agricultural innovation systems: an introduction

Agricultural Innovation Systems: An

Introduction

Andy HallLINK-United Nations University-MERIT

Learning INnovation KnowledgePolicy-relevant Resources for Rural Innovation

Important definitionsNo. 1: Innovation

• 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

• To be termed innovation, the use of this knowledge has to be novel to the farmer or the firm, neighbours and competitors, but not necessarily new globally

• Invention, on the other hand, is the creation of new knowledge new to the world, usually by research organisations, but also by artisans and others


Important definitionsNo. 2: Institutions

• The difference between institutions and organisations is as follows: Organisations are bodies such as enterprises, research institutes, farmer cooperatives and government or non-government organisations (NGOs), while institutions are the sets of common habits, routines, practices, rules or laws that regulate the relationships and interactions between individuals and groups (Edquist, 1997).


Different ways of stimulating innovation

Linear Systemic

Sources of ideas Centralised/ Science research

Multiple stakeholders, including research

Communication Research-to-“extension”-to-farmer

Structured around action

Assumptions on how social impact is achieved

EX. Diffusion processes organised by extension/ the market

INC. Interactive learning give rise to concerted action

Knowledge constructs

Knowledge is truth and can be transferred

Knowledge only has meaning in its domain of existence


Vijaya Association: Mango Export Quantity Improvement Project

Export development authority

Farmers Export marketsVijaya

Public Horticulture Research

Private technology services

Technology

Market informationTechnology

Market information

MangoesMangoes

Agricultural university

Public food scienceresearch


Why didn’t it work?

• Important public sector technical expertise “locked-up” with limited exposure to farmers or a commercial context — and the historical reasons for this

• Related pre- and post-harvest expertise “locked-up” in different non-communicating organisations/ research organisations

• Bureaucratic habits and practices made it difficult for scientists to develop new ways of working with the private sector and farmers

– i.e., they prevented process/ institutional learning• Vijaya lacked technical and managerial competencies to focus

technical inputs on the problems of its farmers• Concluded that research and innovation is embedded in and

shaped by many relationships, contexts and ways of working


Innovation systems: What is it?

• Concept to help reveal and deal with the partnership and institutional issues that shape innovation processes and shape the contribution of research to that process


Innovation Systems: Definition

• A system of innovation involves all the actors and their interactions involved in the production, use of knowledge, and the institutional and policy context that shapes the processes of interacting, knowledge sharing and learning

• It recognises:– Multiple knowledge bases, including research but also others– It is a capability to innovate, not just today but in ever-changing

environments — i.e., it is a dynamic adaptive capability– It is embedded in and defined by the institutional and policy

contexts that shape the ways actors and organisations behave


Why research-to-innovation?

• Old challenges for agricultural research– Operation and management of large public agencies– Difficulties of matching supply with demand for technology and

dealing with heterogeneous social and physical contexts

• New challenges for agricultural research – Increasing complexity of mandate: Growth, Poverty and

Environment– Emergence of new players beyond the State– The emergence and dynamics of New Agriculture and the

changing relationship of the poor with the sector


Innovation and new agriculture • Sectors: Livestock and aquiculture, flowers, horticulture,

medicinal plants, agro-processing, biofuels, fibers, forest products

• Drivers: Opening up of world markets, changing trade and IPR rules, new technology urbanisation, industrialisation of the food chain

• Features: Players outside of the state. Diversity. Small niche sectors but dynamic. Reaches the poor through employment. Knowledge-intensive.

• Challenges: Requires continuous knowledge-intensive innovation to compete and cope in rapidly-changing conditions, to strengthen equity and sustain the environment


FOOD INDUSTRIES

Advanced

materials

for ponds &

enclosures

Complex

design

knowledge

Monitoring

through computer

imaging & pattern

recognition

techniques

Pharmaceutical, nutritional inputs

for health &

feeding systems

Biotechnology

for

environmental sustainability

Bacteriology, microbiology, new

freezing technologies, for storage &

packaging

FISH FARMING


Clone development

Rootstock development

Virus diagnostics

Canopy management

Irrigation and drainage

Climate controls/

monitoringVineyard software

management

Integrated pest

management

Harvesting methods

VITICULTUREVITICULTURE

KNOWLEDGE BASES IN THE WINE SECTOR


Unique cepages & blends

“Soft” equipment

Yeasts

Temperature controlsHygiene

Maceration

Barrel ageing

Quality testing

VINICULTUREVINICULTURE


Appellation and quality standards

Tourism and hospitality

Wine competitions

Wine education

Exports Mergers and acquisitions

Vertical integration

Premium contracts for grape growers

Brand development

Online retailing

ORGANIZATIONAL & ORGANIZATIONAL & MARKETINGMARKETING


Origins of the Innovation Systems Concept

• Limited ability of economic models that relied on linear assumptions about R&D leading to innovation to inform policy of how to promote innovation-based competition in dynamic and rapidly-changing technical, institutional and economic environments

