Agricultural Innovation Systems

Innovation is receiving increased attention among policymakers as a means of addressing sustainable economic development challenges. However, a range of factors such as inappropriate physical and knowledge infrastructures, incoherence of institutional frameworks, or lack of specific capabilities may have a negative impact on the functioning of the agricultural innovation system. The purpose of this paper is to apply a comprehensive innovation systems analytical framework, reconciling analyses of systemic structures, functions, failures and merits of innovation systems to assess and compare the performance of the agricultural innovation systems of Scotland and the Netherlands. To achieve this an analytical framework was drawn up based on the available literature, and through a process that included document analysis and a series of semi-structured interviews and workshops with experts in the two countries the agrifood sectors were empirically assessed. In both countries, systemic failures in terms of actors’ interactions and competencies as well as market and incentive structures were revealed. However, differences emerge between the two countries that appear to relate more to social and cultural (soft institutions) differences rather than the formal legal and regulatory frameworks (hard institutions).

This paper makes a contribution to understanding the impact of relational trust, as embodied within bonding, bridging and linking social capital, on rural innovation. Using cases of multi-stakeholder groups who work together on shared problems it explores how social capital and different forms of trust (companion, competence and commitment) influence rural innovation processes. Looking at both the ‘bright’ and ‘dark’ side of social capital, our focus is on how social capital and trust constrain and enable the process of innovation. The study highlights both positive and negative effects of social capital in the context of three fixed term projects that were part of New Zealand's Primary Innovation programme (2012–2017). Our findings show that there was a unique composition of social capital and trust at the outset of each project and that dark social capital was a critical constraint in each case. Enabling innovation processes required committed and dedicated brokers who provided bridging social capital and embodied competence trust to enable participants' confidence. Such brokers are capable of recognising and managing different ‘shades’ of social capital and trust in pursuing desired project outcomes. A main theoretical implication of this study is that a better understanding of social capital and trust is needed to enable innovation facilitators and project managers to design and undertake fixed term rural innovation projects effectively. This is because social capital determines whether the composition of relationships within networks of actors involved in innovation projects enables innovation, or to the contrary constrains innovation. Specifically the implications and implementation of bridging social capital and competence trust are key determinants of successful innovation processes.

The debate on future global food security is centered on increasing yields. This focus on availability of food is overshadowing access and utilization of food, and the stability of these over time. In addition, pleas for increasing yields across the board overlook the diversity of current positions and contexts in which local agriculture functions. And fi nally, the actual model of production is based on mainstream agricultural models in industrialized societies, in which ecological diversity and benefi ts from nature have been ignored or replaced by external inputs. The dependence upon external inputs should exacerbate the negative impacts on the environment and on social equity. Strategies to address future global food security thus require local innovation to increase agricultural production in a sustainable, affordable way in the poorest regions of the world, and to reduce the environmental

This paper presents an assessment of needs and coping mechanisms of small-scale rice farmers in the Philippines. Various ethnographic methods were used in the study. Focus group discussions among farmers and key informant interviews among agricultural staff and extension workers were conducted in 51 villages of 19 municipalities in six provinces of the country. Household survey was conducted among 923 farmers in the provinces of Agusan del Norte, Iloilo and Isabela. The major needs faced by small-scale Filipino rice farmers ranged from overcoming biotic and abiotic stresses, economic sufficiency, structural sufficiency and enhanced knowledge in rice farm management & technologies. Sufficient capital prevailed to be the most common need in rice farming. Other specific needs include low input cost, higher paddy price, access to equipment and post-harvest facilities, adequate irrigation system, farm-to-market roads, overcoming biotic stresses such as pests and diseases, overcoming abiotic stresses such as flooding and drought, and improved knowledge on rice farm management and technologies. Some needs and constraints were found to be location-specific such as biotic and abiotic stresses, but were interrelated. Adoption of key technologies promoted in the PalayCheck system to increase rice production remains a great challenge since these technologies such as the site specific nutrient management are closely interrelated with timely availability of sufficient financial capital. Farmers were found to manage and cope by borrowing money from informal lenders who charge them with high interest rates, and traders that require farmers to sell their produce immediately after harvest with a low paddy price. These situations entrapped our rice farmers in a cycle of poverty, hence pro-farmer policies and programs that addressed real needs of farmers should be in place: easy access to formal financial institutions with low interest rates and simplified credit requirements; a competitive price for paddy; reduction in costs of inputs; livelihood programs to farmers and their households; access to post-harvest facilities; better irrigation systems and road infrastructures; and most of all, strengthening farmer organizations. A working multi-stakeholder partnership among farmer organizations, Department of Agriculture and local government units are imperative in addressing the needs of farmers to increase rice production, farming households' income and achieving the country's goal of rice self-sufficiency.

