Agricultural Innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean: Institutional Scenarios and Mechanisms

Agriculture and food supply face a repositioning in the context of challenges associated with the Millennium Development Goals. From a development perspective it is of central importance to identify the role that the sector should perform in the fight against poverty and in a world that is increasingly urbanized. In this context, the general objective of the document is to contribute to the discussion of the current situation of the National Institutes of Agricultural Research (INIA’s - Institutos Nacionales de Investigación Agropecuaria) in Latin America in the framework of the National Innovation Systems and the international scenario. Specifically,the objectives are: i) to characterize the challenges they face and the scientific basis on which the INIA’s work and function (sections I.2 and I.3); ii) to analyze the evolution and role of the INIA’s in the Region (section I.4); iii) to propose changes that could be put in place to take advantage of opportunities, deal with challenges and be part of the new processes of innovation that are developing (sections I.5 and I.6); iv) to identify specific interventions required to put into practice the required transformations (sections I.7 and I.8); v) to contribute to a better understanding, design and management of innovation platforms for the regional agricultural sector (section II).