Since 1992 Agroväst has been a driving force within Swedish farming when it comes to uniting research, society, and business. Our mission is to contribute to a profitable and sustainable farming based on high technical standards and good consumer relations. We do this by facilitating an effective dialogue between farmers, food industry, technology companies and the academy, and by creating possibilities for farmers, industry, and the academy to form and attract funds for projects that strengthen farmers and small rural enterprises in West-Sweden.
Agroväst Livsmedel is founded as a private, non-profit company. We are owned by the non-profit association “Livsmedel i Väst” that gathers research, society and business in region Västra Götaland, such as Chalmers, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, the County Administrative Board of Västra Götaland, the Federation of Swedish Farmers and several companies within the AgTech and food industry. In Scandinavia we have had several collaborations with, for instance Aarhus University, NIBIO, SEGES and LUKE.
Agroväst is working with six RoI-programmes: Dairy, Beef and lamb-production, Precision farming, Soil and water conservation, Management and Horticulture. Each program has a steering committee that represents business, the academy, and the public sector. Within each programme we are running a set of development and innovation projects.
Gröna Möten “Green Meetings” is our communication concept. All year-round program of dissemination activities such as seminars and workshops in West Sweden with farmers as the primary target group. About 30 activities yearly in western Sweden (55 municipalities). The concept also provides newsletters to approximately 2000 subscribers. This helps us to reach out in an efficient way with new research results and best practices to our target group. At the same time, we create a pleasant meeting place for the farming industry.
SmartAgri is an digital innovation hub that we run in collaboration with Research Institute of Sweden (RISE) and Science Park Skövde. SmartAgri provides innovation support services to support the digitalisation of the farming sector, and the development of new smart technical solutions for a more sustainable and profitable farming sector. So far about 50 SMEs have received innovation support, and of these, we have helped 18 SMEs to attract EUR 5 Million in public funding to develop and test new products and services. Our future focus is to build our capacity to be better at supporting also an implementation of new technologies in the farming sector.
Project development, project funding, and project management. For the moment Agroväst run more than 30 projects. Both feasibility studies and field trials, as well as bigger projects often financed by EU. We have a long experience of Interreg-projects. Especially Interreg Öresund-Kattegatt-Skagerack, but also Interreg NSR (project REFRAME).