innovation systems

This book by CTA examines ‘innovations systems’ – a concept suggested as underpinning industrial development – as a strategy for agricultural development. Innovation systems approaches conceptualise change as a long-term, socially-embedded process, and recognise the important role policy plays in shaping the parameters within which decisions are made. The lessons learned can be useful in guiding the design, implementation and evaluation of future policies, programmes and research on agricultural innovation systems. »

This paper applies a historical analysis of the progressive development and complexity of Malawi’s diary innovation system through phased emphasis on technological, organizational and institutional development to illustrate the centrality of smallholder dairy farmers in the innovation system. A social network analysis is applied to assess the influence of smallholder farmers on other actors. »

In this article in the Agricultural Economics Journal, the authors argue that policy makers should focus on differences across countries when trying to combat low productivity and formulating global strategies and national policies for agricultural development. They showed how different components of an agricultural innovation system interact, to determine levels of technical inefficiency in developing-country agriculture. »

This paper (PDF) in Sustainability aims to identify gaps in current capacities and the development needs as perceived by stakeholders involved in national and regional Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS). Three regional needs assessments undertaken by Tropical Agricultural Platform (TAP) and its partners. The surveyed tropical regions were Southeast Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and Central America. The »