The "Development of Smart Innovation through Research in Agriculture" (DeSIRA) initiative, a pioneering program by the European Commission's Directorate-General for International Partnership (DG INTPA), recently organized a three-day workshop on the Burkinabe National Agricultural Innovation System. Known as the "National Days of Agricultural Innovations," the workshop was jointly organized by the National Center of Scientific and Technological Research of Burkina Faso (CNRST), the European Union Delegation, and CIRAD. It provided valuable insights from 14 research-innovation projects initiated under the DeSIRA program. The event took place from June 14th to 16th in Ouagadougou.

The objective of these 14 projects (including the TAP-AIS project) is to leverage research in designing and implementing innovative solutions that address the challenges of sustainable development. These initiatives encompass a range of innovations, including novel agricultural productions (such as crops, livestock, and agroforestry), associated services (such as innovation support and advisory services), and new agroecological systems in the face of climate change. The partner organizations involved in the DeSIRA projects employ diverse approaches to co-design and promote these innovations, actively engaging all relevant stakeholders across various impact levels, such as production, territories, value chains, services, and policy frameworks. By enhancing technical and functional innovation capacities at both individual and organizational levels, these projects aim to increase knowledge, drive behavioral change, improve skills, foster better technical and managerial practices, and contribute to informed policy decisions.

The workshop served as a platform to showcase and raise awareness about these initiatives. It fostered closer collaboration and cooperation among the different projects, encouraging the sharing of experiences related to agricultural innovation support and the reinforcement of the National Agricultural Innovation System. Furthermore, the event aimed to highlight the relevance and value-added by the participatory research-innovation approaches advocated by the DeSIRA initiative. These approaches are pivotal in facilitating sustainable transformation pathways within agri-food systems.

Participants at the workshop included partners from the DeSIRA projects, with a particular focus on research actors, as well as other stakeholders actively involved in agricultural development activities. The event offered them the opportunity to engage in reflective discussions on innovative approaches that can inspire their own initiatives. The primary target audience comprised policymakers, technical and financial partners, and project operators such as consulting firms, agricultural professional organizations, NGOs/CSOs, and others actively involved in driving agricultural development and innovation.

The article published by the European Delegation in Burkina Faso.

Mr. Marc Duponcel, Jobs and Growth Team Leader, European Delegation in Burkina Faso, at the TAP-AIS project booth