In the agri-food sector, where innovation must respond simultaneously to health, sustainability, affordability and market-scaling, the mere production of new knowledge in the lab is not enough. The crucial step lies in technology transfer — the process by which research outputs become usable, valuable innovation in practice. Technology transfer is the bridge between academic or institutional discovery and real-world application. For a project like CROSSPATHS, which links regional research infrastructures across Poland, Portugal and Estonia and seeks to deliver healthy, sustainable and affordable food solutions, effective technology transfer is one of the key levers to amplify research impact.

1. Understanding Technology Transfer in Agri-Food Context

Technology transfer encompasses a wide array of mechanisms: licensing of patents, spin-outs and start-ups, collaborative R&D with industry, demonstration and pilot plants, standardisation and regulatory adaptation, and finally, market adoption. In the agri-food sector, this might mean a new extraction method for plant bioactives moving from university pilot lab to a processing facility, or a sensor technology developed for crop monitoring being commercialised as part of a precision agriculture service.

Evidence shows that when technology transfer is accelerated and aligned properly, research yields stronger economic performance, improved welfare and better food-affordability outcomes. For example, a recent study found that accelerating R&D transfer in high-income countries has positive global impacts on economic performance and food affordability. (Taylor & Francis Online) In the agri-food domain, matching research outputs to industry demand, tailoring infrastructure, and aligning funding and governance remain critical challenges. (arXiv) In this sense, technology transfer is not an add-on but a strategic dimension of agri-food innovation.

2. Why Technology Transfer Matters for CROSSPATHS’ Objectives

The CROSSPATHS project has defined its core mission in terms of healthy, sustainable and affordable food. To translate research into these outcomes, the project must mobilise its regional infrastructures (ERDF-funded research centres in Poland, Portugal, Estonia) and link them to European-scale innovation networks. Technology transfer therefore plays several roles:

• Value extraction from infrastructure: Research infrastructures are expensive and under-utilised if they remain isolated from industry or market pathways. By embedding technology transfer mechanisms (pilot lines, demonstration services, industry partnerships), CROSSPATHS ensures that its infrastructures generate tangible innovation outcomes.
• Bridging research to industry: Many regional research organisations have strong technical capabilities but limited experience in commercialisation, licensing or industrial scale-up. Through technology transfer training, governance frameworks and cross-border networks, CROSSPATHS boosts their readiness to interact with industry partners, spin-outs, and funding schemes.
• Cross‐border scaling and diversification: A technology developed in one region may face regulatory, supply-chain or market barriers in another. Effective transfer means adapting to these differences and leveraging the consortium’s cross-border network to scale innovations across multiple national contexts.
• Access to competitive funding: In large European programmes (e.g., Horizon Europe) demonstration, commercial readiness and technology transfer plans strengthen proposals. The CROSSPATHS strategy of aligning regional infrastructures to Horizon Europe implicitly requires technology transfer readiness as a core asset.
• Sustainability and long-term impact: Without technology transfer, innovations may remain locked in labs and fail to deliver broad societal or market impact. CROSSPATHS places technology transfer in its long-term impact planning, ensuring that innovation pathways result in adoption, value creation and sustainability.

Thus, technology transfer directly supports the CROSSPATHS objectives, not just as a downstream activity but as an integrated component of its innovation ecosystem.

3. Key Elements of Effective Technology Transfer in the Agri-Food Sector

While the broad concept of technology transfer is recognised, its execution in the agri-food sector has specific features and enablers that are worth exploring.

a) Demand-oriented research and co-creation. Technology transfer is smoother when research is aligned with actual industry needs, regulatory contexts and market conditions. For agri-food, this means early engagement with processors, farmers, retailers and supply-chain actors. The document “Tech Transfer Agrifood” emphasises this point: industrial challenge → proof-of-concept → demonstration → market. (Interreg Europe) Co-creation mechanisms and living labs facilitate this alignment.

b) Pilot demonstration, infrastructure and scale-up readiness. In agri-food, moving from lab to market often requires pilot plants, processing lines, extraction units, side-stream valorisation infrastructure, real-scale logistics. Without these, even technically sound innovations stall. Demonstration infrastructure is thus a core enabler of technology transfer.

c) Intellectual property (IP), licensing and business models. Successful transfer demands clear IP ownership, licensing mechanisms, business models for spin-outs or joint ventures, and sometimes venture investment. The ability to navigate IP and commercialisation is often weak in research institutions but is essential for agri-food transfer.

d) Regulation, standards and safety. Food innovations need to navigate complex regulatory landscapes (food safety, novel foods, labelling, health claims). Effective transfer embeds regulatory planning early, ensuring demonstrations meet compliance and market entry criteria.