• Create space for more systemic, interactive and evolutionary models of Nelson and Winter, Dosi, Freeman, Lundval and, later, others. Initially discussed in terms of national systems of innovation. Now in terms of sectors, including agriculture


Key insights from the framework

• Focus on innovation– Neither science nor technology nor invention, but the application

of knowledge. Can be acquired through learning, research or experiences. Often it comprises new combinations of existing knowledge

• Linkages between partnerships and networks– Acquiring knowledge and learning are interactive experiences,

requiring linkages with different knowledge bases. Not just linking, but linking for learning and acquiring knowledge.


Key insights (continued)• New actors, new roles

– Broad range of actors outside the State– Relative importance of different actors changes during innovation process– As circumstances change roles evolve– Actors can play multiple roles – Less compartmentalised

• The role of institutions– The habits and practices of organisations that shape their propensity to interact, to

learn, to access and share knowledge and to take risks– Determines the way actors respond to triggers to innovate and to policy incentives– Very context-specific and has to be factored in to efforts to develop innovation capacity– Embeddedness


Key insights (continued)

• The role of policies– Support of innovation, not the outcome of single policy, but a set

that works together to shape innovative behavior– Habits and practices interact with policies and need to be

accounted for and counterbalanced. E.g., public-private sector partnerships; participation

• The inclusion of stakeholders and the demand side– Demand is a signal for innovation. Habits and practices are

required if systems are to sensitive to the agendas of stakeholders. Non-market linkages are important, particularly where stakeholders are poor


Key Insights (continued)

• Dynamic nature of innovation systems– Habits and practices are learnt behaviors emerging through

experiences. – Institutional innovations– New approaches and ways of working often require new

partners

• Co-evolution of contexts and connections– Reconfiguring linkages is the classic response of successful

innovation systems in the face of external shocks– Because innovation is an adaptive capacity, having the networks

that provide early warning information and the skills and social capital to respond to shocks is a central attribute of successful innovation systems


Interaction

Sanitary & phytosanitary standards

Licensing

Increased international investment

& knowledge

flows

DNA GENOTYPING,

Adapted from: Lynn K. Mytelka, “Local Systems of Innovation in a Globalized World Economy” in Industry and Innovation, Vol. 7. No. 1, June 2000

Agricultural Policies

Global concentration

Agricultural


Measures of Success

• Static — Survival of the sector, growth rates, value, labour absorption

• Dynamic — Preparedness to deal with change. Increased innovation capacity denoted by widening (more links, better social capital) and deepening (new competencies, habits and practices) of the system


Hypothesis

• The creation of a dynamic innovation capability requires habits and practices/ institutions, policies and support structures that promote interaction, learning, knowledge flows, inclusiveness and risk taking


Insights from a recent study

• Even strong incentives to innovate are not enough to create new networks for learning

• Habits and practices are the main bottlenecks to new arrangements emerging and to innovation, more generally

• Technical and institutional change are interelated• There is a need to simultaneously strengthen market-

based linkages as well as knowledge-based linkages


What does this mean for research organisations?

• Centrality of partnerships• Network development• Development of a stakeholder dialogue• New governance mechanisms• New agenda of systems capacity development• New research • New roles • New organisational culture and ILAC• New skills and disciplinary mixes


Options

• Beware of local contexts and apply flexibly and experimentally and adjust accordingly

• Concentrate on process as well as product outcomes

• Within agricultural research organisations– Team building across disciplines; training in partnering, reflection and learning;

ILAC programmes

• Between research organisations and private companies– Stipulation of competitive grant schemes, use of third party agencies, joint

supervision of students, industrial placements, joint advisory committees, joint reviews and ILAC exercises

• Between governments, private companies, research organisations and NGOs

– Foresight exercises, commodity associations, joint task forces and committees of enquiry


LINK is a specialist network of regional innovation policy studies hubs established by the United Nations University-MERIT (UNU-MERIT)

and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to strengthen the interface between rural innovation studies,

policy and practice and to promote North-South and South-South learning on rural innovation.


agricultural innovation systems: an introduction

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