Assessing Agricultural Innovation Systems For Action At Country Level

Since 2017, in line with COAG’s recommendation, the Research and Extension Unit engaged in the development of a participatory AIS assessment framework including a customizable toolbox for countries with a totally new capacity development perspective. The assessment framework is meant for actors of the national agricultural innovation systems, i.e. research, extension and advisory services, innovation support service providers and universities, policy and decision makers, or development organizations, with a mandate or willingness to catalyze system innovation processes and to identify entry points for developing capacities to innovate in a a sector, a value chain, a territory or at country level. The expected outputs and outcomes of the assessment are: a) to inform and provide evidence-based practical guidance to policy and decision makers to identify concrete actions and investments geared towards strengthening of the AIS, and simultaneously b) to enhance capacities of relevant actors to effectively engage in these actions. Considering high level of complexity and diversity of agricultural innovation systems and CD needs, the assessment implementers need to be guided to collect and analyze quantitative and qualitative data and information to generate evidence for assisting decision-making and advocacy in their specific context. To meet these objectives, a preliminary assessment framework was developed to be tested and enriched by pilot countries. This document provides the key concepts, the foundations of analytical and operational assessment frameworks and guiding principles for country assessment teams in piloting countries. It contributes to FAO’s Strategic Objective 2 - Increase and improve provision of goods and services from agriculture, forestry and fisheries in a sustainable manner.

This document intends to provide an analysis of the outcomes of the application of the TAP Common Framework in the eight countries of the Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation Systems (CDAIS) project. The TAP Common Framework (TAP CF) was developed at the global level as an initial activity of the CDAIS project in order to guide capacity development (CD) and strengthening of Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS). The project then tested this framework in eight pilot countries (Guatemala, Honduras, Burkina Faso, Angola, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Lao PDR, Bangladesh). The purpose of the transversal analysis was to understand how the CDAIS approach contributed to outcomes and impacts in a diversity of contexts and to propose recommendations for upgrading the Common Framework across its theoretical and practical dimensions. The two main guiding questions were: • What made the CDAIS approach transformational (or not) in diverse contexts? • How useful, usable and used was the TAP Common Framework? The comparative analyses consisted in drawing patterns of context-mechanism-outcomes from case studies from the different countries. Insights gained from some countries were checked and complemented with the data and lessons learnt from others. Common findings were merged, and particular cases were used to expand or refine the generic theory that was built on the case-by-case approach.

Assessing or understanding the agriculture innovation system (AIS) is an essential step to better understand the needs, new skills and functions needed by the actors and the system. To accelerate the uptake of innovation and progress towards eradicating poverty, there is an urgent need for well-coordinated, demand-driven, and market-oriented information, knowledge, technologies and services. This document includes a set of information, templates and resources that aim to assist agricultural Innovation systems actors, stakeholders, producers, farmers to develop and share impactful stories. It guides actors and organizations across all sectors in the innovation system to collect and document case studies, success stories, good practices and lessons learned from the project initiatives, trainings and others actions. It highlights scaling-up elements so that other actors can replicate these innovations with a view to scale-up, particularly the stakeholders and actors involved in the DeSira project, through knowledge exchange and sharing.

Capacity development interventions in support of agricultural innovation are more effective when based on systematic and participatory assessments of existing skills and capacity needs. Recognizing that, an instrument has been developed in the context of the Capacity Development for Agricultural Innovation Systems (CDAIS) project. It consists of a capacity scoring tool that allows assessing innovation capacities, identifying strengths and weaknesses and monitoring capacity changes over time. This paper describes the scoring tool and provides guidelines on how to apply it successfully. The scoring tool focuses on the soft capacities needed to collaborate, reflect, learn and think strategically. These skills are captured by 21 indicators and build on the key innovation capacities identified in the Common Framework of the Tropical Agriculture Platform, a G20 initiative led by FAO. The scoring tool also addresses technical skills and the enabling environment for agricultural innovation.

Managing the ability of agriculture to meet rising global demand and to respond to the changes and opportunities will require good policy, sustained investments, and innovation - not business as usual. Investments in public Research and Development, extension, education, and their links with one another have elicited high returns and pro-poor growth, but these investments alone will not elicit innovation at the pace or on the scale required by the intensifying and proliferating challenges confronting agriculture. Experience indicates that aside from a strong capacity in Research and Development, the ability to innovate is often related to collective action, coordination, the exchange of knowledge among diverse actors, the incentives and resources available to form partnerships and develop businesses, and conditions that make it possible for farmers or entrepreneurs to use the innovations. While consensus is developing about what is meant by 'innovation' and 'innovation system', no detailed blueprint exists for making agricultural innovation happen at a given time, in a given place, for a given result. The AIS approach that looks at these multiple conditions and relationships that promote innovation in agriculture, has however moved from a concept to a sub-discipline with principles of analysis and action. AIS investments must be specific to the context, responding to the stage of development in a particular country and agricultural sector, especially the AIS. This sourcebook contributes to identifying, designing, and implementing the investments, approaches, and complementary interventions that appear most likely to strengthen AIS and to promote agricultural innovation and equitable growth. It emphasizes the lessons learned, benefits and impacts, implementation issues, and prospects for replicating or expanding successful practices. The information in this sourcebook derives from approaches that have been tested at different scales in different contexts. It reflects the experiences and evolving understanding of numerous individuals and organizations concerned with agricultural innovation, including the World Bank. This information is targeted to the key operational staff in international and regional development agencies and national governments who design and implement lending projects and to the practitioners who design thematic programs and technical assistance packages. The sourcebook can also be an important resource for the research community and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

