The building of sustainable innovation capabilities in Africa requires an innovation system capable of producing, disseminating and using new knowledge. This paper assesses the process of constructing the National Innovation System (NIS) in Rwanda. It is posited that consensus on and acceptance of the concept of NIS among stakeholders is crucial in the early process of constructing an efficient and dynamic innovation system. Primary empirical data are presented for the case of Rwanda and analyzed in a regional context.
This paper calls for a better integration of place-based, evidence-based and inclusive dimensions in the implementation of the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) plans and industrial policies in sub-Saharan Africa. To this end, the analysis contrasts with and takes inspiration from the recent and ongoing international experiences in the elaboration of Innovation Strategies for Smart Specialisation (S3).
Participatory research can improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and scope of research processes, and foster social inclusion, empowerment, and sustainability. Yet despite four decades of agricultural research institutions exploring and developing methods for participatory research, it has never become mainstream in the agricultural technology development cycle. Citizen science promises an innovative approach to participation in research, using the unique facilities of new digital technologies, but its potential in agricultural research participation has not been systematically probed.
Since the Green Revolution, worldwide agriculture has been characterized by a typical top–down approach. The degree of autonomy, creativity, and responsibility of farmers has been limited by the continuous external inputs of chemicals, machinery, advice, subsidies and knowledge. The issue of sustainability has brought complexity and uncertainty to this mainly linear process of innovation, steering agriculture toward alternative models. Agroecology represents an innovative paradigm of agriculture in which external inputs are minimized, and the assets of the farm are greatly valued.
The well-being of the rural population globally has been associated with the performance and resilience of the agriculture sector. The sector continually requires new needs-based knowledge and technologies. It has become necessary to empower the rural communities through a wider bottom-up system that directly addresses their needs. This paper explores the application of little-used Participatory Livelihood Analysis for the adoption and up-scaling of its use in the assessment of agricultural-extension-needs for disadvantaged rural communities.
Private sector actors bring expertise, resources, and new perspectives to agricultural development, but the tendency to short-term approaches and market-based orientation has been unable to drive a systemic change in the development agenda. We explore how multi-stakeholder dialogues can capitalize on and trickle systemic change through private sector involvement. Analysis from the farmer-led irrigation development multi-stakeholder dialogue space (FLI-MDS) in Ghana shows the need for a physical and institutional space to cater for and merge different stakeholder interests.
Depuis sa création, le Parc national du Mont Péko est sujet à diverses pressions anthropiques. Ces pressions ont été accentuées durant les conflits armés en Côte d’Ivoire entre 2002 et 2011. L’intensification des pressions aurait entraîné une augmentation du taux de déforestation dans le parc. Pour vérifier cette hypothèse, la présente étude visait à déterminer l’effet des conflits sur la dynamique forestière du parc. À cet effet, quatre images satellitaires Landsat ont été analysées pour examiner les changements d’occupation des sols avant, pendant et après les conflits.
To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, research concepts and empirical evi-dence are needed to upgrade smallholder activities within local value chains (LVCs) of many developing countries. Yet, comprehensive gender-sensitive investigations ofthe evolution and multiplicity of governance in whole food systems with parallel functioning of local and modern value chains (MVCs) are greatly underrepresented inthe scientific literature.
Access to and usage of smartphones for agricultural purposes amongst small-scale farmers in rural areas of developing countries is still limited. Smartphones may provide an opportunity to develop farmers’ capacities with specific applications offering fast access to continually updated and reliable information. This study develops a framework to investigate the cognitive and affective behavioural drivers of smallholder farmers´ intention to use a smartphone in a developing country context.
Policy brief No. 2. The majority of the world’s poor are smallholder farmers in developing countries. These smallhol- ders face several obstacles that limit their produc- tivity and profits, such that their incomes remain low. Institutional changes in the agricultural value chains are required to reduce poverty rates among smallholder farmers, and to stimulate agricultural growth.