Introducing INNO-VEG

The INNO-VEG project is developing innovative methods for carrying out research into field vegetable and potato crops. The four-year project began in August 2018. In 2019 a programme of 48 field experiments was set up in the UK, France, Belgium and the Netherlands to develop an overarching protocol for integrating crop sensing data into field research methodologies. 

Project objective

The overall objective of the project is to increase the speed and uptake of innovation in the field vegetable and potato sectors by i) defining and implementing a new approach for delivering cost-effective research, ii) establishing a cross border innovation network which will create the framework conditions for innovation to facilitate uptake of the new approach.

The new approach will reduce the cost of delivering research, enabling the current research funding to address a wider range of research priorities. It will also facilitate a change from predominately research organization and commercial company led research to one where farmer led research forms an important component. This approach places the farmer at the centre of the research process which helps to up-skill the industry and drive improvements in crop production efficiency by testing and implementing new approaches or products on commercial farms.

Project outputs

The project outputs include:

1. Protocol for integrating high-resolution spatial crop data into research experiments

2. Framework for farmer-led research

The Protocol and Framework project outputs represent a new approach for delivering research in the field vegetable and potato sectors.

3. Cross border innovation network of stakeholders in the '2 Seas' region of UK, France, Belgium & the Netherlands

4. Five year implementation plan for the adoption of the new approach for delivering research and to support the continuation of the innovation network.