Meeting rising global demand for food and responding to changes such as climate change, globalization, and urbanization will thus require good policy, sustained investments, and innovation – not business as usual. Agricultural innovation enables the agriculture sector, farmers and rural entrepreneurs to adapt rapidly when challenges occur and to respond readily when new opportunities arise – for example in the fields of technology and markets.

Rural producers operate in a very complex reality. They are faced with serious and interconnected challenges such as globalized and unstable markets, volatile prices, a degrading natural resource base and the effects of climate change. In addition, especially in developing countries, access to markets represent a serious problem due to, among other factors, poor infrastructure, difficult-to-comply quality standards and requirements (such as certifications and food safety standards).

An assessment of seven innovation case studies in Pakistan in 2022 found that agriculture innovation systems show limited collaboration and networking, and a supply-driven rather than market driven approach to innovation. This limits the potential for scaling innovations such as the ‘Super Seeder’, a machine that sows wheat directly in the rice stubble, replacing the common practice of burning it.The study was conducted in September and October 2022 as part of the global TAP-AIS project coordinated by FAO’s Office of Innovation and funded by the European Union’s DeSIRA initiative.