Agricultural innovation (AI) coaching

Audio-visuals
Organizations - making use of ICT tools
e-publications
Websites

Audio-visuals

• Bill Gates on Agricultural Innovations
  Learn more about how Bill Gates wants to support agricultural innovation in Africa. He talks about the importance of education, partnerships and its interrelations towards the end of the 2:44 minutes slideshow.
• Agricultural innovation needs investment in S&T and R&D
  Dr. Gebisa Ejega, winner of the UN-FAO World Food Prize, speaks about agricultural innovation and development. He emphasizes the need to invest in S&T and acknowledges that science and R&D is a long, painstakingly process but very much needed.
• Andy Hall wants to go beyond investment in research and research systems
  In this 20 minutes slideshow Hall emphasizes that for developing agricultural innovation capacity needs we should go beyond strengthening research. Priorities lie in building linkages and new ways of working that promote interaction between research, enterprise and developmental players. Interventions need to have a long term perspective and give sufficient emphasis to facilitating institutional learning. Hall shows lessons drawn from Indian case studies on how to build agricultural innovation capacity.
• New strategy to support agricultural research – support farmers to innovate
  John Barrett, DFID Senior Livelihoods Adviser notes that one of the 'key changes' in the new strategy is that it is not just 'delivering research products but supporting developing countries themselves in terms of their own capacity to innovate to research and through them to support farmers to innovate.' Farmers by nature of what they do have always been innovative. The new strategy also puts a lot of emphasis on 'putting research into use', and the building of regional research networks.
• Millions Fed - Farmer-led innovation in Burkina Faso and Niger
  From success of high science to triumph of barefoot science. This video shows how farmers from Burkina Faso change the arid landscape into productive farmland through traditional faming methods. They began innovating on simple practices, such as protecting and managing indigenous trees and shrub among crops to provide animal feed and firewood but also to improve soil fertility by digging pits in barren and degraded land, to concentrate organic manure and rainwater for planting, laying stones to control rainfall and combat erosion with technical support of charismatic leaders and NGOs.
• Success stories from farmers who have used the LifeLines services
  LifeLines is a novel initiative for information services delivery, which uses an innovative mix of internet and telephony to provide critical and timely information to communities in rural India on a range of livelihood and related issues. LifeLines today reaches out to rural communities in over 4600 villages across India with information services in the Agriculture as well as Education sector. This video features 6 farmers who have used the LifeLines Agriculture service and have benefited out of the agri-advisory received from it.

Organizations - making use of ICT tools

• Digital Green – tapping local social networks to connect farmers with experts
  Digital Green aims to raise the livelihoods of smallholder farmers across the developing world through the targeted production and dissemination of agricultural information via participatory video and mediated instruction through grassroots-level partnerships. Video is the focus, it is people and social dynamics that ultimately make Digital Green work. Local social networks are tapped to connect farmers with experts. Digital Green was shown to be ten times more effective per dollar spent.
• Lifelines – knowledge services just on the dial of a phone
  LifeLines is a novel initiative providing essential and demand-based information, advice and guidance to remote and rural communities in India through the medium of "voice, in the local language and within 24 hours.". Lifelines uses an innovative mix of internet and telephony.

e-publications

• Brokering innovation for sustainable development: the Papa Andina case
  Andre Devaux, et al. (2010)
  The international Papa Andina Partnership Program, based at the International Potato Center, functions as an innovation broker in South America. It operates as a “second-level innovation broker,” backstopping national partners who facilitate local innovation processes in their respective countries. Papa Andina works to strengthen local innovation capacity and to foster "innovations in innovation".
• Fostering innovation networks : the missing piece in rural development?
  Hartwich, Frank; Scheidegger, Urs (2010)
  This article explores new inroads for the understanding of rural innovation (RI) processes, emphasizing the role of social networks. Applying the concept of networking for innovation to smallholder farming in developing countries seems promising to further our understanding of RI processes.
• Enhancing performance of agricultural innovation systems
  Daane, Jon (2010)
  Enhancing agricultural innovation capacity requires a broad range of actions in the public, private and civil society sectors; at the national level; within and between organisations; and, at the level of teams and individuals.
• Strengthening agricultural innovation capacity : are innovation brokers the answer?
  Klerkx, Laurens; Hall, Andy; Leeuwis, Cees (2009)
  The role of innovation brokers in stimulating innovation capacity building is examined, using the case of Dutch agriculture. Subsequently, it reflects upon their potential role in developing countries' agriculture.
• Creating and sustaining successful innovation networks
  Marques, Maria Jose; Carvalho Alves, Jorge; Saur, Irina Adriana (2005)
  The factors that maintain cooperative attitudes in multisectoral innovation networks are examined. Intangible factors may be decisive in the maintenance of inter-firm innovation networks, underlining the need for persistent network management.
• Initial problems in the establishment of technology and innovation brokerage structures in emerging markets – an applied case from Mexico
  Hayo Siemsen (2005)
  Lessons are learned from the establishment of technology and innovation brokerage structures (TIBS) in Mexico. Despite difficulties, the initial results of TIBS-building indicate the potential for emulation elsewhere.
• Enabling Rural Innovation in Africa: An approach for empowering smallholder farmers to access market opportunities for improved Livelihoods
  Susan Kaaria, Pascal Sanginga, Jemimah Njuki, Robert Delve, Colletah Chitsike, and Rupert Best | 2005
  This paper presents lessons from applying the Enabling Rural Innovation (ERI) approach for linking smallholder farmers to markets. Experiences and challenges from testing the approach with a range of research and development partners in eastern and southern Africa are presented. The paper gives a general overview of the approach, the guiding principles, conceptual framework and steps in the ERI process. And it gives detailed examples of the five key components: participatory market research, farmer participatory research and its links to natural resource management, social and human capital, gender equity and participatory monitoring and evaluation.
• The Brokering Guidebook – navigating effective sustainable development partnerships
  Ros Tennyson | The International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) | 2005
  The Brokering Guidebook, which is a sister publication of The partnering Toolbook, focuses on partnership ‘brokering’. Partnership brokering is that essential intermediary function that enables partners to work well together and ensure the maximum effectiveness of their partnership. This and more toolbooks and other publications on related themes can be found at the publication section of The partnering initiative's website

Please find below more links to websites of organizations dealing with agricultural innovation and which are looking into promoting innovation through brokering, networking, or by making use of intermediaries.

Websites

• LINK - Learning INnovation Knowledge 
• RIU - Research Into Use
• COS - Convergence of Sciences
• CDI - Centre for Development Innovation (WUR)
• IIRR Kenya - International Institute of Rural Reconstruction
• FARA - Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa
• CIP - International Potato Center
• LEI WUR
• IFDC Mali - International Fertilizer Development Center
• ICRA - International Centre for development oriented Research in Agriculture