collaborative business models and data-driven innovation.

Although Ploutos was completed in September 2023, the project continues its efforts to promote and exploit its outcomes. With initiatives such as the Ploutos Innovation Academy supporting the application of the Sustainable Innovation Framework, the project’s vision for a sustainability-oriented innovation ecosystem remains alive and vibrant.