The related concepts of “Innovation” and “Innovation Systems” are becoming increasingly common in discourse on agricultural and rural development. They emerged in response to the limitations of linear models of knowledge and technology transfer, and the recognition that participatory approaches at farm and community level – while providing interesting opportunities – were not always sufficient to improve smallholders’ livelihoods in a lasting way and on a large scale. Stimulating innovation and improving the efficiency of innovation systems is increasingly recognised as a policy priority. However, largely because of the complexity of multistakeholder processes of knowledge generation and use in smallholder farming, there is little understanding of what policies and approaches work effectively under what conditions, and how to implement these in concrete terms.
In Africa, much attention is paid to innovation practice. Numerous projects and initiatives, usually implemented with external donor support, promote participatory development of different types of agricultural innovations at different scales. However, most of this work is not based on an explicit conceptual basis, nor are such experiences systematically documented (not to mention assessed) in a truly participatory manner. Moreover, cross-analyses of cases within a country or across countries are rarely made because of differing underlying analytical frameworks and approaches used in each case study. Thus, learning about such experiences remains fragmented, mostly local and anecdotal, and has limited capacity to inform and influence policy formulation and institutional frameworks.
This project seeked to capture the lessons learnt about implementing multistakeholder approaches to innovation development, paying explicit attention to local/traditional knowledge (L/TK) in the process. Lessons were sought in terms of the practices, the underlying concepts, methodologies and narratives, and in terms of the context, i.e. support structures (donors, national governments, universities, research and extension agencies etc), and mechanisms (coordination, platforms, policies) that are required as part of the enabling environment for such approaches. The goal was, therefore, to assess how smallholders’ innovativeness, knowledge, capacities and other resources can be tapped into, strengthened and linked effectively to those of other stakeholders – public or private, local or global – to contribute to reducing rural poverty and improving food security in Africa. This joint learning will provide a basis for identifying priorities for future research, practice and policy related to agricultural/rural innovation and L/TK.
The project brought together researchers and practitioners in assessing, sharing and learning from information collected on a wide range of innovation cases in three countries of sub-Saharan Africa: Kenya, Benin and South Africa. To this end, an analytical framework and an operational approach to case-study assessment were developed and validated in an iterative way between scientists and practitioners, European and African. While the project approach focused on synthesising existing sources of information, additional evidence was collected on a selected number of cases through fieldwork and with active participation of stakeholders directly involved in these experiences. The process of developing the case studies formed the heart of a capacity-development trajectory for local and national stakeholders.
A major output of the project was a better understanding by stakeholders involved in these initiatives of the nature, performance and impact of innovation systems and of the multistakeholder processes of knowledge creation, transfer and use that sustain innovation. An effort was made to identify the sources and origins of (new) knowledge that contributes to the corresponding innovation processes, and the stakeholders that drive the knowledge-creation processes. With such understanding, formal agricultural research and development (ARD) actors in Africa and their international partners are hopefully in a better position to take into account the mediation and translation processes through which traditional knowledge is being permanently re-appropriated and incorporated into new solutions for solving existing or emerging problems. This is one of the necessary conditions to transform the content, functioning and composition of agricultural/rural innovation systems.
JOLISAA's originality and challenge was to put joint iterative learning among project partners and with local/ national stakeholders at the heart of the project’s operation, in the belief that a multistakeholder participatory assessment was more suited than a classical external assessment to identify a relevant agenda for future research, practice and policy, and to contribute to engaging stakeholders in changing their approach to innovation development. How much we succeeded in doing so, and why joint learning did (not) happen is debatable: judge by yourselves!
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