At the heart of the agrifood ecosystem: meet TKI Agri & Food
From 1 November, TKI Agri & Food will move into Foodvalley’s office in Plus Ultra II. The organisations have known and worked with each other for years. TKI Agri & Food wanted to establish itself at the heart of the agrifood ecosystem, while Foodvalley was looking for a strong office partner. The match was clear: one plus one equals three.
We spoke with Annemarie Breukers, Director of TKI Agri & Food, to learn more about her, the organisation she leads and the opportunities she sees in working alongside Foodvalley.
Who is TKI Agri & Food?
TKI Agri & Food organises collaboration between businesses, government and knowledge institutions around knowledge and innovation in the Dutch agrifood sector. Its work is based on the national Knowledge and Innovation Agenda for Agriculture, Water and Food, which sets goals for sustainable food production, resilient value chains and a healthy living environment.
“Our role has three main elements,” Annemarie Breukers explains. “We organise the implementation of the agenda, manage the associated subsidy funding and encourage organisations across the agrifood sector to participate.”
Applied research plays an important part in this. TKI Agri & Food supports the development of new knowledge and research that can help address challenges in agriculture and food.
Why is TKI Agri & Food moving to Wageningen Campus?
“Plus Ultra II is an important innovation hub in the green domain,” says Annemarie. “It brings together businesses, from multinationals to startups, societal organisations, knowledge partners and organisations with a supporting role like ours.”
A permanent presence puts TKI Agri & Food at the heart of the innovation ecosystem on Wageningen Campus.
“By becoming a physical part of this ecosystem, we can fulfil our role even better and become more accessible to the organisations we work with. It also creates new opportunities for collaboration.”
Why share an office with Foodvalley?
“We have known and worked with Foodvalley for years. Our organisations bring different strengths. TKI Agri & Food focuses primarily on developing new knowledge. Foodvalley creates the conditions for promising solutions to be adopted and scaled.
Working side by side brings knowledge development and market creation and scaling closer together. It allows us to recognise opportunities earlier and act on them more easily. Our networks complement each other too. Greater exchange between them offers significant opportunities to increase our impact together. Having our teams working side by side makes that much easier”
The timing was right. TKI Agri & Food was looking for a permanent presence at the heart of the agrifood ecosystem, while Foodvalley was looking for a strong complementary office partner. Building on an established relationship, sharing the same workspace was a natural next step. Each organization continues from its own role and expertise, while bringing knowledge, networks and practice closer together.
Who is Annemarie Breukers?
“Having agricultural roots, an academic background in both natural sciences and the socioeconomic domain and more than twenty years of experience, I feel strongly connected to the Dutch food sector.
Throughout my career, I’ve come to know this sector from different perspectives. I bring these perspectives together as Director of TKI Agri & Food. What drives me most is contributing to sustainable agriculture, horticulture and food value chains with a strong future.”
Curious to learn more about TKI Agri & Food? Explore its work in knowledge and innovation and discover the projects it supports across the Dutch agrifood sector.