Brussels Development Briefing n.34

Farmer-driven research to improve food and

nutrition security 14th November 2013

http://brusselsbriefings.net

Participatory Innovation Systems for

Smallholder Development. Niels Röling, CoS-SIS.

Convergence of Sciences

Niels Röling

Ex-Wageningen University; Science Consultant CoS-SIS

Presentation for Brussels Policy Briefing no. 34

Farmer-driven research to improve food and nutrition security

Brussels: Jacques Delors Building

14 November 2013

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Participatory Innovation Systems for Smallholder Development

Convergence of Sciences

African smallholders

Mme Mah KONE, Présidente de la Coopérative des Productrices de la Karité de Zatiébougou, Mali

Convergence of Sciences

African smallholders • Control vast land, water, and human resources

• Feed the majority of the population

• Have not been able to increase their yields

• Production growth is struggling to keep up with population growth….

• Largely through taking new land into production and reducing fallow periods (loss of water holding capacity and Striga infestation due to loss of organic matter)

• Increase in food imports

Convergence of Sciences

Pervasive Biases against SSA smallholders

• Yields average around 1-2 tonnes/ha • Technically these could be relatively easily

doubled or tripled with agro-ecological methods

• The failure of the Green Revolution in Africa is attributed to ‘pervasive biases against the small-farm sector’ (Djurfeldt et al. 2005)

• Smallholders lack tenure security, access to services, infrastructure and value chains. They face extractive practices and corruption. They have no political clout

Convergence of Sciences

Pathways for innovation

• Since the 1970 until today the mainstream approach to smallholder development has been scientific discovery, delivery, and adoption by ‘end users’.

• ARD is blind to and ignores the institutional conditions required to enable smallholders to sustainably intensify their farming

• Institutions are hard to understand….

Convergence of Sciences

Institutions

Convergence of Sciences

Institutions • We know about economics, psychology,

natural science (stars, biology, medicine)

• But little about the rules and norms, regulatory and policy frameworks, and collective practices that shape our lives

• Inclusive institutions make nations succeed (Acemoglu and Robinson 2012)

• In Europe and the US institutional conditions for farm productivity growth were created 50 years before growth took off

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Institutional change • Institutions cannot be transferred. They

emerge from historical conditions and interaction. They are embedded in specific socio-economic contexts or domains

• CoS-SIS hypothesis: changing institutions requires niches for change in which key stakeholders in a domain interact and decide on concerted action, new rules, etc.

• The hard part is embedding such decisions in more permanent regimes. Innovation implies ‘creative destruction’ (Schumpeter)

Convergence of Sciences

Convergence of Sciences: Strengthening Innovation Systems

The CoS-SIS ’family’

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CoS-SIS approach • Selection of Domain: potential arena for concerted

action and institutionalisation

• System analysis: understand constraints and opportunities smallholders face based on broad scoping of markets, technologies, practices, perceptions, actor networks, etc.

• Participatory entry point selection based on sound information, visioning and entrepreneurship

• Facilitation of innovation platforms temporary forums that allow informed stakeholders to interact and decide on concerted action

Convergence of Sciences

ARD • Ag. research institutes focus on soils, varieties,

pest & diseases, etc. They develop technologies

• Only a small percentage is adopted by smallholders. Low impact on the ground

• Three institutes in Ghana are developing a procedure to follow the CoS-SIS approach

• CORAF/WECARD (regional WA agric. research organisation) wants to use this procedure to roll out IAR4D among 22 its members

Convergence of Sciences

ARD • Ag. research institutes focus on soils, varieties,

pest & diseases, etc. Develop technologies

• Only a small percentage is adopted by smallholders. Low impact on the ground

• Three institutes in Ghana are developing a procedure to follow the CoS-SIS approach

• CORAF/WECARD (regional WA research organisation) wants to use this procedure to roll out IAR4D among 22 its members

Convergence of Sciences

Thank you!