Making Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS) Work for Development in Tropical Countries

Two members of FAO's Research and Extension Unit (Karin Nichterlein and Andrea Sonnino) have co-authored with two additional experts in agricultural innovation (Philipp Aerni and Stephen Rudgard) an article that has been recently published on the journal "Sustainability". The paper provides a summary of the results obtained from three regional needs assessments of Capacity Development (CD) initiatives undertaken by the Tropical Agriculture Platform (TAP) and its partners. Established by the G20 and facilitated by FAO's Research and Extension Unit, TAP is a multilateral dynamic facilitation mechanism, which fosters better coherence and greater impact of capacity development for agricultural innovation systems in tropical countries. 

The surveyed tropical regions were Southeast Asia, Central America and Sub-Saharan Africa. The findings reveal a mismatch in all three regions between the external supply of primarily individual CD and the actual demand for institutional CD. The reports suggests that misalignments might be addressed by strengthening south-south and triangular collaboration and by improving the institutional capacities that would render national Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS) more demand-oriented and responsive to the needs of smallholders in domestic agriculture.  

Below is the full list of the authors:

Philipp Aerni ( Center for Corporate Responsability and Sustainability, University of Zurich, Switzerland)

Andrea Sonnino and Karin Nichterlein [Research and Extension Unit, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, (FAO), Rome]

Stephen Rudgard [FAO Country Office, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Vientiane, Lao People's Democratic Republic]