Agricultural innovation systems has become a popular approach to understand and facilitate agricultural innovation. However, there is often no explicit reflection on the role of agricultural innovation systems in food systems transformation and how they relate to transformative concepts and visions (e.g. agroecology, digital agriculture, Agriculture 4.0, AgTech and FoodTech, vertical agriculture, protein transitions). To support such reflection we elaborate on the importance of a mission-oriented perspective on agricultural innovation systems. We review pertinent literature from innovation, transition and policy sciences, and argue that a mission-oriented agricultural innovation systems (MAIS) approach can help understand how agricultural innovation systems at different geographical scales develop to enable food systems transformation, in terms of forces, catalysts, and barriers in transformative food systems change. Focus points can be in the mapping of missions and submissions of MAIS within and across countries, or understanding the drivers, networks, governance, theories of change, evolution and impacts of MAIS. Future work is needed on further conceptual and empirical development of MAIS and its connections with existing food systems transformation frameworks. Also, we argue that agricultural systems scholars and practitioners need to reflect on how the technologies and concepts they work on relate to MAIS, how these represent a particular directionality in innovation, and whether these also may support ex-novation.

This study investigates how the Ethiopian dairy innovation system has functioned to support the development of the Ethiopian dairy sector and what have been the major technical, economic, and institutional constraints in the process. We used a coupled functional–structural analysis of innovation systems to analyse the influence of socioeconomic and policy constraints on the development of the Ethiopian dairy sector. Results show that problems with structural elements such as the absence of key actors, limited capacity of existing actors, insecure property rights, cumbersome bureaucratic processes, poor interaction among actors and inadequate infrastructure have all limited dairy innovation. Out of the seven innovation system functions studied, our findings show that entrepre-neurship, knowledge diffusion, market development and legitimacy creation have been particularly weak. Our evidence thus suggests that problems with certain structural elements coupled with weaknesses in various innovation system functions have been major hindrances to the uptake of technologies and dairy sector development in Ethiopia. The narrow policy focus on biophysical technology generation and dissemination, without considering the underlying problems related to institutional conditions and socioeconomic processes, has also contributed to low technology adoption and limited broader development in the dairy sector. We suggest that combinations of institutional and technological interventions are needed to overcome the various system weaknesses that have hindered dairy sector development in Ethiopia.

Innovation Platforms (IPs) are seen as a promising vehicle to foster a paradigm shift in agricultural research for development (AR4D). By facilitating interaction, negotiation and collective action between farmers, researchers and other stakeholders, IPs can contribute to more integrated, systemic innovation that is essential for achieving agricultural development impacts. However, successful implementation of IPs requires institutional change within AR4D establishments. The objective of this paper is to reflect on the implementation and institutionalisation of IPs in present AR4D programmes. We use experiences from sub-Saharan Africa to demonstrate how the adoption and adaptation of IPs creates both opportunities and challenges that influence platform performance and impact. Niche-regime theory is used to understand challenges, and anticipate on how to deal with them. A key concern is whether IPs in AR4D challenge or reinforce existing technology-oriented agricultural innovation paradigms. For example, stakeholder representation, facilitation and institutional embedding determine to a large extent whether the IP can strengthen systemic capacity to innovate that can lead to real paradigm change, or are merely 'old wine in new bottles' and a continuation of 'business as usual'. Institutional embedding of IPs and – more broadly – the transition from technology-oriented to system-oriented AR4D approaches requires structural changes in organisational mandates, incentives, procedures and funding, as well as investments in exchange of experiences, learning and capacity development.