e) Cross-disciplinary and cross-border collaboration. Because agri-food innovation spans biology, processing, logistics, markets and regulation, technology transfer must integrate multiple disciplines. Moreover, for cross-border scaling (as in CROSSPATHS), harmonising regulatory, supply-chain and infrastructure differences across countries is necessary.

f) Skills, networks and brokerage. Technology transfer is not just technical; it is relational. It requires staff skilled in business development, technology valorisation, partnerships, funding strategy, and cross-border cooperation. Training in these areas is therefore vital.

g) Monitoring, metrics and impact orientation. Transfer processes must be tracked — number of licences, spin-outs, commercial collaborations, market uptake, societal impact (e.g., healthier food, sustainability). Agri-food actors must embed these metrics to demonstrate value and attract further investment.

4. Challenges Specific to Agri-Food Technology Transfer and How to Address Them

The agri-food field has some unique obstacles for technology transfer, which projects like CROSSPATHS must navigate.

Fragmented value-chains and multiple actors. Agri-food systems involve many actors (farmers, processors, distributors, retailers, consumers), and innovations often need to traverse multiple segments. This complexity slows transfer unless coordination is strong.

Heterogeneous markets and regulations. Different countries/regions have varied regulation for food safety, novel foods, health claims, packaging and labelling. For a cross-border consortium like CROSSPATHS, this means transfer must adapt to multiple regulatory frameworks and market conditions.

Long time-to-market and low margins. Many food innovations have longer commercialisation cycles than tech sectors, especially when involving processing changes or novel ingredients. Transfer planning must account for longer horizons and lower profit margins.

Infrastructure and capital intensity. Pilot and demonstration infrastructure (processing lines, extraction units) can be expensive. Without shared access or pooling (as CROSSPATHS proposes), smaller institutions struggle to make transfer viable.

Mismatch between academic outputs and industry readiness. Research may yield novel findings but these may not match industry’s immediate needs or business models. Research institutions must engage early with industry and adapt their outputs accordingly. (See national case study in Italy.) (arXiv)

Knowledge and skills gap in technology valorisation. Many agri-food research organisations lack staff experienced in business development, commercialisation, IP management, or spin-out creation. This gap undermines transfer.

Digital and data issues. In modern agri-food innovation, digital technologies (data platforms, sensor networks, digital twins) play a growing role. Effective transfer of these technologies requires dealing with data governance, interoperability, and digital literacy. A recent review shows that digitalisation deeply affects knowledge transfer patterns in the agri-food sector. (SpringerOpen)

Addressing these challenges demands a structured technology transfer strategy embedded within research projects and infrastructures, which is exactly the aim of CROSSPATHS.

5. How CROSSPATHS Can Embed Technology Transfer to Enhance Research Impact

Given the above discussion, here are how the mechanisms of technology transfer can be operationalised within the CROSSPATHS context.

Create shared demonstration infrastructure and access networks. CROSSPATHS connects regional infrastructures across Poland, Portugal and Estonia. By designing these as demonstration platforms for industry ready technologies, processing lines or extraction units can serve as technology transfer vehicles.

Embed industry-academia links early in the project. From the outset, research agendas within CROSSPATHS should reflect industrial challenge articulation and pipeline for innovation transfer. Consortia partners in each country should engage processors, food firms, SMEs to co-define use-cases.

Develop technology transfer training and capacity building. As part of the project’s “strengthened human resources and skills” dimension, training modules on IP/licensing, business models, industry engagement, regulatory planning, and cross-border scaling should be provided. This builds the institutional readiness to transfer.

Leverage cross-border networks for market entry and scaling. Innovations developed in one region can be adapted and deployed in partner regions, leveraging different supply-chains, regulatory regimes and markets, thus accelerating scaling and value creation.

Include technology transfer and valorisation in project metrics. CROSSPATHS should monitor, for example, number of industry collaborations initiated, number of spin-outs, licences executed, revenues generated, by-products valorised, and ultimately market-ready products or processes. These metrics show research impact beyond publication.

Align technology transfer with funding roadmap. Because the project aims to position institutions for Horizon Europe calls, demonstrating strong technology transfer plans enhances proposal competitiveness. CROSSPATHS can thus use transfer readiness as a strategic asset.

Promote circular bio-economy and sustainability through transfer. Given the agri-food focus, technology transfer should prioritise sustainable, circular innovation (e.g., side-stream valorisation, green extraction, digital traceability). This reinforces the project’s thematic alignment.

