Innovation platforms as spaces for rural change – some experiences

from ILRI

Alan Duncan

FAO West Africa Regional Workshop on Crop Residues, Dakar, 10-13 December 2012

The conventional approach to livestock feed

development

Technologies

Why Innovation Platforms?

Or...

From Cullen and Ergano 2011

What is an innovation

platform?Many definitions but one we like at ILRI:

An innovation platform is a needs-basednetwork bringing together stakeholders fromdifferent interest groups, disciplines, sectorsand organizations to exchange knowledge, generate innovation and develop joint action. Platforms are more than just places to talk; they create opportunities for stakeholders to test solutions to common problems (Cullen & Ergano, 2011)

From Cullen and Ergano 2011

Rural

farmer

Collector Processor

Consumer

Input

supplier

Coop

Research Extension

Conventional approach: research to

farmerInnovation Systems

Approach: research inside

Research Extension

How we have gone about

setting up innovation

platforms?

Identify the focal issue

– In the case of the

Fodder Adoption

Project: feed for

livestock

– In the case of the

Nile Basin

Development

Challenge: rainwater

management

Identify relevant stakeholders –

these become potential IP members

R4D

project

Local

Research

NGO

Private

sector

Extension

Water

office

District

admin

Champion

farmers

Convene meetings

Joint identification of

constraints and actions

Constraint Action Timescale Who is

responsible?

Seed supply Meet with

private seed

supplier

By next week Research

Institute

Lack of

improved

animals

Identify local

sources

By March Office of

Agriculture

Technical

know-how on

forage

cultivation

Develop

training

materials

By June NGO

Follow up on actions

Review action plan at each meeting

Some Lessons

Lesson 1

Demonstrating benefits of

technological options through on-farm

trials and other approaches proved to

be an effective means of stimulating

interest of farmers and other

stakeholders which then made

convening and establishing multi-

stakeholder networks easier.

Lesson 2

For actors to participate in multi-

stakeholder networks it is necessary

for clear, tangible incentives to exist.

Lesson 3

Linking fodder technologies to

livestock value chains is essential to

ensure their successful adoption.

Lesson 4

Diverse actors, including farmers,

researchers, extensionists, local

policy makers and the private sector,

are needed in networks to enable

knowledge to be turned into action

and benefits.

Lesson 5

To ensure fit with national policies

and to enable scaling up from local to

national levels, mechanisms need to

put in place to engage with policy

makers at different levels.

Links

http://ilriclippings.wordpress.com/cate

gory/innovation-systems/

http://fodderadoption.wordpress.com/

http://nilebdc.org/news/