This paper describes the research path followed by a team of researchers who had investigated the nitrate problem in a case study area, and who became aware of the low impact of their data on the policy debate and on the practices that – as the research team saw it – had given rise to the problem in the first place. They embarked on a series of interactions first with participatory action researchers from the SLIM project (see Fig. 2 in the editorial of this issue) and thereafter with a variety of stakeholders, developing as they went along a series of “tools for dialogue” that allowed interrogation of their data by non-specialists and the confrontation of different perspectives on the problem and its solution. The team of scientists changed the way they viewed the problem of nitrate pollution of drinking water, and made efforts to bring scientific data into the public realm in ways that might bring about change in practices. In the process, the research team members had to deepen their social understanding and to learn new skills, such as facilitation, as well as develop command of a new theoretical language that could describe their emergent practice—that of social learning.
This paper investigates the introduction of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in Canino's area (Italy), from an agricultural innovation system (AIS) perspective focusing on the roles of the innovation actors and the innovation impact pathway. The IPM research in Canino was conducted with a wide range of actors including research, advisory...
The privatization of agricultural research and extension establishments worldwide has led to the development of a market for services designed to support agricultural innovation. However, due to market and systemic failures, both supply side and demand side parties in this...
Grants for agricultural innovation are common but grant funds specifically targeted to smallholder farmers remain relatively rare. Nevertheless, they are receiving increasing recognition as a promising venue for agricultural innovation. They stimulate smallholders to experiment with improved practices, to become...
Malgré les efforts déployés ces dernières années pour améliorer la situation de l’agriculture en Afrique subsaharienne, peu de changements ont été observés. Cet insuccès est dû, en partie, au fait que ces efforts ont été consentis par diverses entités de...
This paper contributes to the ongoing discussion in the scientific literature on the advantages and disadvantages of privatization of extension and advisory services and the shift from thinking in terms of the traditional Agricultural Knowledge System towards a broader Agricultural Innovation...