Innovation is considered as one of the key drivers for a competitive and sustainable agriculture and the European Commission highlights the importance of tailoring innovation support to farmers’ needs, especially in European Rural Development Policy (reg EU 1305/2013). The scientific literature offers a wide panorama of tools and methods for the analysis of innovation in agriculture but the lack of data on the state of innovation in the farms hampers such studies. A possibility to partially overcome this limit is the use of data collected by the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN).
The agricultural innovation system can be strengthened by increasing the learning capacity of research and field organisations. Participatory methods were developed to study three dimensions of the capacity of such organisations in Nicaragua to access and analyse information, highly correlated to learning capacity – the individual routines of their professionals, the formal procedures of the organisation and the organisation's use of collaborative projects to strengthen core operations.
This paper analyses intermediary organisations in developing economy agricultural clusters. The paper critically engages with a growing narrative in studies of intermediaries that have stressed the ownership structure of intermediaries as a key driver for enabling knowledge transfer, inter-firm learning and upgrading of small producers in clusters. Two case studies of Latin American clusters are presented and discussed.
Lors de l'intervention d'une plate-forme d'innovation (groupe d'acteurs concernés) dans un domaine donné, nous avons tendance à attribuer les causes du changement aux actions de cette plate-forme. Cet article utilise le cas d'une plate-forme d'innovation dans le secteur du karité au Mali pour analyser comment les plates-formes d'innovation produisent les résultats escomptés.
Diversity field school (DFS) is a community-based action designed to create a platform for learning and sharing of crop diversity related knowledge and information. DFS places an emphasis on agency, participation, and empowerment, and seeks to develop both the knowledge base and leadership potential of local farmers. It adopts the models of farmers’ field school and community based management through a lens of crop genetic diversity.
This paper examines the role of postsecondary agricultural education and training (AET) in sub-Saharan Africa in the context of the region’s agricultural innovation systems. Specifically, the paper looks at how AET in sub-Saharan Africa can contribute to agricultural development by strengthening innovative capacity, or the ability of individuals and organisations to introduce new products and processes that are socially or economically relevant, particularly with respect to smallholder farmers who represent the largest group of agricultural producers in the region.
The research programme URBAL (Urban-driven Innovations for Sustainable Food Systems) (2018–2020), funded by Agropolis Fondation (France), Fondation Daniel & Nina Carasso (France/Spain), and Fundazione Cariplo (Italy), and coordinated by CIRAD (France) and the Laurier Center for Sustainable Food Systems at Wilfrid Laurier University (Canada), seeks to build and test a participatory methodology to identify and map the impact pathways of urban-driven innovations on all the dimensions of food systems sustainability.
One option for practically applying innovation systems thinking involves the establishment of innovation platforms (IPs). Such platforms are designed to bring together a variety of different stakeholders to exchange knowledge and resources and take action to solve common problems. Yet relatively little is known about how IPs operate in practice, particularly how power dynamics influence platform processes.This paper focuses on a research-for-development project in the Ethiopian highlands which established three IPs for improved natural resource management.
This paper presents some experiences with e-learning tools in middle and low income countries, outlines opportunities for enhanced adoption of e-learning and identifies some gaps and questions that still need to be addressed to facilitate e-learning
El presente artículo pretende describir la técnica de las alianzas estratégicas consideradas como herramienta adaptable dentro de la administración estratégica para beneficio del sector agroindustrial; cuya aplicación puede dar origen a mejoras o desarrollo de prácticas eficientes para el cumplimiento efectivo de objetivos y metas.