Asian agriculture is faced with major new challenges as a result of globalisation, urbanisation and environmental problems such as climate change. To meet these challenges, Asian agriculture needs to become more knowledge intensive and innovation oriented. This article frames the new Asian challenge in terms of innovation theory, emphasising the importance of the co-evolution of technological and institutional change and linkages between actors in open, interactive innovation processes. It studies the performance of agricultural research and technology organisations (RTOs) in four small and medium-sized South and Southeast Asian economies: Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Indonesia and Vietnam. A key performance issue is the linkages between actors, which is a key weakness in the agricultural innovation systems of most Asian countries. The need for effective linkages is growing as agricultural production and innovation are becoming increasingly complex due to the impact of the consecutive green, sustainability, biotechnology and supermarket revolutions. Linkages are in short supply, but the demand for them is exploding. As a consequence, traditional public agricultural research organisations in Asia, created at the time of the green revolution, no longer play a central role in agricultural innovation as they did when countries faced only one challenge.
This report provides a synthesis of all findings and information generated through a “stocktaking” process that involved a desk study of Prolinnova documents and evaluation reports, a questionnaire to 40 staff members of international organizations in agricultural research and development (ARD),...
In the light of ongoing debates about the suitability of proprietary seed technologies for smallholder farmers, this paper analyzes the adoption and impact of hybrid wheat in India. Based on survey data, we show that farmers can benefit significantly from...
L’eau d’irrigation est une ressource cruciale pour le développement économique et social en Tunisie. Dans un contexte de décentralisation et de délégation du rôle de l’État, une part importante de la gestion de cette eau d’irrigation a été confiée aux...
L’ouest du Rio Grande do Sul est dominé par la culture du soja, du riz et par l’élevage bovin. Dans la partie sableuse, le milieu est affecté par des phénomènes d’érosion produisant des modelés éoliens spectaculaires (arenização) rappelant dans l’imaginaire...
Cette publication offre de nombreux exemples concrets détaillant différentes manières de réengager les jeunes dans le secteur agricole. Elle montre à quel point des programmes éducationnels sur mesure peuvent offrir aux jeunes les compétences et la perspicacité nécessaires pour se...