The tank-based irrigated agricultural system in the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka is one of the oldest historically evolved agricultural systems in the world. The main component of the system consists of a connected series of man-made tanks constructed in shallow valleys to store, convey and utilize water for paddy cultivation. Up to 10,000 tanks originating from the heydays of ancient kingdoms are still integrated in the current agricultural landscape. During the last two millennia, this indigenous system has undergone many changes in technological, management and socio-cultural norms. This research aimed to analyze the current management practices and existing indigenous aspects of the Dry Zone irrigated agricultural system from the viewpoint of farmers who are the main stakeholders of the system. Altogether, 49 semi-structured interviews were conducted in seven villages in the Anuradhapura district and a detailed survey was conducted in the village of Manewa with a mixed research approach. The basic elements of the indigenous landscape, agricultural practices and management structures based on Farmer Organizations were mapped and examined in detail. The analysis of results shows that the sustainability of the indigenous agricultural system is vulnerable to rapid changes due to modernization, market changes, education levels, and inconsistent management decisions. The case study demonstrates the value of preserving indigenous agricultural systems and the negative outcomes of current management interventions that neglect the indigenous system. Therefore, careful interventions and innovations are needed to adapt the tank-based indigenous agricultural system of the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka so as to preserve ecological and socio-economic sustainability

Well-designed and supported innovation niches may facilitate transitions towards sustainable agricultural futures , which may follow different approaches and paradigms such as agroecology, local place-based food systems , vertical farming, bioeconomy, urban agriculture, and smart farming or digital farming. In this paper we consider how the existing agricultural innovation systems (AIS) approach might be opened up to better support the creation of innovation niches. We engage with Innovation Ecosystems thinking to consider the ways in which it might enhance efforts to create multi-actor, cross-sectoral innovation niches that are capable of supporting transitions to sustainable agricultural systems across multiple scales. While sharing many similarities with AIS thinking, Innovation Ecosystems thinking has the potential to broaden AIS by: emphasizing the role of power in shaping directionality in innovation platforms or innovation communities that are connected to niches and their interaction with regimes; highlighting the plurality of actors and actants and the integral role of ecological actants in innovation; and offering an umbrella concept through which to cross scalar and paradigmatic or sector boundaries in order to engage with a variety of innovation systems affecting multifunctional agricultural landscapes and systems. To this end, an Agricultural Innovation Ecosystems approach may help design and support development of transboundary, inter-sectoral innovation niches that can realize more collective and integrated innovation in support of sustainability transitions, and help enact mission oriented agricultural innovation policy.

This paper analyses intermediary organisations in developing economy agricultural clusters. The paper critically engages with a growing narrative in studies of intermediaries that have stressed the ownership structure of intermediaries as a key driver for enabling knowledge transfer, inter-firm learning and upgrading of small producers in clusters. Two case studies of Latin American clusters are presented and discussed. The study suggests that in addition to ownership structure, cluster governance and the embeddedness of intermediaries in clusters are critical factors that need to be taken into account in understanding the influence of intermediaries in the upgrading of small producers in clusters.

Problems in agriculture and land use are increasingly recognised as complex, uncertain, operating at multiple levels (field to global value chains) and involving social, economic, institutional, and technological change. This has implications for how projects navigate complexity to achieve impact. However, few studies have systematically evaluated how project actors engage with other actors to configure capabilities and resources across multiple levels in agricultural innovation systems (AIS), from the individual to the network, to mobilise and build systemic innovation capacity. An analytical framework conceptualising the nested configuration of capabilities at multiple levels in the AIS is applied to two projects that successfully tackled agricultural and land management problems of differing complexity: (i) improving lamb survival; and (ii) sustainable land management in New Zealand. Findings indicate that innovation capacity constitutes project actors interacting with other AIS actors to configure capabilities and resources at different levels of the AIS in order to leverage positive project path dependencies and break path dependencies that are created by existing and historical capability configurations. Project actors also balance exploiting existing innovation capabilities, as well as using adaptive capability for exploring and creating new capability configurations to respond to emerging circumstances. This implies that projects should have strategic ambidexterity in terms of how they combine exploiting existing and exploring new networks to access, combine, create, or disconnect certain capabilities to address 'capability voids' in AIS. This requires support to projects to constantly scrutinise, through reflexive monitoring by dedicated facilitators, specific agriculture and land use policies connected to major sustainable development models (e.g. climate smart agriculture, urban farming, smart farming). The can help assess whether the AIS provides the right mix of capabilities and whether this is adequately supported by innovation policy, to realize transformative policy objectives.

