Food Agility CRC

The image shows three individuals standing outdoors, likely on a farm or in a rural setting. The person on the left is holding a blue bucket filled with grain and examining its contents. The individual in the center stands with hands clasped, facing the first person. The third individual, on the right, is holding what appears to be a beverage can and looking towards the person with the bucket. All three are wearing long-sleeve shirts and cowboy hats.

Food Agility CRC wants to bring the value of data to the food industry and build trust and transparency within the agrifood ecosystem. They needed a compelling value proposition and future strategies that would speed up data-sharing.

The image shows a person wearing a straw hat and plaid shirt, standing next to a wooden crate filled with red tomatoes. The crate has “EAT5” written on it. Above, blue tarps provide shade. In the background, another individual operates a red tractor, with someone standing beside it. The setting appears to be a tomato farm with rows of crops extending into the distance, shrouded in mist or dust.

While Australia’s academic research capabilities are globally ranked, there is a gap between research focuses and real industry challenges. Food Agility CRC, an innovation hub funded by its partners and the Australian government, aims to bring the benefits of Australia’s world-class research to the agrifood industry.

The image shows three individuals standing in a field of lush green crops with rows of grapevines in the background under an overcast sky. The individuals appear to be engaged in a discussion, with one person pointing towards the grapevines, possibly indicating a topic related to agriculture or vineyard management.

Our team first needed to identify the cause of delay between data generation and actionable insights. What are the roadblocks in trust and communication between food producers, processors, tech partners, and researchers? How can we accelerate the sharing of data and research to and from farmers and partners? Food Agility’s value proposition needed to address these questions by identifying the intersecting needs of their partner ecosystem.

The image shows a vast agricultural field with rows of young crops under soft light. In the background, there is a dense treeline with lush green foliage, indicating a rural or countryside setting. The scene captures the early stages of crop growth and the natural beauty of farmland, possibly at sunrise or sunset when the light casts long shadows and gives a warm hue to the landscape.

Through in-depth interviews with stakeholders and Food Agility’s partners, we gained an understanding of their partner ecosystem, which spans the whole food system, including private, public, and nonprofit sectors. In this phase, we identified actionable insights regarding partner relationships and mapped out the network of needs and obstacles to building trust between partners. After identifying and testing the first version of the value proposition, we discovered that technology alone may not address the main challenge in data-sharing, so further iterations focused on fostering relationships and enhancing confidence between partners.

Our team designed and validated Canopy 2.0, an intersecting value proposition with three pillars: Essential Foundations, Common Understanding, and Evolving Support. It addresses the connected needs and pain points of farmers, researchers, and tech providers by increasing transparency and support for food producers and processors. By facilitating trust and transparency in Food Agility’s ecosystem, Canopy 2.0 aims to accelerate data-sharing and reduce project sign-off time by over 50%.