Photo: Up to 1,600 jobs could be created on the AgriCo campus, once its fourth and final development phase is over by 2034.

The Swiss Campus for Agri & Food Innovation (AgriCo), which opened in 2020, is the first of its kind in the world. The site, which is owned by the canton of Fribourg and managed by the Cantonal Land Development Agency (ECPF), is dedicated to value creation in the agriculture, nutrition and biomass sectors

With further expansion expected in coming years, the campus offers extremely generous plots of industrial land, office premises, as well as laboratory space to rent. There is also one million square meters of agricultural land that is ideal for carrying out full-scale trials.

For Giancarlo Perotto, Director of the ECPF and campus administrator, “The key strength of an ecosystem like this is its capacity to nurture innovation and synergies between private, institutional and academic actors.” Quite a few innovative start-ups and SMEs have already set up shop. Early arrivals include Alver, Bee Vectoring Technology, Lowimpact Food, Maison Amarella, SensDRB and Techponics. Micarna, the leading poultry processor in Switzerland, has announced its plan to invest several hundred million Swiss francs in the site for its new state-of-the-art processing plant, from 2022 on.