The digitalization and platformization trends in the service and manufacturing industry apply to the evolution of agriculture. Innovation ecosystem structuring is the locus of the agriculture 4.0 paradigm and is where the process of creation and diffusion of inno- vation shall be envisioned. Through case studies in industry and agriculture, a focus will be provided on the pecu- liar setting of innovation ecosystem emergence phase, through identification of the fac- tors enabling the emergence, as well as the structure of the value network allowing the strategic management of resources flow and transactions. Such elements will support the capabilities to integrate the width and diversity of collaboration needed to move forward for creating sustainable circular value. The digitalization and platformization trends in the service and manufacturing industry apply to the evolution of agriculture. Innovation ecosystem structuring is the locus of the agriculture 4.0 paradigm and is where the process of creation and diffusion of inno- vation shall be envisioned. Through case studies in industry and agriculture, a focus will be provided on the pecu- liar setting of innovation ecosystem emergence phase, through identification of the fac- tors enabling the emergence, as well as the structure of the value network allowing the strategic management of resources flow and transactions. Such elements will support the capabilities to integrate the width and diversity of collaboration needed to move forward for creating sustainable circular value. As supported by literature and recent studies, the process of collaboration among stakeholders becomes a collective journey of exploration (Berthet et al., 2018), relevant to the successful performances of innovation deployment in ecosystem setting. We will elucidate the path toward the needed alignment for such exploration in ecosystem set- ting, as well as the typologies of innovation projects that foster such collaborative ex- ploration. These elements support the strategy and the decision making of all stakehol- ders, including traditional players, agtech, consumers and policy makers. 38 #OFE2021 – The 1st International Conference on Farmer-centric On-Farm Experimentation. Digital Tools for a Scalable Transformative Pathway – 13th-15th October 2021, Montpellier, France