Innovation in the farming systems: presentation of some research conducted by the Research Unit Innovation and Development in Agriculture and Food from CIRAD

Guy FAURE (CIRAD), Director

http://umr-innovation.cirad.fr/accueil

Innovation and advisory services

Our approach on innovation

Analysing innovations :◦within the context of the stakeholders◦Using an innovation system

perspectiveInterdisciplinary research,

combining skills in agronomy and social sciences

Action-Research methodology with partners to understand and strengthen innovation processes

Strong relationships with Master and PhD studies

Our scientific project

How do actors innovate in their own context?

Analyzing innovation processes

(coexistence/confrontation of

development models)

Under-standing the

role of organizations

and institutions (IP, IS, R&D,

advisory services)

Co-designing innovation and support actors

(diversity of methods for a

diversity of situations)

Assessing the innovation effects on

development(Ethical issues,

research impact)

Innovation in agriculture and food

Innovation &

Dévelopement

SIRAOrganizational

Innovations in R&D(Innovation Systems)

ALISTARInnovations in food

systems and markets

DAMInnovations to acess

to food

ACTINAAgroecological innovations in farming systems

COCKTAILFarmers’ innovations

AGRICITESInnovations dans

l’agriculture et l’alimentation des villes

In agriculture And food

5

What is innovation?Innovation (an idea put in action)

a new technics or practice (hardware) + new knowledge and new values (sofware) + new organizations and rules (orgware)

Two ways to see innovation : ◦a transfer of knowledge from research

to farmers (main stream, unefficient to solve complex problems),

◦a production from a network of actors to produce knowledge and mobilize resources (diferent phases, crisis, competition, unpredictable)

◦

◦ Deux façons tranchées de voir l’innovation

L’innovation est technologique et descendante

◦ Rôle de la recherche et des connaissances scientifiques (produit, procédés)

◦ Le modèle linéaire de transfert de technologies (recherche-vulgarisation-

paysan) reste présent mais connaît des limites, notamment pour les processus

d’innovations complexes

L’innovation est multiforme, distribuée et peu planifiable

◦ Reconnaissance des réseaux formels et informels d’acteurs pour la

construction des connaissances et la mobilisation des ressources, au sein de

«milieux innovateurs »

◦ L’innovation = un « processus tourbillonnaire » qui connaît des phases de

développement différentes (émergence, maturation, développement) et de

sélection (compétition),

How to support innovation?

Needs to strengthen networks, to provide information,

to strengthen actors’ capacities to analyze their

environment, to plan/monitor/assess processes, to

experiment, etc = capacities to innovate

Research is on player among other providing

information, methods and sometimes

Advisory services play a key role but have to evolve

Diversity of approaches more or less adapted to innovation Transfer of knowledge (say what to do) ◦ The problem and the solutions are known (standardized advice) Support to decision making (say what are the options)◦ The problem and the solutions are known (standardized advice) Problem solving (to co-produce with the farmer)◦ Problem unknown or complex, solutions unknown or to be adapted (diferentiated advice) Strenngthening the farmers’ skills

Problem and solutions are unknown (learning process to be autonomous)• To support initiative or solve conflicts

Listen, facilitate innovation process, support negotiation,

A mix ?

Do the advisory services fit the innovation perspective? Emergence of new forms of advisory service providers

(NGO, PO, private firms) and recognition of pluralistic advisory and extension system

Many new experiences to provide advice (FFS, MAFF, …) with innovative methods while the past methods remains important. ◦ To which extent the new advisory approaches do support

innovation processes?◦ To which extent the different service providers coordinate

their actions to answer the different needs of farmers?

Many evaluation at programme/project level of performances and impacts with statistical approaches

Need to assess the performances and impacts of pluralistic extension systems to support national policy makers and top managers of service providers

Proposal to Assess Complex Pluralistic Extension SystemComprehensive approach based on the

IFPRI framework (Birner el al. 2009)

◦Holistic perspective with insights from different discipline of social sciences

◦Causal relationships between EAS characteristics, EAS performances, farm performances and impacts (impact pathway approach)

Context-ual

factors

Policy,farming systems, access to market)

Governance structure(funding,

rule)

Advisory

methods

Service provider capacitie

s

Point of discussion :Governance structure

At national level : ◦The various objectives of ES public

policies leading to : Diversity of governance mechanisms

(funding, rules) Diversity of extension systems

Coalition of actors supporting different kind of farmers, different vision on agriculture

Coexistence, synergies, confrontation

Point of discussion : the governance structureAt local level :

◦Interactions between the different components of advisory services explaining the specific configuration of each extension systems

service relationship

Environment(policy, farming system, access to market, etc.)

contractual relationships

Advisor

Service provider : PO, NGO, private

firm

Intermediaries:PO, downstream actor, ministry

Producer

Backstopping : research, NGO

SKILLS FUNDING

GOVERNANCE

METHODS

Point of discussion : the the governance mechanisms

Context-ual

factors

Policy,farming systems, access to market)

Perfor-mances

efficiency effectiveness

inclusion sustainability

Governance structure(funding,

rule)

Advisory

methods

Service provider capacitie

s

Farm house-hold

Representation

Decision

Change of practices

Point of discussion : the learning processBetter analyzing the learning process

and the relationship between

◦provision of advice, ◦change of farmers’ representation, ◦improvement of farmers’ skills, ◦change of farmers’ practices

(agricultural, managerial, social)

Context-ual

factors

Policy,farming systems, access to market)

Perfor-mances

efficiency effectiveness

inclusion sustainability

Impacts

EconomicSocial

Environmental

Governance structure(funding,

rule)

Advisory

methods

Service provider capacitie

s

Farm house-hold

Representation

Decision

Change of practices

Point of discussion : the different impactsFirst level (direct impacts) : impact on

the farms interacting with service providers

Second level : ◦Impacts on the farms without direct

interactions with service providers (indirect impacts)

◦Other impacts on organizations, value chains, public policies, etc.(spill-over)

Methodological Proposal

Mapping of RAS at national level (governance, funding, capacities, methods)

Selecting case studies to represent the diversity of service providers and diversity of innovation processes

Tools to be Designed

Timeline diagram

Impact pathway diagram ◦linking key outputs, outcomes, and

impacts

Performance diagram◦Efficiency, effectiveness, inclusion,

sustainability

Impacts diagram ◦first level and second level◦economic, social, environmental, etc.

Thank you for your attention

http://umr-innovation.cirad.fr/accueil