NERICAs  are  new  rice  varieties  that  were  widely  diffused  in  Sierra  Leone  by  the government in a bid to achieve food security in the country. This was out of the conviction that NERICAs are generally better than the existing traditional rice varieties; thus, farmers would particularly be ready to widely adopt them and subsequently increase rice productivity.  However,  there  is  currently  no  empirical  evidence  on  NERICA  adoption among farmers in the entire country. It is against this backdrop that this study focuses on investigating the adoption of NERICA rice varieties among farmers in Sierra Leone, taking Kambia District as case study. Data for this study was generated by administering questionnaires to 100 farmers - 50 in villages where NERICA PVS trials were carried out and another 50 in villages nearby (Non-PVS villages).  The data was analysed using SPSS and Excel software and results displayed in tabular form using frequency counts, percentages, means, modes, standard deviation, chi-square and t-tests.  Curves, bar and pie charts were also used to present some of the data.

Among the findings are that farmers household sizes were large mainly dominated by male children. Also, few higher learning institutions exist in the study area and that majority of the respondents are poor and illiterate. Furthermore, all the respondents depend largely on farming as a basic source of livelihood.

In terms of NERICA adoption, the study found that a higher proportion of farmers (61%) in the Kambia District have adopted NERICAs but to a relatively low extent as no adopter exclusively grow NERICA. All adopters grow other rice varieties in addition to NERICAs. Farmers perceive NERICAs to be better in terms of yield, early maturity, taste, aroma and tillering  ability  especially  with  fertilizer  application; but  are  no  better  than  traditional varieties with respect to drought and diseases resistance, threshability, weed competitiveness, and grain resistance to damage.  Finally, household sizes, level of education, poverty (low household income), cost and /or scarcity of NERICA seeds, lack of credit facilities and fertilizers are the major factors influencing the adoption of NERICAs among farmers in the District. The study suggests the provision of reasonable and affordable credit facilities (particularly in the form of farm inputs) to small -scale farmers, keeping NERICA prices at the same prices as local varieties, and the intensification  of effective PVS activities in the country. 
This could help increase farmers adoption capability of new crop varieties like NERICA and subsequently increase rice productivity in the entire country.




Keywords: Adoption, NERICA, food security and Sierra Leone 

Email: klamin2007@gmail.com

On-farm agricultural innovation through incorporation of new technologies and practices requires access to resources such as knowledge, financial resources, training, and even emotional support, all of which require the support of different actors such as peers, advisors, and researchers. The literature has explored the support networks that farmers use and the overall importance ranking of different support actors, but it has not looked in detail at how these networks may differ for different farmers. This study fills this gap by looking at farmer support network configurations through the lens of the social capital available to them in such configurations. Using a Chilean fruit-farmer case, we examine how different types of social capital (bonding, bridging, and linking) are used to achieve what has been called 'ambidexterity'. Ambidexterity implies both that open networks (based on linking and bridging social capital) are used to explore and access new knowledge and resources , and that closed networks (based on bonding social capital) are used to successfully implement and exploit new technologies and practices. Our findings show that farmers use all types of social capital-bonding, bridging, and linking-in their support networks, but that they have different configurations, five in this study. These configurations are based on personal motivations, innovation objectives, and resource endowments. Despite the different network configurations and types of social capital-which may be more balanced or less balanced in light of ambidexterity-farmers may achieve the same ambitions and type of innovations. A main theoretical implication is that the configuration of support networks is thus not a one-size-fits-all where each farmer's ranking of support actors for on-farm innovation is the same. This nuances earlier work and calls for more attention to a better understanding of how each support network configuration responds to a certain logic, and hence cannot be identified as superior or inferior.

