The Role of Incubators and Accelerators in the Fourth Agricultural Revolution: A Case Study of Canada

Robert Newell, Lenore Newman and Zsofia Mendly-Zambo
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Robert Newell: Food and Agriculture Institute, University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M8, Canada
Lenore Newman: Food and Agriculture Institute, University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M8, Canada
Zsofia Mendly-Zambo: Food and Agriculture Institute, University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, BC V2S 7M8, Canada

Agriculture, 2021, vol. 11, issue 11, 1-15

Abstract: The fourth agricultural revolution has resulted in technologies that could significantly support global efforts toward food security and environmental sustainability. A potential means for accelerating the development of these technologies is through business accelerator and incubator (BAI) programs. Using Canada as a case study, this study examines considerations around building agritech BAI capacity for supporting transitions to sustainable, resilient food systems. The research employs expert stakeholder interview and thematic coding methodology to identify opportunities, success factors, challenges/barriers, and actions/approaches for increasing agritech BAIs in a region/country. The study also identifies findings that are broadly applicable to BAIs in general and those that are specific to sectoral (i.e., agritech) and place-specific (i.e., Canada) contexts. The analysis identified four opportunities themes, seven success factors themes, eight challenges/barriers themes, and eight actions/approaches themes. Of the four thematic areas, success factors were the most broadly applicable to different sectoral and place contexts, and challenges/barriers were most specific to the agritech and (to a lesser degree) Canadian contexts. The study elucidates roles, challenges, and ways forward for building agritech BAI capacity in regions and countries for harnessing the opportunities presented by the fourth agricultural revolution and transitioning to sustainable and resilient food systems.

Keywords: agricultural technology; fourth agricultural revolution; business accelerators and incubators; sustainable food production (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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