Resilient Pork Production (KB-28-005-012, KB-17-004-011)

The dynamics of the Dutch pork production system are modelled from a CAS (Complex Adaptive Systems) perspective. The CAS-approach is promising as it offers the opportunity to combine social science concepts with technical approaches. In the Respork program, a PhD project models the dynamics of pig behaviour as a function of the mutual interactions between animals, as influenced by housing and management; another PhD project models the behaviour of farmers as a fucntion of changes in market, technology and society. Both PhD-projects use Agent Based Modelling as a model building tool for this. In an overarching project, interactions in society and chain (expressions in the public media and interactions between institutional representatives in the so called innovation arena) are analysed and modelled. The combination of these three projects offers insight into the mechnismes of systems changes and offers tools to influence such developments (innovation management).