Partnerships for enhancing market-led innovation processes-experiences and lessons from IPMS Ethiopia

The IPMS project proposes to ‘contribute to improved agricultural productivity and production through market-oriented agricultural development, as a means for achieving improved and sustainable livelihoods for the rural population’ in Ethiopia. To accomplish this goal the project supports development and (action) research on innovative technologies, processes and institutional arrangements in three focus areas i.e. i) knowledge management; ii) innovation capacity building of public and private sector partners, farmers and pasoralists; iii) market oriented production technologies and input/output marketing and financing; contributing to evidence-based policy making to support innovation processes and capacity development. Adopting the innovation systems perspective, the project acknowledges multiple sources of innovation and the critical role of institutions. The activities deploy the use of partnerships and linkages along the value chain to promote complementary investments in necessary areas and sectors to generate innovations and impact. Innovative approaches to production, NRM, technology adaptation and delivery, service delivery, marketing and, institutional change, linked to market demands and the capacity of the communities and its individual members to handle such innovations in a sustainable manner are being introduced and adapted in pilot sites. Learning from these experiences is an integral aspect to draw lessons for scaling up. This paper summarizes the experience of IPMS in developing and nurturing innovative partnerships and lessons learnt, to date.