AG 201 Introduction to Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation System
The Innovation
concept: This refers to 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 a 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. It could also
mean, change in practices, in the established way of doing things;
technological, organizational, or institutional. It means also, the use of new
knowledge or new use of existing knowledge and its application for social
and/or economic use. Innovation is the search for development, adaptation,
imitation and adoption of technologies that are new to a specific context, (Hall and Dijkman, 2006).
Innovation in agriculture is defined as a process by which
farmers and farms accept and use agricultural technologies and services that
are new to them, irrespective of whether they are new to their competitors
(Madukwe, 2018).
The Concept of
Innovation System
The concept of innovation system is increasingly suggested as
a way to strengthen agricultural capacity (Hall, Sivamohan, Clarks, Taylor and
Bockel, 2001; Hall, Mytelka, and Oyeyinka, 2004). Innovation is a
multi-stakeholder process that cannot be achieved by one group of stakeholders,
the reconfiguration of agricultural research and extension means that positive
outcomes are now particularly dependent on the role that farmers play in
innovation system (Wennick and Heemskert, 2006). At the farmer’s level, social
networks and the changes that occur within them, have emerged as a crucial
element in defining the nature of that role and delineate the context for
success or failure of innovation (Madukwe, 2018). As the innovation processes
unfold, the type of information shared changes. This type of information
includes the constraints likely to be faced before and after adopting the
innovations and the types of benefits that farmrs would expect to get after
adoption. Innovations are brought about because of the rapid and steady changes
in the agricultural sphere. There is a shift to strategies that enhance
agricultural production; secondly, the production, trade and consumption
environment for agriculture and agricultural products are increasingly dynamic
and evolving in unpredictable ways (Madukwe, 2018). Therefore, it calls for
stakeholders in agriculture (farmers, researchers and agricultural firms and
allied industries) to innovate in order to compete and survive the evolving
period in agriculture. Knowledge information and technology are increasingly
generated, diffused and applied through the private sector. Innovative
businesses develop and supply a substantial number of technologies that farmers
use (examples include; seeds, fertilizer, pesticides, and agricultural
machinery). The rapid development in information communication technologies
have made knowledge transfer and exchange very possible in unimaginable
magnitude and forms. The innovation
system approach is very important in agricultural extension. This is because,
agricultural extension innovation involves a diverse set of actors with different set of
functions. The innovation system is applicable to all areas of human endeavours
where knowledge is generated and used for the welfare of humanity, (example
health, education, aero-space, banking, e.t.c). It is applicable to different
geographical space, and even to specific crops, livestock and livestock
projects.
In the Nigerian context, actors in innovation systems
include; farmers, agro-processors, marketers, researchers, universities, the
ministries of agriculture, science and technology, environment, education,
finance, commerce and industry, the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA), the
Agricultural Development Programme (ADP), states and local governments and
others. These actors are embedded in an institutional context that determines
how individual actors behave and interact with other elements in the system.
Concepts in
innovation system
Some of the concepts prominent in the innovation system are;
knowledge, interactions, cooperation and institution.
1.
Knowledge – This can be categorized in many
different ways. It may be classified according to form-for e.g
scientific/technical knowledge or organizational/managerial knowledge, as well
as codified/explicit and tacit/implicit knowledge (Hall, Sulaiman, Clark,
Sivamonhan, and Yoganand, 2002).
2.
Interactions – This is the relationships between
and among agents in an innovation system. Intractions are numerous and varied,
and include such relationships as spot market exchanges of goods and services
that embody new knowledge or technology; costless exchanges of non-rival,
non-excludable knoweldeg mde available in the public domain, equally important
are those interactions among individuals and organizations that are
characterized by learning and feedback processes.
3.
Cooperation – This refers to incompletely
specified exchange (non-market) relationships that allow for opportunistic
behavior of agents involved in the exchange, in the context of an innovation
systems framework (Fritsch, 2004) Cooperation is one several forms of
interaction that is a key behavioral aspect of agents in an innovation system
and is conditioned by the institutions that promote or impede it.
4.
Institutions- These are factors that affect the
process by which innovations are developed and delivered, the laws,
regulations, conventions, traditions, routines and forms of society that
determine how different agents interact with and learn from each other, how
they produce, disseminate and use knowledge.
Attributes of Innovation system
Ø Indigenous knowledge of one
community may become an innovation for another community
Ø It
creates positive impacts in the livelihood of people
Ø It
improves performance and effectiveness of agricultural research and development
organizations
Ø It can be induced or self-initiated
Ø Innovation system could be radical
or incremental
Ø Innovation system is often a
continuous process
Ø Can be triggered in many ways –
market, knowledge, resource, policy
Ø Process of not only creating
knowledge, but making it available and putting it into use
Ø Innovation system combines
different sources of knowledge
Ø Can be a new idea or a novel
combination of existing approaches/knowledge
Ø Process relies on interaction
between different sources of knowledge
Ø Networks of diverse stakeholders
important
Functions of Innovation
Ø It involves
putting ideas, knowledge and technology to work in a manner that brings about a
significant improvement in performance
Ø It is not just an
idea – but rather an idea that has been made to work. In other words, innovation is idea that works.
