Abstract
Better nitrogen management, technologies, and regulation are required to reduce nitrogen losses in the aquatic environment. New innovative technologies can support farmers in a more targeted planning of fertilizer application and crop management at the field level to increase the effect of measures when reducing nitrogen losses. However, if farmers do not perceive the need for such a concept, the demand (market pull) will be minimal, making the implementation of such a technology difficult. The lack of this market pull could, however, be counterbalanced by a market push from research or requirements from public sector stakeholders (regulators). Within this domain, the main objective of this paper was to study technological change over time and identify and understand the crucial stakeholder involvement using the Functions of Innovation Systems Approach. This article shows how stakeholders’ perceptions and participation evolved over a 10-year period. It examines the interplay between technology readiness and the perceived readiness and acceptance by affected stakeholders. We demonstrate how stakeholder engagement was crucial to ensure the development of the technologies by creating marketable options for their future implementation. A key dynamic that emerged in this process was the transition from a research push to a regulator pull. We demonstrate the fact that without the regulatory requirement linked to changes towards more targeting of measures, the technology would not, on its own, be a business case, although it would provide new knowledge, thus representing a gain for society. The specific findings can be used in countries where new technologies need to be developed, and where a link to the regulation can ensure the active use of the new technology and, therefore, make their implementation worthwhile.
Highlights
Adequate nitrogen (N) is of crucial importance for agriculture to ensure optimal growth of crops
We aimed to extend the stakeholder engagement literature by theorizing on how the pull dynamics develop over time
In the interest of the above, we were guided by the following research question: How does stakeholder engagement contribute to the seven innovative functions in the technology development of a new N retention mapping concept? We explored this question by employing a longitudinal case study in Denmark, where the current regulation of N is being subjected to a paradigm shift, and where both public and private sectors are navigating this transition to the best of their abilities to preserve members’ interests
Summary
Adequate nitrogen (N) is of crucial importance for agriculture to ensure optimal growth of crops. Excessive N creates challenges for society in terms of pollution and negative consequences for waters, climate, biodiversity, and public health (UN-FAO-WHO). For these reasons, N pollution has been addressed in European and Danish regulation and through the implementation of policies over the past 40 years [1,2] it is an integrated part of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN-ECE) guidance documents (UN-ECE, 2021). There is the risk of powerful interest groups overtaking a participatory process [34] Despite these acknowledged drawbacks and challenges, stakeholder engagement is increasingly being encouraged in water resource management
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