The phrase "The expert from the south" (or better translated as "expert from the city") holds a distinct resonance in Icelandic culture. Known in Icelandic as sérfræðingur að sunnan, this term historically served as a derisive label for urban professionals who visited rural farms, bringing with them newfangled ideas perceived as disconnected from the realities of agricultural life. Encountering this term in the Icelandic farmers' biweekly newspaper Bændablaðið recently made me chuckle—and then reflect.

Reflecting on my own journey, I realise with some embarrassment that I have become one of those so-called experts.

In the rapidly evolving landscape of agricultural technology (agtech), the allure of advanced tools like artificial intelligence, robotics, and precision equipment can overshadow the intricate biological systems at play. This dynamic, while fostering innovation, can create significant challenges—especially when investor priorities clash with the realities of biology.

Innovation holds much potential value but is often not seen to bring significant value to research organisations. Is this a chicken and egg situation?

Without a clearly defined leadership and innovation strategy it is unlikely that significant achievements or income will be derived from innovation activities in research organisations. Hence the return on investment of public research funds into innovation outcomes will remain low unless a lever is pulled somewhere.

Universities, and especially Research Institutes in the UK, derive a large proportion of their income from grant funding for research projects. Winning grants is a skill that is honed over many years by researchers, and those that become successful at it are therefore very valuable to these institutions for income generation. It does not make sense for an organisation to ask their most valuable revenue generators to focus on other tasks which might, or might not, bring profit in the future. This leads to the current situation in which it simply does not make sense for Universities and Research Institutions (in the UK) to encourage their research staff to pursue innovation avenues beyond the traditional narratives of scientific discovery.