This  paper contends  that  the  exclusion  of  millions  of  poor  from  agricultural  development  gains  is


inexorably linked to the innovation system features that have evolved over time. An oft repeated
lament of the Government of India about the inadequacy of reforms in agricultural research and
extension, is used to explore the structure and institutions of agricultural innovation. Three main
components of the agricultural innovation system, are the agricultural research and extension
actors, the farming communities, and policy making agencies. Analysis of their structure and
institutional features reveal limited capacities for interaction, learning and change. These
features co-evolve with, generate and consistently maintain certain forms and patterns of exclusion
– of the drylands, diverse crops and cropping systems, and marginal and small farms. For innovation
to enable inclusive development agricultural research and extension reforms are not enough.
Iterative institutional reforms are necessary; within and among several actors in the system, along
with capacities to assess how institutional arrangements shape the innovation performance of each
of these actors and the innovation system.
Key words: agriculture, innovation systems, institutions, inclusion, interactions

Purpose: We investigate how the structural conditions of eight different European agricultural innovation systems can facilitate or hinder collaboration and social learning in multidisciplinary innovation networks. Methodology: We have adapted the Innovation System Failure Matrix to investigate the main barriers and enablers eight countries (England, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, The Netherlands and Switzerland). Findings: Results show some of the recent trends the AKS actors in these countries have experienced and how these have affected their potential to act as collaborators in multidisciplinary innovation networks. Lack of funds, combined with horizontal and vertical fragmentation and the lack of proper evaluation criteria for collaborative innovation networks are among the most important threats we found. Practical Implications: This study shows that each national AIS has some unique features. This means that the implementation of policies promoting collaboration and social learning (e.g. the European Innovation Partnerships and Operational Groups) should depend on a critical reflection of the existing structural elements of the AIS in each country and whether there is a need for inclusion of new actors, or whether certain innovations for collective goods should be promoted. Originality: The paper contributes to the ongoing discussion in the scientific literature on the advantages and disadvantages of privatization of extension and advisory services and the shift from thinking in terms of the traditional Agricultural Knowledge System towards a broader Agricultural Innovation System.

Aquaculture has experienced spectacular growth in the past decades, during which continuous innovation has played a significant role, but it faces increasing criticism regarding its ecological and social sustainability practices and the resulting challenges for future innovation processes. However, in the aquaculture literature, there is limited systematic knowledge of how innovation has been approached in terms of how the focus and the scope of aquaculture innovation processes are understood and managed. The objective of this paper is therefore to analyse the different approaches to innovation used in aquaculture development. We conducted a systematic review of the aquaculture literature, using an analytical lens derived from three main bodies of literature on approaches to conceptualize and manage innovation: Technology-driven, Systemic, and Business and Managerial approaches to innovation. One hundred publications were selected from the aquaculture literature covering the topic of aquaculture innovation. Analysis identified the Transfer of Technology approach as still the predominant approach to aquaculture innovation; and, even with the integration of elements of Systemic approaches, most studies remain focused on the farm level and are technology driven. Multi-dimensional studies, integrating technical, biophysi-cal, political, and institutional dimensions of innovation in aquaculture were found, but studies analysing interactions between levels remain scarce, have a strong emphasis on the institutional dimension, and lack focus on the management of the innovation process. Studies with cross-fertilizations between different approaches to aquaculture innovation are limited but address specific research questions regarding the extent to which specific target groups are included in interventions and the need to incorporate diverse dimensions in analysing innovation processes. Our analysis suggests that aquaculture research and technology design that feeds into aquaculture innovation could benefit from innovation management approaches that integrate constant feedback from users, especially when specific groups are being targeted for better inclusiveness, and thus could better foster multi-directional interactions between multiple actors connected to aquaculture systems. This would help to elevate the analysis from just the farm and improve the integration of institutional, political, economic, and socio-cultural dimensions for better management of the innovation process. The study of aquaculture innovation needs to take into consideration the important role of private sector actors and make better use of systemic approaches to further elucidate the multi-dimensional and multi-level interplays in complex aquaculture systems. Ultimately, in-terdisciplinary research on aquaculture innovation could deliver significant insights supporting the development of a resilient and sustainable aquaculture sector. Statement of relevance: Using an analytical lens derived from the literature on innovation approaches, this study systematically analyses approaches to innovation used in aquaculture development. We identify the main trends and existing gaps in aquaculture innovation research and then discuss the potential complementarities between different approaches to innovation in order to better understand and support innovation in the aquaculture sector.

