On 24 May 2022, FAO Senegal, within the framework of the Tropical Agriculture Platform and the EU-funded TAP-AIS project, together with the Ministry (MAER) organized a validation workshop to elaborate a roadmap for developing capacities for the national AIS, based on the results of the action-orientated AIS assessment conducted by ISRA over the past year.

The action-orientated assessment aimed at improving the understanding of the functioning of national agricultural innovation system among policy and decision makers, and AIS key stakeholders. It was conducted by a team of experts from ISRA.

The methodology combined four analytical components to assess the AIS: the functions, structures, capacities, and processes, with a view to detect key blocking and triggering drivers. The assessment approach was participatory and reflective, so as to involve policy and decision makers, heads of organizations that were identified in the scoping study as pivotal organizations of the AIS (MAER, FNDASP, ISRA, ANCAR, USSEIN, DHORT, DPV, IPAR, ENDA PRONAT, FENAB, HEKS, EPER), and innovation leaders from civil society, farmers’ organizations and research sector.  Data collection tools were mostly participatory (focus groups, semi-structured interviews, critical reflection workshops), and combined qualitative and quantitative data, including a set of indicators for measuring the current functions of the national AIS

Starting from a review of how five major agricultural innovation processes actually did happen in the context of Senegal, the ISRA assessment team explored the strengths and weaknesses in AIS functions, structures and capacities. The five innovations studied were:

1. SAIDA tool (e new digital tool for extensionists) led by ANCAR
2. climate-smart cities in support to the agroecological transition led by ISRA,
3. SHEP approach for boosting agribusiness led by DHORT,
4. PGS for national organic label, led by FENAB
5. “Tolou Keur” (house field) a system of "Permaculture" associated with a design and a garden-forest, with fast-growing trees to regenerate the soil led by Great green wall ecovillage project.

ISRA shed light on the fact that the Senegalese agricultural innovation system is very dense in terms of actor diversity, innovation activities, interactions, and existing legal and institutional frameworks. However, two blocking points were identified: innovation support services work in silos and are mostly focused on the middle phase of innovation, i.e., adaptation and experimentation activities. Innovation support services are very scarce in the early innovation phase, i.e., inspiration (tracking new ideas from agricultural actors) and the last innovation phase, i.e., innovation sustaining over the time, beyond project duration. The main recommendations aimed at strengthening the role of research in support of on-going innovation dynamics, especially thanks to long-term partnership agreements with other AIS actors, for the co-design, scaling-up and mass adoption of key innovations, and especially in support to the agroecological transition.

The validation workshop was attended by about 30 people, including the main representants and heads of MAER, MESRI, FAO, FNDASP, IPAR, DHORT, HEKS EPER, USSEIN, ANACR, ISRA, CSE, and DPV, among others.

A provisional roadmap based on the assessment results was presented and discussed with a view to validate the CD for AIS strategy and to set an agenda for a policy dialogue on how to improve agricultural innovation support at country level over the long term.

The agreed roadmap is composed of 5 medium-term priority action areas and 4 activities that will be facilitated by the TAP-AIS project in the short-term.

• Action Area 1: Institutionalization of inclusive innovation processes in the research system.
• Action Area 2: New support services and instruments for the early phases of innovation (ideation, inspiration, prototyping)
• Action Area 3: Aligning efforts at local and national levels for more innovations for the agro-ecological transition
• Action Area 4: Strengthening capacities for effective governance of the national AIS
• Action Area 5: Organizing policy dialogues on blocking points to overcome and possible policy instruments for boosting agricultural innovation in some priority domains (agroecology; agri-business)

In order to contribute to this road map, the TAP-AIS project will deliver the following activities over the short term (2022-2023):

1. Organization of a series of multi-stakeholder consultative workshops for formalizing the national AIS and the establishment of governance mechanisms;
2. Organization of “solution days”, as a new format of bridging events between innovators and innovation support service providers, in two areas: organic farming and agroecological territories, with a particular focus on linking research with on-going promising grassroot innovative initiatives;
3. Identification of mechanisms to continuously address the innovation capacity development needs at country level, beyond project duration.
4. Strengthening the capacities of four pivotal organizations: ANCAR, FENAB, USSEIN University,  Ndiob municipality , and their partners.