The development of companies in the agri-food sector depends on their competitiveness and innovation, which is largely conditioned by the work of research and development. In the new EU financial perspective for 2014-2020, the funding of R & D is conditioned by the planned compatibility research with regional smart specializations. The article is a synthesis of the research literature on the directions of making innovation and assumptions of smart specialization in Podlaskie province. Guiding objective of this article is to present the role and importance of smart specialization in shaping the development of the agri-food sector Podlaskie. Analysis of dense material in the article leads to the conclusion that in the coming years, regional intelligent specialization „agri food” will be the basis for development of this sector, based on knowledge.