The main objective of this study was to analyze the agricultural innovation system in Sinai Peninsula (AISSP), Egypt through describing the key sub-systems of AISSP, describing strengths, types, importance, and mechanisms of linkages among sub-systems of the system, assessing the linkages among sub-systems of the AISSP using Graph-Theoretic Technique (GTT), determining constrains that face development of linkages within the AISSP & suggesting methods to networking that system, and developing a model for a better AISSP. An empirical study was conducted on the 10 main sub-systems of the system in Sinai Peninsula (both North & South Sinai Governorates), these sub-systems are Policy making units (P), Research stations (R), Secondary Agric. Education (S), Higher Agricultural Education (H), Agricultural Extension organization (E), Private Consultants (K), Farmers & Producers (F), Agricultural Credit banks (C), Agricultural Private Sector (M), and NGOs (N). Samples of 16, 16, 23, 21, 33, 6, 35, 16, 29, and 25 respondents were selected to represent these sub-systems respectively. Data were collected through personal interviews with respondents using a pre-tested questionnaire form. SPSS was used to data analysis. Frequencies, percentages, means, modes, range, and standard deviations, in addition to the GTT, were used for data presentation and analysis. Results of the study could be summarized as follows: The AISSP sub-systems could be ranked according to their performance rate of the innovation-related activities as R; H; E; M; N; S; K; F; P; and C with values of 61.14 %, 57.5 %, 56.14 %, 28.64 %, 19.09%; 17.95 %, 17.73 %, 16.14 %, 13.64 %, and 9.09 %, respectively. Thirty three linkages were found among sub-systems of AISSP (3 formal-weak, 2 informal-strong, 4 informal-medium, 14 informal weak, 1 mixed-strong, 3 mixed-medium, and 6 mixed-weak). Nine linkages, only, were established through specific linkages mechanisms. The AIS[r] in Sinai Peninsula has a density of 0.37, where b = 33 and n = 10. AIS[Mechanisms] has a density of 0.1. Several barriers, facing networking AISSP, were identified. The most prioritized suggestions to enhancing networks among sub-systems were: involving all stakeholders in all agriculture-related activities, formulating a national AIS policy, using activities for coordination including co-publishing, co-trainings & co-seminars, establishing a coordination unit in extension organization, establishing AIS unit.. Finally, a model for abetter AISSP was developed and necessary interventions were recommended.

Mangoes are the most popular fruit produced in Mali with more than 20 varieties. Despite the quality preference for mangoes from Mali, achieving major gains in returns has posed challenges to different actors. This paper assessed the potential economic benefits of the different actors in the mango value chain using participatory appraisal techniques in two regions (Sikasso and Koulikoro). We used “structure, Conduct and Performance” approach to assess the whole value chain of the fruit. Farmers and their organizations, state and para-state institutions were surveyed to capture the constraints and opportunities along the value chain. Our findings indicated that there is high potential for mango production in the country, but producers face storage and conservation constraints. However, mangoes are exported to Europe by sea and air to supply big distribution chains. Processing the mango in the country is a key challenge to the development of the value chain. This Book explicate the innovations opportunities that could be taken to make mango value chain a productive venture.

Among the most pressing energy and environmental strategic challenges today is to identify and deploy viable alternatives to fossil-fuel-based energy systems  The barriers to deployment are systematic, leading to a state of affairs described as ‘carbon lock-in’ (Unruh
2000; Neuhoff 2007). Simply stated, even if alternative energy systems are cost-competitive in theory, the prime movers that control their diffusion throughout society –
for example, conversion and distribution infrastructure; financing mechanisms; skilled labour force; attitudes toward particular kinds of energy production activities and energy services – exhibit a preference for incumbent carbon-intensive fossil energy resources. Carbon lock-in represents path dependencies within energy systems including sunk-cost in prevailing infrastructure and entrenched political interests along with positively reinforcing relationships with broader system dynamics, from global financial logics that continue to monetise unburned carbon through energy
futures contracts to our everyday practices and expectations about mobility, comfort, and overall
well-being that underpin regular visits to the gasoline station. All of this is to say that energy systems are sociotechnical in nature, characterised by deep and often subtle interdependencies between technological, social, political-economic, and cultural processes which operate across the energy supply chain and at all scales of energy system operation (Miller, Richter, and O’Leary 2015).

