The document discusses agricultural innovation and provides context for the upcoming 2014 State of Food and Agriculture report. It defines innovation as the process of creating and implementing new combinations of knowledge through interaction between stakeholders. Innovation systems are nonlinear and involve interactions between researchers, producers, processors and other actors. Barriers to innovation include poor linkages between actors, attitudes, lack of resources and inadequate enabling policies. The key message is that building innovation capacity requires developing expertise, communication networks, and supportive policies to empower family farmers to innovate.

1. Research and Extension Branch
Food and Agriculture
Organization of the
United Nations
Agricultural Innovation:
Common understanding the
upcoming SOFA 2014
1

2. Research and Extension Branch
Food and Agriculture
Organization of the
United Nations
Content
 Definition and common understanding
 Conceptual and analytical frameworks
 Learning and change
 SOFA key message and examples
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3. Research and Extension Branch
Food and Agriculture
Organization of the
United Nations
Innovation is the process by
which social actors create value
from knowledge
Engel, 2009
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4. Research and Extension Branch
Food and Agriculture
Organization of the
United Nations
Definition and common understanding
 Innovation: The process of creating and putting into use combinations of
knowledge from many different sources
 This knowledge may be brand-new, but usually it is new combinations
of existing knowledge.
 Process of constant learning and adaptation
 Occurs through interaction between multiple stakeholders.
 For an invention to become an innovation, it has to be used by farmers !
Hall, 2001
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5. Research and Extension Branch
Food and Agriculture
Organization of the
United Nations
Farmers are innovators
 Small farmers are innovative, they cannot afford not to be
 From the 70s until now we gradually moved from
• Production system approach to Farming system
• From Farming system to farmers first and participatory approaches
• From participatory to a broader knowledge system (AKIS) approach
• From AKIS to innovation
Each step acknowledges the complexity and non linear nature of the
attempted change and introduced new factors (socio economic,
cultural, institutional and political) to understanding the drivers of
changes
 Farmers do not need a package of practices but a basket of choice
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6. Research and Extension Branch
Food and Agriculture
Organization of the
United Nations
From a “Linear” view of technical change
“
Extension Farmer
Research Technical package
Enabling environment
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Source: Ekboir (2005). 6
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7. Research and Extension Branch
Food and Agriculture
Organization of the
United Nations
...to an innovation
System
Agricultural Innovation
System
Exporters
Agro-
Processors Research
Producer System
Organizations
Producers
Input Suppliers Farmers
Advisory Education
Credit Agencies
Services System
System
Land
Agencies
Modified from:
Government Policy & Regulatory Framework Birner et al. 2006
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8. Research and Extension Branch
Food and Agriculture
Organization of the
United Nations
Analytical framework
Enabling Environment
Enabling Environment
Developmental
Technological, Infrastructural/
Economic, Bio-physical, Socio-political,
Private
sector
Facilitation & coordination
TRIGGERS
Farmers
bodies
PPP
Public
sector
Capacity development
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9. Research and Extension Branch
Food and Agriculture
Organization of the
United Nations
Barriers to innovation
Linkages Culture
Policy and Knowledge
bureaucracy Adverse deficiencies
market
conditions
Capacity
Resources
Lack of
Attitude and incentives
Behavior
Risk
Infrastructure
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10. Research and Extension Branch
Food and Agriculture
Organization of the
United Nations
Who has to change ?
 Realizing the potential for innovation in
Family farms is not about changing farmers
practices... It is about changing the behavior
and attitude of the other actors in the system
- us included – and how the enabling
environment support farmers ability to
innovate !
Innovation leads to things being done differently in
unpredictable ways.
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11. Research and Extension Branch
Food and Agriculture
Organization of the
United Nations
Key message SOFA 2014
Capacity for agricultural innovation is vital to improve the livelihood and
well-being of family farmers and goes beyond technological development
Innovation capacity can be collective and individual and has four elements
1.Individual and organizational expertise
2.Attitudes and routines developed through training and trial and error
3.Communication and networks that allow individuals and organizations to
access a wide array of ideas and expertise for innovation
4.Policy environment and the way its shapes the first three elements of
capacity
The challenge we face today is how to build the capacity for innovation to
ensure profitable and sustainable family farming.
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12. Research and Extension Branch
Food and Agriculture
Organization of the
United Nations
PISA Bolivia
Enabling Environment
Enabling Environment
Infrastructural/ Developmental
political, Technological,
Economic, Bio-physical, Socio-
Private
sector
coordination bodies
Facilitation &
TRIGGERS
Farmers
PPP
Public
sector
Capacity development
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