An assessment of seven innovation case studies in Pakistan in 2022 found that agriculture innovation systems show limited collaboration and networking, and a supply-driven rather than market driven approach to innovation. [Author] This limits the potential for scaling innovations such as the ‘Super Seeder’, a machine that sows wheat directly in the rice stubble, replacing the common practice of burning it. [Author] The study was conducted in September and October 2022 as part of the global TAP-AIS project coordinated by FAO’s Office of Innovation and funded by the European Union’s DeSIRA initiative. [Author] The seven innovation case studies were nominated by key organizations under three thematic area: digital transformation, product innovation and service innovation. [Author] A desk review, focus group discussions, key informant interviews and a self-assessment questionnaire was used to collect data. [Author] Major gaps identified included, among others: i) Innovation actors have limited organizational support and ability to initiate collaboration and engage in networking with other actors for the purposes of market formation and scaling innovation; ii) Collaboration was not pursued for all stages of innovation, that is, from innovation development to innovation scaling; and iii) A supply-driven approach tends to be used for innovation development and scaling, rather than a market-driven approach. [Author] The results of the assessment informed the next phase of the TAP-AIS project in Pakistan in 2023–2024, which includes organizational capacity development and a policy dialogue process to strengthen innovation systems for low-cost agricultural machinery for smallholders. [Author] The work contributes to the TAP-AIS project’s main objective to strengthen capacities to innovate in national agriculture innovation systems (AIS) in the context of climate-relevant, productive, and sustainable transformation of agriculture and food systems. [Author]

This guide is aimed to propose a holistic, systemic, and easy-to-use methodology that is multiscalar, multisectoral, and multidimensional for the M&E of public EAS systems to help identify gaps and pathways to strengthen and reform the public EAS system. It starts with analyses of the common objectives, subject, challenges, lessons learned, and prospects of the existing M&E systems and expounds on the logical framework, rationale and objectives of the proposed M&E methodology from a multistakeholder perspective. Then it proposes M&E frameworks at the national and grassroots levels following such order as the introduction, key M&E elements, indicator framework, and operational framework. Next, it looks at the issues of data sources, data collection, and capacity building, focusing on the institutionalization of the M&E system in the public EAS. Finally, it introduces the commonly used tools and methods of data analysis, focusing on the weighting of indicators, scoring methods, and integrated analytical frameworks.

Multi-actor agricultural innovation platforms (MAIPs), as models for inclusive and collaborative innovation, are increasingly deployed in farmer communities to solve the last-mile bottleneck, namely, the empowerment of smallholder farmers and value chain actors to access innovation and services to drive field-level change. Facilitators play a critical role in establishing and operating MAIPs, stimulating interactions among MAIP actors and thereby supporting co-innovation and co-learning processes. They are usually specialized MAIP actors (e.g. researchers, extension agents, agricultural educationists, brokers, NGO activists, traders and processors). Qualified MAIP facilitators, as value chain intermediaries and coordinators, are required to have strong facilitation skills and relevant technical background. They are normally trained through training of MAIP facilitator courses or through the implementation of a MAIP. This handbook aims to support MAIP facilitators to establish and operate MAIPs. It summarizes the experience of the MAIPs in persimmon, hazelnut and honey value chains that FAO implemented as part of the European Union-funded project “Development of sustainable and inclusive local food systems in north-west region of Azerbaijan (GCP/AZE/014/EC)”, the “Tropical Agricultural Platform Agricultural Innovation System (TAP-AIS)” project implemented in Malawi, and the Science and Technology Backyard (STB) initiative led by the China Agricultural University (CAU). It also draws on the experience of the training course “Training of master trainers for establishing and operating Multi-actors Agricultural Innovation Platforms” co-organized by FAO and CAU on 11–15 July 2023.

Facilitation has proved crucial for enabling the interaction of Agricultural Innovation System (AIS) actors to address the target and to innovate. This “Guide on training of facilitators of multi-actor agricultural innovation platform” is aimed at serving facilitators when multi-actor agricultural innovation platforms (MAIPs) are organized. Since MAIPs are still an emerging concept, there are not many cases to refer to. This guide mainly summarizes the experiences from the implementation of MAIPs in permission, hazelnuts and honey value chains that FAO organized through the EU-funded project of Development of sustainable and inclusive local food systems in north-west region of Azerbaijan (GCP/AZE/014/EC) and STB initiatives. This guide is a guideline tool, rather than a textbook for training MAIPs facilitators. Facilitators should keep in mind that MAIPs advocate learning by doing, through practice. They should conduct MAIPs by referring to the training activities in this book instead of copying. Although the authors have tried their best to make this guide applicable to agricultural production and social development in various places, it is difficult to cover all the content. Therefore, MAIPs facilitators using this book are encouraged to give full play to creativity and develop training activities and methods sensitive to local characteristics and value chains.

Multi-actors innovation platforms (MAIPs) are increasingly deployed as a model for participatory and inclusive innovation to address the challenges of sustainability in complex systems like the agri-food systems. The facilitation of co-innovation and multi-actor partnerships is critical to the success of MAIPs, as a common lesson learned across the multitude of initiatives around the world. The guideline was developed for Master Trainers to train MAIP facilitators. The guideline first gives an introduction to the definiton, principles, design, establishment and facilitation of MAIPs. Then, it explains the principles, curriculum development and preparation, and implementation, monitoring and evaluation of MAIP training of facilitators courses as well as mentoring of MAIP facilitators. Finally, the guideline offers a generic structure of MAIP training of facilitator curriculum. It is suggested that this guideline be used as a reference for MAIP master trainers to formulate context-specific training objectives, approach, learning activities and field-based action.