HENNOVATION: Learnings from Promoting Practice-Led Multi-Actor Innovation Networks to Address Complex Animal Welfare Challenges within the Laying Hen Industry.

Lisa Van Dijk,Henry Buller,Xavier Manteca,Claire Weeks,David Main,Thea Van Niekerk,Eva Voslarova,Harry Blokhuis

doi:10.3390/ani9010024

Abstract

Simple SummaryHENNOVATION was an EU funded project that aimed to explore the value of networks of laying hen farmers and within the laying hen processing industry, supported by scientists, to improve the health and welfare of laying-hens. During the 32-month project, the project team supported 19 networks in 5 countries and several networks generated new ideas and tested them in their commercial context. The project demonstrated that these networks led by farmers and industry practice can generate practical and effective solutions to animal welfare problems. Greater attention should be given to enhance and support these types of practice-led networks in future strategy and policy initiatives for animal health and welfare improvement.The Hennovation project, an EU H2020 funded thematic network, aimed to explore the potential value of practice-led multi-actor innovation networks within the laying hen industry. The project proposed that husbandry solutions can be practice-led and effectively supported to achieve durable gains in sustainability and animal welfare. It encouraged a move away from the traditional model of science providing solutions for practice, towards a collaborative approach where expertise from science and practice were equally valued. During the 32-month project, the team facilitated 19 multi-actor networks in five countries through six critical steps in the innovation process: problem identification, generation of ideas, planning, small scale trials, implementation and sharing with others. The networks included farmers, processors, veterinarians, technical advisors, market representatives and scientists. The interaction between the farmers and the other network actors, including scientists, was essential for farmer innovation. New relationships emerged between the scientists and farmers, based on experimental learning and the co-production of knowledge for improving laying hen welfare. The project demonstrated that a practice-led approach can be a major stimulus for innovation with several networks generating novel ideas and testing them in their commercial context. The Hennovation innovation networks not only contributed to bridging the science-practice gap by application of existing scientific solutions in practice but more so by jointly finding new solutions. Successful multi-actor, practice-led innovation networks appeared to depend upon the following key factors: active participation from relevant actors, professional facilitation, moderate resource support and access to relevant expertise. Farmers and processors involved in the project were often very enthusiastic about the approach, committing significant time to the network’s activities. It is suggested that the agricultural research community and funding agencies should place greater value on practice-led multi-actor innovation networks alongside technology and advisor focused initiatives to improve animal welfare and embed best practices.

Highlights

Animal welfare issues such as lameness in cows and feather-pecking in hens are examples of complex, multifactorial challenges that may be better addressed by alternative approaches to the traditional top-down dissemination of knowledge from science to practice
The project adapted a participatory action research approach to explore and test mechanisms to facilitate and enhance practice-led innovation through two types of innovation networks in the laying hen sector; local on-farm networks led by groups of producers and national andnational off-farm networks led by hen processors and industry
Four further networks focused on practice-led innovation on the handling and use of end-of-lay hens

Summary

Introduction

Animal welfare issues such as lameness in cows and feather-pecking in hens are examples of complex, multifactorial challenges that may be better addressed by alternative approaches to the traditional top-down dissemination of knowledge from science to practice. There is growing policy interest in more ‘bottom-up’, practice-led, collaborative approaches to innovation in Europe [1]. These practice-led approaches respond to the demand for innovation to solve local problems using practical knowledge and creativity at the farm level [2]. To enable innovation requires creating space for joint learning and knowledge sharing through innovation networks which bring together different actors, with different (forms or sources of) knowledge including science [1,7,8,9]. Klerkx et al [10] (p. 390) emphasise the importance of networks for innovation: ‘innovation is considered the result of a process of networking and interactive learning among a heterogeneous set of actors, such as farmers, input industries, processors, traders, researchers, extensionists, government officials and civil society organizations.’

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