By embedding these elements, CROSSPATHS ensures that its research does not just produce knowledge, but delivers actionable innovation, market value, cross-border impact and societal benefit.

6. Recommendations for Stakeholders in Agri-Food Technology Transfer

For research institutions:

• Develop internal technology transfer offices or teams with mandates and training to manage IP, engage industry, and develop spin-outs.
• Align research agendas with industry and supply-chain needs from the outset — use living labs and co-creation.
• Ensure pilot infrastructure is designed for industry access and demonstration, not just academic use.
• Monitor and report on transfer outcomes: licences, spin-outs, industry partnerships, revenue, product launches.

For industry partners and food-processing firms:

• Engage with research institutions early, provide challenge statements and define partner roles in transfer.
• Consider shared infrastructure or public-private pilot lines to de-risk innovation uptake.
• Support scalable business models, know the regulatory environment and market readiness of technologies emerging from research.

For funders and policy-makers:

• Incentivise technology transfer in agri-food by including valorisation, demonstration and market-uptake criteria in funding calls.
• Support shared demonstration infrastructure and cross-border networks to overcome fragmentation of regional assets.
• Promote training and capacity building in technology transfer, especially in regions with less mature innovation ecosystems.

For consortia and networks (like CROSSPATHS):

• Build technology transfer as a work-package from day one, not a post-script.
• Use cross-border alignment of infrastructures and markets to scale innovations and attract further funding.
• Use technology transfer performance as a proof point for future funding and internationalisation.

7. Looking Ahead: Future Trends in Agri-Food Technology Transfer

As the agri-food sector evolves, several trends will shape how technology transfer operates:

• Digital transfer and platforms. The emergence of digital knowledge transfer platforms, data-sharing networks and open innovation ecosystems will accelerate technology diffusion in agri-food. This is reflected in literature on digitalised knowledge transfer in agriculture. (SpringerOpen)
• Circular bio-economy transfer models. Innovations centred on side-stream valorisation, green extraction, and biobased materials will require new transfer models (pilot demonstration, shared facilities, industry validation).
• Cross-border and multi-region scaling. As projects like CROSSPATHS show, scaling across countries will become more common, requiring models that embed regulatory, cultural and supply-chain adaptation in technology transfer.
• Open innovation and collaborative transfer platforms. Shared ecosystems and platforms that connect research institutions, start-ups, industry and investors will facilitate faster transfer and diffusion (e.g., investment platforms like Tech Transfer Agrifood). (Tech Transfer Agrifood)
• Impact-oriented metrics and social value. Beyond commercialisation, technology transfer will increasingly focus on societal outcomes: improved nutrition, sustainability, circular resource use and food affordability. This aligns with wider policy trends in Europe.
• Adaptive business models and entrepreneurial culture. Technology transfer in agri-food will benefit from start-up culture, venture funding, spin-outs and new business models built around research outputs and regional networks.

In sum, technology transfer is evolving from a peripheral activity to a core strategic asset for research institutions, infrastructures and innovation consortia in the agri-food sector.

8. Conclusion

Technology transfer holds the key to converting research excellence into real-world impact in the agri-food sector: better foods, more sustainable systems, value creation and cross-regional networks. For the CROSSPATHS project, which aims to leverage regional research infrastructures across Poland, Portugal and Estonia, build a “highway to Horizon Europe” and deliver healthy, sustainable, affordable food solutions, technology transfer is not an optional extra—it is an integral component of its strategy. By focusing on demand-driven innovation, demonstration infrastructure, cross-border scaling, skills and industry linkages, CROSSPATHS is positioning itself to transform research outputs into market-ready innovations and societal benefit. The challenge is significant, but the opportunity for impact is vast.

References

Ahmadi, S., Amendolagine, V., & LaSala, P. (2025). Unpacking the impacts of digitalization of knowledge transfer in agri-food sector, through sociotechnical systems theory: a systematic literature review. Agricultural and Food Economics, 13, Article 51. (SpringerOpen)
Jin, Y. (2024). Impacts of accelerating agricultural R&D transfer on global economic performance and food affordability. Agricultural Finance & Technology Transfer, (…) (see publication). (Taylor & Francis Online)
“Tech Transfer Agrifood – Investment Platform for Agri-Food Sector.” (n.d.). Tech Transfer Agrifood website. (Interreg Europe)
“The Future of Agri-Food Research in Europe – CROSSPATHS.” (n.d.). CROSSPATHS website. (Crosspaths)
“A Collaborative Path to Agri-Food Innovation: Tech transfer considerations.” (2018). Abramo, G. & D’Angelo, C. A. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management. (arXiv)