Policy briefs are an effective tool to communicate policy messages using evidence. Thus, the Department of Agriculture Extension and Cooperatives (DAEC) and the Department of Planning and Cooperation (DOPC) of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) in Lao PDR organized a multi-stakeholder policy dialogue process with support from FAO’s TAP-AIS project to spur discussion and gather evidence for this policy brief. Stakeholders involved in the policy dialogue process included representatives from the private sector, farmers organizations, academia, NGOs and the government.
Cambodia’s development is strongly influenced by growth in the agriculture sector. In this context, the modernization of agriculture has been highly regarded by the government as a long-term strategy to transform traditional labour-based agriculture into technology-based and with that to effectively enhance the country’s further regional integration within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. In support of this strategic vision, a participatory assessment of the Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS) was conducted in coordination with the General Department of Agriculture (GDA) and su
FAO Eritrea, in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture is implementing the national component of a global project entitled “Developing capacity in Agriculture Innovation System project: Scaling up the Tropical Agriculture Platform Framework”.
In Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR), agricultural innovation has the potential to improve livelihoods of farmers and rural people, improve food and nutrition security, and allow for sustainable management of natural resources. In order to enable innovation, a well-functioning national Agriculture Innovation System (AIS) should encourage better coordination among the different stakeholders, including national organizations and the private sector.
These guidelines are produced by FAO as part of the Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation Systems Project (CDAIS). The objective of this document is provide practical guidelines to implement marketplace events to strengthen agricultural innovation. A marketplace is an event organized to facilitate matching of demand and supply and to promote learning, sharing and exchanging of information, knowledge and practical experience on specific topics.
For smallholder agriculture to prosper and transform itself, access to rural services is essential. Rural services that enable smallholders to overcome constraints to increase their productivity, manage their farms as a sustainable business, link to inputs and outputs markets and act collectively to improve their livelihoods are a first line of action to reduce rural poverty. Undoubtedly, improving rural services has long been on the development agenda.
In order to realize the potential of agricultural innovation in family farming, national priorities of sustainably increasing food production and productivity, and reducing hunger and poverty, require rural knowledge institutions to be stronger and communication processes to be improved. This brief synthesizes the focus of FAO’s research and extension branch on transforming agricultural innovation systems of member countries.
This regional workshop was designed to strengthen the capabilities of representatives of NIFUs for analyzing the situations of their NAIS, and to use their national experiences to identify strengths, weaknesses, and threats/challenges affecting seven key areas influencing development of NAIS, namely: (i) strategy/policy, (ii) institutional aspects, (iii) stakeholders, (iv) content, (v) people, (vi) infrastructure, and (vii) financial aspects. Possible solutions for the key weaknesses and threats /challenges were defined by participants.
Multi-stakeholder platforms (MSPs) are seen as a promising vehicle to achieve agricultural development impacts. By increasing collaboration, exchange of knowledge and influence mediation among farmers, researchers and other stakeholders, MSPs supposedly enhance their ‘capacity to innovate’ and contribute to the ‘scaling of innovations’. The objective of this paper is to explore the capacity to innovate and scaling potential of three MSPs in Burundi, Rwanda and the South Kivu province located in the eastern part of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
This study identifies entry points for innovation for sustainable intensification of agricultural systems. An agricultural innovation systems approach is used to provide a holistic image of (relations between) constraints faced by different stakeholder groups, the dimensions and causes of these constraints, and intervention levels, timeframes and types of innovations needed. The authors aim at showing that constraints for sustainable intensification of agricultural systems are mainly of economic and institutional nature.