Innovation Capacity in Dairy Production Systems: A Study in the Northwest of Ethiopia

Agriculture is central to Ethiopian economy but its sustainable development faces enormous challenges. Low innovation capacity, low productivity, dwindling natural resources and climate change, small-scale subsistence farming, and low levels of market integration and value addition have all made agricultural development more complex. In spite of the decades of research and development efforts, the rate of growth for both crop and livestock productivity has remained low. This study seeks to understand how the innovation system in the dairy sector is working to better support farmers with strong networks and therefore to contribute towards enhancing productivity, increasing food security and nutrition, diversifying rural livelihoods and reducing poverty. The study examines (1) the innovation systems and networks that influence (impair or support) change in dairy production systems; (2) the impact of social networks on smallholder dairy production technology adoption; and (3) the extent and determinants of smallholder household’s production efficiency in the context of local level agricultural innovation systems framework.