polyculture: beyond process innovation For the last several decades, the Dutch greenhouse sector has led the world in technological innovation, efficiency, and high yields. Innovations in the sector have mostly focused on process-oriented improvement, leading to cheaper and more efficient production, but for only marginal increases in profit. As these process improvements have diffused throughout the sector and around the world, product prices have continued to fall, turning the business into an efficiency game. As reported in a recent study by Hekkert and Farla (InnovatieNetwerk, 2010), this focus on process innovation is a natural trend in a maturing sector. Once a production approach is working and successful, the tendency is to continue down that path and perfect it. As evidenced by recent trends in the sector, this approach ultimately leads to market uniformity and a downward price spiral. Another indication of the aging of the Dutch greenhouse sector has been the consolidation of the market (shown in the graph at right). Since the 1960s, the number of companies in the Dutch greenhouse horticulture sector has fallen from over 20.000 companies in 1960 to around 6.000 currently. This trend is projected to continue, with the number of companies falling to as low a number as 1.000 in the coming decade. Combined with the recent economic climate, these converging factors have placed the Dutch greenhouse sector under stress, with profits generally decreasing and companies going out of business. REVITALIZING THE SECTOR A different approach to innovation is clearly needed for Dutch horticulture to maintain its global competitiveness and health. The Hekkert and Farla innovation study made two primary recommendations for how trends in the sector could be reversed: shiſting focus from process innovation to product and market innovation, and getting closer to their consumers by developing identifiable personal brands. In some regards, these suggestions require the Dutch greenhouse sector to re-enter an earlier stage of development where experimentation and new products are once again part of the core approach. Innovation isn’t easy. It requires risk, investment, and usually failure. With these cautions mind, it can be approached in an intelligent way. POLYCULTURE AS A PATH TO INNOVATION Robert de Jong, from tomato producer Looije Tomaten, recently told of his company’s product and market innovation strategy with their product “Honing Tomaten.” They have focused on creating the highest quality, best tasting, pesticide free tomato that a consumer can buy. They sell it only through to smaller greengrocers at a premium price (around 10 euros per kilogram). They have been very successful in marketing their product, which is recognized for its quality and has developed a following among a group of consumers. They have even been cleverly using social media: offering customers shots of vodka and a tomato chaser at festivals and events, and allowing them to view their photo on the Looije facebook page. By including a prize for the portrait with the greatest number of “likes” they were able to greatly increase their online traffic. The branding effort that Looije Tomaten has devoted to to a single product can also be applied to a whole production facility. A local polyculture greenhouse with a range of very fresh products catering to a local population can be marketed as a product in itself. By building a brand around a whole production facility, the benefits of the branding extend to multiple products. This opens the window for new products to be introduced under this brand over time with only a marginal extra effort needed for the marketing of each new product. Transitioning to a polyculture focused production system requires innovative thinking both in terms of products and marketing strategies. The goal is, in many ways, for farms to replace supermarkets, and develop true relationships with local customers. By communicating with these customers, growers can also begin to create more responsive production facilities 16 / 64 Pagina 15
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