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JUN 2017 FOOD FOCUSTHAILAND
finding common key policy: to improve the
productivity and efficiency of the country’s
agri-food sector under limited resources.
Wageningen University was established
during this period to take charge in research
and development of the agri-food sector, an
area it iswell known for a century later.
“So starting 100 years ago, it was a long
journey for usbut averygoodoutcome”, said
Professor Dr.Dijkhuizen.
Not only the public-private partnership
cooperation’s and the establishment of
agricultural cooperatives, the public and
private sectors also agreed to subsidize
researchanddevelopment fora ratioof50:50.
This meaningful collaboration brings along
engagement frombothparties. Inorder toput
research intopractice,WageningenUniversity
has uniquely established two entities, a
practicenootheruniversitieshaveeverdone;
(1) scientific research division, and (2)
practical division, or “Food Valley”, which
appliesscientific research intofieldwork. The
twodivisionsareworkingactively together by
integrating all the data gained from both the
publicandprivate sectors in their researches
and bring out the best solution for agri-food
sector.
Having thepracticaldivisionorFoodValley
makes Wageningen University outstanding
fromother academic institutions.Moreover, it
enables farmers and SMEs to actually apply
the science into real businesses.
“This is reallyexcellent,because ifyouare
auniversity, your experimentsare toodifficult
forsmall andmediumsizeentrepreneurs, it is
noteasy for them to readscientificpapersand
transform them into businesses”, said
Professor Dr.Dijkhuizen, “So you need a
strong intermediate that can translate new
scientificdevelopment intofieldsand theother
wayaround,whichcanbringup thequestions
from the fields to scientific researches.”
Hope for theFuture:
Smart Technology andGenomics
The trilateral cooperationbetween thepublic
sector, private sector, and academic sector
allows theNetherlands toexcellentlygain the
advantage from technology, successfully
increase yield per hectare and becomes the
leading country in agri-foodexports.
Professor Dr.Dijkhuizen pointed out that
in agri-food processing, businesses should
look at value-added products, or products that the consumers have the demand for.
Recently, food nutrition and healthy lifestyle has become a trend, and people aremore
health-conscious. The trend should also last for a while and everything that has to do
with healthy lifestyle is almost certainly a great opportunity for value-addedproducts.
In order to achieve high productivitywith limited resources, Smart Technologymust
be applied in the agricultural production. With the help of smart technology, we can tell
howmuch feeddo theanimalneedsorhowmuch fertilizershouldbeused foroneparticular
crop and others. We can even assess risks of infectious diseases that might destroy
livestock and plants. According toProfessor Dr.Dijkhuizen, theNetherlands losses only
SCOOP