This study identifies systemic problems in the New Zealand Agricultural Innovation System (AIS) in relation to the AIS capacity to enact a co-innovation approach, in which all relevant actors in the agricultural sector contribute to combined technological, social and institutional change. Systemic problems are factors that negatively influence the direction and speed of co-innovation and impede the development and functioning of innovation systems. The contribution in the paper is twofold. Firstly, it combines both innovation system functions and systemic problems in an integrated analysis to asses an AIS at a country level, which has not been done previously in AIS literature. Secondly, it deepens the generic literature on structural-functional innovation systems analysis by looking at the interconnectedness between systemic problems and how these create core blocking mechanisms linked to the prevalent institutional logics (historically built-up and persistent structures and institutional arrangements) of the AIS. Results indicate that the existing New Zealand AIS has three main blocking mechanisms related to three institutional logics: (i) competitive science in silos, (ii) laissez faire innovation, and (iii) science centered innovation. These findings resemble weaknesses of AIS in other countries, and provide supportive evidence that co-innovation principles in many places have not yet been translated into agricultural innovation policies due to persistent and interlocked blocking mechanism and institutional logics. They point to the absence of effective systemic innovation policy instruments that pro-actively stimulate and support co-innovation. These instruments facilitate the counteracting of individual systemic problems and have a more transformative ambition; tackling the key institutional logics that hinder co-innovation, and hence supporting ‘structural system innovation’

Growing empirical evidence suggests that innovation platforms can be effective in enhancing agricultural research impact by creating an enabling environment for scaling of innovations such as novel technologies, practices and busines models. However, efforts to understand how these innovation platforms operate to scale innovations are insufficient. Such knowledge is critical for improving the design of agricultural innovation systems, specifically within the context of a rising interest in the innovation platform approach to support the transformation of agriculture across Africa. This paper investigates the scaling approaches employed by innovation platforms established in Rwanda. The study focused on four innovation platforms created as part of the Sub-Saharan Africa Challenge Program and analysed their activities and the resulting scaling outcomes. The findings show that two approaches can be effectively combined during the intervention; (1) the innovation process that resembles a traditional, linear approach of finding short-term solutions to specific problems (push approach) and (2) the network building process where platforms employed multi-level, transdisciplinary processes (pull approach). In two areas, the platform activities appeared to have contributed to increased revenues of farmers. The alignment of the innovation platform activities with political agendas or broadly, the extent to which the scaling strategy considers the existing conducive context is shown to play a critical role in the scaling process. The study shows that a balanced combination of both push and pull approaches and a strategic linkage between the platform activities and external development-government policies and interventions-are critical for a productive agricultural transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa. The findings also indicate that the scaling processes require a "protected space" to materialise, and the scaling approach needs flexibility to accommodate the complexity of each innovation.

Precision farming technologies represent an innovation challenge in terms of their diffusion into farming practice, and create a new dynamic for research and extension roles. The purpose of this paper is to examine the interaction and distribution of research and extension roles of public, private, and agricultural industry organizations in precision farming innovation systems. We connect findings to the broader debates on role divisions of public and private research and extension in innovation systems. Two case studies were examined: precision dairy farming in Australia, and the use of automatic milking systems in northwestern Europe. A timeline analysis method, underpinned by a functions of innovation systems framework, was used to examine activities of actors and organizations in the case studies. Three main findings were: 1) Complex agricultural innovations require a collaborative approach for successful innovation and diffusion. The need for, and type of, collaboration differs across scales from farm-level (individual learning) to a national and global level with issues of skill training and service provider capability. Additionally, a threshold scale is required before the commercial sector can operate effectively. 2) The presence, and limitations, of private (commercial) interests and their position as a key knowledge base in precision farming heightens the need for public research and extension organizations to promote collaborative innovation programs with technology companies. There is a key public or industry good role in providing 'back-office' activities to support and complement private 'front office' activities. 3) Public and private research and extension organizations can work together, however there are areas where it makes more sense for one party or the other to lead. For precision farming systems, the roles for public organizations involve leadership on data integration (on-farm and off-farm), integration of technology (via standards), testing equipment performance, and development of training programs including support of initiatives such as farmer clubs. The principle theoretical implication is that public, private and industry roles in research and extension should not be viewed as dichotomous (e.g. pre-competitive/competitive), but as highly fluid in terms of the moments they are needed, and the scale at which they are needed, within the technological innovation system.

