Innovation Systems in African Agriculture

This discussion is proposed by Kebebe Ergano, a Research Officer at ILRI, Addis Ababa. I was fascinated by the speech from Dr. Akin Adesina (AAAE President and also Vice President, AGRA) on the need to work with partners to identify the key elements for a successful African Green Revolution. This prompted me to ask some questions. I work for fodder innovation project at International Livestock research Institute, Addis Ababa. We are using innovation systems perspective as an approach to work with multiple actors in livestock development in Ethiopia. But we are facing a lot of challenges in facilitating innovation platforms and engaging actors. We would like to learn, for example, what are the principles and rules that engage actors in innovation platforms? What are the incentives and disincentives for actors to engage in innovation platforms? What are the indicators to measure innovation capacity? The more I probed literature on agricultural innovation, the more I get dissatisfied with existing tools and techniques for innovation capacity analysis, among the many. We would like to learn from the experience of readers and AAAE members on these questions. Any piece of information on this highly appreciated.

The Informer: A Newsletter of the African Association of Agricultural Economists

Welcome all to the first issue of the e-newsletter in 2009. The purpose of the newsletter is to promote sharing of information and networking among the members of the Association and the larger research, policy, business and development communities in Africa and the rest of the world. It has a subscription base of over 3000 readers. It disseminates news and communications of recently concluded or on-going research; scholarships and training, funding and job opportunities; upcoming conferences and meetings, various announcements (websites, databases, networks, etc.), publications (books, journal papers, extensions materials, policy briefs, etc.) and any other useful information. This newsletter is supported by a regularly updated News webpage within the Association website. Your comments are welcome through this blog.

Welcome Message

Blogging has become a way of interaction and information exchange with the expansion of the internet usage in the world. This blog will facilitate members of the Association to share informative thoughts and articles on advancing agricultural policy, development, research, training and extension in Africa. Do not be left - contribute articles, short stories, news, scientific paper summaries, photos, links to publications, policy bulletins and much more. Currently there are over 3000 development specialists and scientists subscribed to AAAE newsletter who will be able to read and comment on info posted on this blog. You can use your Google, Blogger, Yahoo or AOL ID to make comments. You can use Open ID by selecting your OpenID provider from the drop down menu next to the "Sign-in using" option. (OpenID eliminates the need for multiple usernames across different websites, simplifying your online experience). If your OpenID provider is not on the list, please choose the "Any ID" option. Next, provide your OpenID login information. After you click "Publish Your Comment," you will be redirected to your OpenID provider to authenticate your ID. After authenticating with the provider, you will return to the comments page and your comment will automatically be posted. Note that your display name is the name sent to us by the OpenID provider. At the same time, if not you will be prompted to log into Blogger before leaving a comment. If you don't have an account, you can create one in Blogger and it is quick and easy. Welcome.