Shaping Innovation Capabilities to Enable Transformative Sustainability Transitions in Agriculture

Abstract

The agro-industrial sector is one of the largest socio-technical systems upon which the prospects of transition to sustainable development critically depend. To meet the food needs of a growing population, it requires profound transformation, new knowledge, advanced technologies, and highly qualified specialists. The agro-industry is moving from traditional schemes to fourth and fifth generation smart models that have innovative potential to ensure food security, heal natural systems, and stimulate economic growth. This potential will be able to be realized only if provided with an appropriate human resource base.

The article uses the example of young agri-preneurs in Malaysia to assess the key components of human capital that determine the performance of modern agro-industry, as well as the potential contribution of the government interventions in strengthening their effects. Three factors are considered - innovativeness, willingness to take reasonable risks, and proactivity. It is found that the presence of targeted governmental support, significantly enhances the influence of the first two on business performance. As for proactivity, its presence does not produce an operational tangible impact on performance, regardless of the context, including the presence of external support. The outcomes from proactivity manifest rather in the distant perspective. The latter circumstance is due to the high uncertainty and turbulence that accompany the activities of the studied sector, caused by uncontrollable, hardly predictable natural and social processes and their consequences. An in-depth understanding of the interrelationship of the factors under consideration can contribute to the development of more effective policies and support systems to foster sustainable growth in the agribusiness sector.