Promoting agricultural innovation systems for better learning and collaboration   

8 May 2018, Addis Ababa – Agricultural innovation actors and partners hold a marketplace workshop to exchange information and practical experiences on agricultural innovation systems (AIS), as well as to establish partnerships and collaboration to foster sustained capacity building.   

Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS) is an approach that brings together all relevant actors along with the policies and institutions that determine their interactions and functions. Its success of supporting agricultural transformation depends on the actors’ capacity to interact, build trust and create synergy, and the provision of context specific capacity building programmes. 

Speaking the marketplace workshop, AbdulKarim Bah, FAO Deputy Representative to Ethiopia said, “We believe that the promotion of technology alone may not be enough to foster the transformation of the agricultural sector. Suits of complimentary and interrelated conditions have to be fulfilled in tandem with agricultural transformation, which all aspire, to happen and sustain. These are changes that cover social, economic, organizational, and institutional dimensions, which are collectively recognized as an Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS)." 

In Ethiopia, five priority innovation niches have been identified for the project interventions, namely Milk Demand Stimulation, Malt Barely Seed Production and Marketing, Community Seed Production and Marketing, Feed Quality and Safety, and Chickpea Production and Marketing. 

“Innovative project ideas, new initiatives, information, knowledge and technologies could be shared and organizations and people from different walks of life may interact to partner for synergy and greater results,” said Dr Mandefro Nigusse, Director General of the Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research speaking about the importance of the marketplace workshop. 

“The marketplace event will improve our perception and understanding about the concept of innovation. Innovation is not just about a new technology coming out from research or universities. It is the art of making sense out of the technology in the practical world where countless social, economic, policy and institutional factors affect the dissemination and adaptation of the technologies,” Dr Mandefro added. 

The main goal of an innovative system is to manage the complex relationships of market players, policy actors and institutional factors so that things can happen rightly on the ground. Understanding the attitudes and behaviours of people and organizations involved in the process is also another critical part of the innovation process. 

The marketplace workshop is planned to create opportunities for Agricultural Innovation Systems’ actors on one side and donors, NGOs and development agencies from the other side to share experiences gained in past activities and information on present and future activities, (iii) discuss the results of the capacity development needs assessment exercises and CD plans, and (iv) establish partnerships or other forms of collaboration. 

About the project:

The CDAIS project is joint initiative of FAO and AGRINATURA with an overall objective to assess the needs for capacity development (CD) in agricultural innovation systems (AIS), and validate approaches to strengthen processes for CD of AIS in 8 countries (Angola, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Bangladesh, Laos, Guatemala, and Honduras). This project is supported by the European Union. FAO and AGRINATURA together with EIAR and other local stakeholders are leading the implementation of the planned project activities. A common framework on CD for Agricultural Innovation has been developed at global level by the project partners and the framework is now being tested in all beneficiary countries since 2016. The centrepiece of this project is to stimulate and develop national and local innovation niches (partnership) in Agriculture.

 For further information, please contact: 

Tamiru Legesse, National Communication Officer, FAO Representation to Ethiopia

Tel: +251 (0)911 861 293

Email: [email protected]