The need for domestic smallholder farming systems to better support food and nutrition security in the Caribbean is a pressing challenge. The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) faces complex socio-ecological challenges related to historical legacies of plantation agriculture, small population sizes, geographic isolation, jurisdictional diversity, and proneness to natural disasters, all of which underscore the importance of fostering system-wide innovation potential. This paper explores the factors that are impacting the innovation potential of smallholder farming households in four CARICOM small island developing states (St. Lucia, St. Kitts-Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana) using data collected through producer household surveys, focus groups, and key informant interviews. Results indicate that a systemic lack of access to finance, markets, and knowledge networks is perceived as limiting smallholder innovation potential in the region. Compounding these challenges was a pervasive lack of trust reported between actors and institutions throughout the agricultural innovation system, hindering the potential for collective action. Our findings point to the need for more decentralized governance approaches that are capable of establishing stronger relationships between actors and institutions to enhance knowledge flows in support of regional rural development and food and nutrition security objectives.

This article takes an innovation intermediary perspective to examine farmer cooperative’s (FC) roles in facilitating agricultural innovation and its positioning in the agricultural innovation system (AIS). The article draws experiences from the rapidly emerging FC field in China. Three cases are selected to cross check findings from them and innovation journey analysis is used within each case to understand FCs’ engagement in innovation processes. The findings show that FCs cover a wide range of knowledge intermediation and innovation intermediation functions identified by the literature. FCs recognize the importance to connect technical, social and economic dimensions of farming practice and provide corresponding services to link farmers to relevant actors, like extension agencies, research institutes and supermarkets. Though they mainly work through bilateral relationships as opposed to acting as a systemic intermediary, they could take the role of coordinator in the service system and bridge the gap between the research and policy system and everyday farming practice, especially in the absence
of a systemic coordinator. However, their legitimacy as intermediary might be challenged due to the potential conflicts with governments, market actors or their members, and their local position may provide insufficient clout for developing durable relationships with relevant actors.

Innovation platforms (IPs) that support agricultural innovation to enable transition processes towards more sustainable agriculture provide a space where conflicts of interest among actors in the existing agricultural system (the so called incumbent regime) may play out. Sometimes these conflicts over how actors will benefit from an action are not revealed until actors are brought together. However, a barrier to change occurs when IP actors use their existing power to mobilise resources to influence if and how individual and collective interests are aligned. In the context of agricultural innovation and transitions, this paper uses the power in transitions framework (Avelino and Wittmayer, 2016), along with analytical perspectives on conflicts and role perceptions, to understand how consciously staging or revealing conflicts of interest among IP actors changed role perceptions and power relations among these actors. The paper explores this topic in two IPs addressing agricultural production and sustainability challenges in New Zealand's agricultural sector. Conflicts were staged in IPs when one group of actors mobilised resources that enabled them to move existing power relations from one-sided, to synergistic or a mutual dependency. This enabled conflicts to be acknowledged and solved. In contrast, conflicts were not staged when actors mobilised resources to maintain antagonostic power relations. Our cases demon-trate that staging conflicts to change actors' role perceptions is an important intermediary step to forming new power relations in the agricultural system. Our findings highlight the need for IP theory to conceptualise power relations in IPs as context specific, dynamic and a force shaping outcomes, rather than solely a force exerted by actors in the incumbent regime over IP actors.