Types of rural innovation

What is innovation in rural communities, businesses and farming?

Innovation in farming, rural businesses and communities is not just about adopting the latest technology, but rather rethinking and reshaping the future of rural areas for better productivity, sustainability, and resilience.

Innovation drives the evolution of rural businesses, community spaces, and develops practices in key sectors, like agriculture, to ensure they meet present and future challenges.

This section introduces types of innovation, and the innovation process, with rural examples.

Business Growth

Innovation types

Example: The UK's agricultural sector has developed advanced sensors, including drones, to monitor crop health, optimise pesticide use, and even plant seeds. This represents a significant leap from traditional manual monitoring methods.

Example: Precision agriculture techniques and data-driven agri-food transitions, such as the use of sensors, GPS and IoT (Internet of Things) devices, enable farmers to monitor their farms and manage field variability. This can help to ensuring that water, fertilisers, and pesticides are distributed more efficiently and only where needed.

Example: FADNE's 2020-21 Local Heroes initiative reconnected consumers with local producers, by providing an online platform for customers to purchase local food directly from artisanal producers within a five-mile radius, helping to support the local economy, reduce food miles, and offer fresher, more sustainable options to consumers. This model not only boosts the profitability of local businesses but also encourages a more sustainable and community-focused approach to food consumption.

Example: The adoption of regenerative no-till farming represents an incremental innovation that improves soil health, reduces erosion, and decreases the need for fuel and labour.

Example: Vertical farming, where crops are grown in stacked layers under controlled conditions, radically changes the concept of farming from horizontal to vertical spaces, opening new possibilities to re-wild agricultural land.

Example: Start-ups are developing plant-based meat alternatives, challenging the traditional livestock industry and offering consumers sustainable and ethical choices.

Example: Communities in northern England have developed innovative activities towards net zero in their village halls, including installing novel hybrid heating systems and developing place-based solutions for storm resilience.

Innovation processes

The development and launch of an innovation in businesses and communities follows a complex, and often non-linear process. The steps involved are summarised below.

Innovation starts with identifying challenges and opportunities in farming and rural business, such as the need for more sustainable practices, better connectivity, or the demand for particular types of products.

Next, ideas are evaluated for feasibility, potential impact, and alignment with consumer demands and environmental standards.

Successful ideas move into development, involving research, prototyping, and testing. 

Once developed, the innovation is launched commercially or in the community. For example, this could involve introducing a new product or process, such as a novel farm-to-table food delivery service model.

Finally, innovations that gain market acceptance are scaled, potentially transforming practices across the sector. An example is the adoption of renewable energy systems on farms.

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