Ø It involves “a better way to do an
old thing” or “a better thing to do”
Ø Not just doing the right thing, but
doing it in the right way and continuously assessing how well it is done
Ø If new technology
is simply delivered, innovation will not necessarily take place
Ø Technology needs
to be integrated with other sources of knowledge (farmers, market e.t.c) to
allow it to be used in locally relevant ways
Ø It is not just
about science and technology, it is about people, relationships, processes and
resources
Ø It is both
technological and social (organizational and behavioral)
Ø Can be focused on
incremental change or on breakthroughs
Ø Innovation
processes can be enhanced by creating more possibilities for actors to interact
Why is innovation important?
Ø Economic improvement is largely a
result of the application of knowledge in productive activities and the
associated adjustments in social institutions
Ø Innovation and technology are also
needed to transform countries from reliance on the exploitation of natural
resources to technological innovation as the basis for development.
The Perspective of Innovation System (IS)
v Technologies alone
are not enough to bring about innovation. Human resources and indigenous
knowledge are important too
v Multiple sources
of innovation. There is no single source of innovation. It is multi-faceted.
v Partnerships are
vital for innovation. Partnership is at the core of innovation system.
v Good service
delivery systems and capacity to innovate are critical in defining the
innovation process
v There are roles
and interactions of diverse agents in an innovation system. It involves,
knowledge exchange, technological, sociological/socio-cultural and
institutional changes.
What is Innovation capacity?
v Capacity in this sense, is the nature and patterns of linkages and
interaction and the ways of working, mechanisms of governance and the policy
environment needed to bring about pro-poor innovation.
v Capacity to respond to changing
conditions (production, distribution/marketing, policy etc)
Two Elements of
Innovation capacity
I.
Patterns
of partnership between scientific, developmental, service delivery
organizations and poor farmers and the way this can lead to collective
investigation, design and use of location specific technologies, agricultural
practices and institutional arrangements.
II.
The
new skills and insights that farmers, NGOs, market actors, service delivery
agencies and scientists get from each other when they interact through
partnerships.
Innovation capacity depends on:
a. Social and institutional
arrangements to mobilise different sorts of knowledge that create novelty on a
continuous basis
b. Knowledge support arrangements that
are flexible, relevant, responsive and multi-organisational
c. Institutional arrangements and
partnership patterns which should be continuously adjusting through learning and in response to changing
circumstances
d. Innovation capacity development is
highly context specific and needs to be built in a locally relevant manner
e. Need for new habits and practices
that promote the behaviour needed to sustain the above
f. There are no ‘optimal’
arrangements, but only ‘adaptive’
Nature
of innovation and innovation capacity
Ø Research is an
important component—but not always the central component—of innovation
Ø In the
contemporary agricultural sector, competitiveness depends on collaboration for
innovation
Ø Social and
environmental sustainability are integral to economic success and must be
reflected in interventions
Ø The market is not
sufficient to promote interaction—the public sector has a central role to play
Ø Interventions are
essential for building the capacity and fostering the learning that enable a
sector to respond to continuous competitive challenges
Ø The organization
of rural stakeholders is a central development concept. It is a common theme in
innovation systems development and in numerous agricultural and rural
development efforts
Ø A wide set of
attitudes and practices must be cultivated to foster a culture of innovation
Ø The enabling
environment is a key component of innovation capacity.
THE PILLARS OF INNOVATION SYSTEMS IN AGRICULTURE
1. Government (2 ) Research (3 ) Extension (4) Financial
sector (5) Private sector (6)Farmers
General Roles of Actors and linkages in
Innovation System
Ø Training support,
planning, farmer mobilisation
Ø Increasing role of
private sector
Ø Increasing input
supply and service provision
Ø Co-ordinating bodies for
co-ordinating and managing linkages
Ø Training, technology provision, technical
support, monitoring
Ø Farmer mobilisation, technical information
Enabling environment for Successful
Innovation System
Ø Organizational
transformation – culture which promotes linking and learning
Ø Safe spaces for
experimentation and learning
Ø Incentive and
reward system which encourages innovation and outcome
Advantages of Innovation Systems in Agriculture
Ø The way we generate, communicate
and use knowledge is changing e.g., ICT
Ø Agricultural problems are more
complex- not a single actor has all the capacities and capabilities to address
them
Ø It
helps in the development of appropriate technologies for agricultural extension
activities and makes them accessible to farmers
Ø It
provides inputs, services, and credit facilities to farmers
Ø It
makes adoption of new technologies easier by providing the necessary
information o enhance management practices, technical efficiency and close
skill gaps
Ø It
emphasizes the importance of interaction within the sector
Ø It
enhances collaboration among the various actors in the innovation development
process
Ø Increasingly markets drive
agricultural development- globalisation, supermarket revolution, production-
consumption systems
Ø It enhances the increasing role of private
sector.
Ø It provides new and very dynamic markets for
agricultural products and services
Ø Not just technology and production,
but organisations (attitudes, practices and new ways of working), management,
marketing changes- new types of knowledge which is not usually associated with
conventional Ag R&D
Challenges of Innovation Systems
ü An IS analysis spanning entire
agricultural sector might be too ambitious and abstract- not analytically
useful
ü Heterogeneity- differences in
institutional, organizational
environment, culture and learning habits among actors
ü Weak infrastructure and poor market
access
ü No organised articulation of farmer
demand for innovation
ü Don’t perfectly understand problem
ü Failure to recognize agricultural
extension services as system
ü Poor training and understanding of
operations of the innovation system
ü Existence of stringent policies and
weak support for the system of innovation
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