This white paper is intended to summarize the key insights gleaned from prior work applying information and communication technologies (ICTs) in support of agriculture and food systems, identifying approaches and opportunities that hold promise for enhancing global food security, and to identify important knowledge gaps that remain, offering guidance for new work that investigates how to apply information and communication technologies in agriculture.
This paper explores the potential of Actor Network Theory (ANT) in understanding how the process of interaction and translation between human and non-human actors contribute to the development, adoption and diffusion of science-based innovations linked to the transition to organic farming. The study relies on two case studies, the French Camargue case covering a range of technical and social innovations, and the case from Bulgaria focusing on the development of a technical and product innovation, i.e. a veterinary product for organic beekeeping.
This chapter examines processes to inform decision making and manage innovation at four generally defined levels of the innovation system for agriculture; policy, investment, organization, and intervention and also identifies methods relevant at each level for assessing, prioritizing, monitoring, and evaluating innovation processes so that practitioners have the information needed for decision making and for managing limited resources effectively.
Capacity development interventions in support of agricultural innovation are more effective when based on systematic and participatory assessments of existing skills and capacity needs. Recognizing that, an instrument has been developed in the context of the Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation Systems (CDAIS) project. It consists of a capacity scoring tool that allows assessing innovation capacities, identifying strengths and weaknesses and monitoring capacity changes over time. This paper describes the scoring tool and provides guidelines on how to apply it successfully.
El objetivo central de esta tesis, es diagnosticar el rol del INTA Concordia en la participación de un proceso de desarrollo de la localidad de Los Charrúas, en el Departamento de Concordia, Entre Ríos, en diálogo con los actores de la comunidad.
La conférence sur « Agriculture écologique : atténuer le changement climatique, assurer la sécurité alimentaire et l’autonomie pour les sources de revenus ruraux en Afrique » s’est tenue à Addis – Abéba (Ethiopie) du 26 au 28 novembre 2008.
The Sanjiang Plain Wetlands Protection Project (SPWPP) supported by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), focuses on integrating conservation and development needs in the Sanjiang Plain, Heilongjiang Province of the People’s Republic of China. The project comprises 5 main components: watershed management, wetland nature reserve management, alternative livelihoods, education and capacity building and project management.
El Programa de Innovación Agropecuaria Local (PIAL) posee una amplia diseminación de acciones en cientos de fincas, buscando alternativas locales que le den solución a las necesidades de prácticas sostenibles con carácter agroecológico, para ello se hace necesario demostrar la efectividad económica del desarrollo a nivel de finca. Este artículo desarrolo un análisis de costo-beneficio que es una herramienta de toma de decisiones para desarrollar sistemáticamente información útil acerca de los efectos deseables e indispensables.
This study has been produced with the overall goal to document and analyse exisiting best practices in the field of RWHI management in sub-Saharan Africa, with a special focus on Ethiopia, Kenya, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. This is meant to determine the suitability of RWHI management under multivariate biophysical and socioeconomic conditions. The best practices include specific information and know-how on the performance, cost-efficiency and impacts of RWHI technologies.
This paper presents findings of an explorative case study that looked at 22 organisations identified as fulfilling an intermediary role in the Kenyan agricultural sector. The results show that these organisations fulfill functions that are not limited to distribution of knowledge and putting it into use. The functions also include fostering integration and interaction among the diverse actors engaged in innovation networks and working on technological, organisational and institutional innovation.