Agricultural innovation systems

Developing capacities for agricultural innovation

The role of agricultural research systems and Extension and Advisory Services (EAS) has been changing in order to shift from a research-driven process relying on technology transfer to an approach that enables and rewards innovation. In many low- and middle-income countries, weak capacity to innovate is a real obstacle to this transformation. It is essential to establish an environment where the needs and demands of resource-poor farmers and consumers are heard and their voices influence the national research and EAS agenda. FAO assists its member countries to develop their capacities for agricultural innovation.

Strengthening the agricultural innovation system

Agricultural research institutions and Extension and Advisory Services (EAS) do not operate in isolation but interact with each other and many stakeholders – such as governments, agricultural input suppliers, market intermediaries, farmer organizations and private sector entities – in what is called an ‘agricultural innovation system’ (AIS). The AIS has been formally defined as a network of actors or organizations, and individuals, together with supporting institutions and policies in the agricultural and related sectors, that brings existing or new products, processes, and forms of organization into social and economic use.

Strengthening the AIS will enable agricultural research systems and EAS to be more effective and more responsive to the needs of smallholders and family farmers. FAO supports its member countries to strengthen their AIS.

Guidelines for AIS assessment at the country level

FAO, in collaboration with the French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development (CIRAD) and other partners, has developed guidelines for AIS assessment at national level.

Assessments allow identification of weaknesses, gaps, interventions required and key areas for responsible investments to strengthen the AIS, while ensuring that the agricultural research systems and EAS, as well as the other components of the system, work better. The main output of an assessment is a country profile of the national AIS.

The results of the assessment can be used to prioritize and guide investments to revitalize the agri-food system at the country level. With funding from the European Union, FAO uses the guidelines to assess the national AIS in nine countries: Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Malawi, Rwanda and Senegal in Africa, Cambodia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Pakistan in Asia and Colombia in Latin America.

Developing capacities for agricultural innovation

FAO hosts the Secretariat of the Tropical Agriculture Platform (TAP), a G20-supported facilitation mechanism comprising 46 global, regional and national partners, representing agricultural research, education and extension, and international technical, development and funding agencies. TAP focuses on the development of national capacities for agricultural innovation in the tropics, where most of the developing countries are located and the capacity gap is especially wide. By helping to bridge the capacity gap, TAP aims to pave the way for agricultural innovations that meet the demands of its principal users – small farmers, small and medium-sized agribusinesses and consumers. Under the TAP Common Framework, support to capacity development for agricultural innovation has been reinforced in several countries.

Through the European Union-funded Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation Systems (CDAIS) project, implemented by FAO and Agrinatura from 2015 to 2019, capacity development was supported in eight countries: Angola, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Honduras, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic and Rwanda. Since 2019, FAO has been running the 5-year European Union-funded project called “Developing capacities in agricultural innovation systems: scaling up the Tropical Agriculture Platform Framework”, which focuses on nine countries: Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Colombia, Eritrea, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malawi, Pakistan, Rwanda and Senegal.