UNU's Activities in and on Africa
Agriculture
“Pro-poor” innovation strategies in the agricultural and rural sectors
UNU Maastricht Economic and Social Research and Training Centre on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT)
Contact: Andy Hall
Through its Learning, Innovation and Knowledge (LINK) network, UNU-MERIT carried out more than 10 projects over the 2006-2008 period that contributed new empirically based research and policy advice to address poverty reduction and sustainable development goals in East and West Africa.
Process monitoring, policy dialogue and interactive learning activities for the IGAD livestock policy initiative in Eastern Africa
UNU Maastricht Economic and Social Research and Training Centre on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT)
Contact: Andy Hall
Process Monitoring, Policy Dialogue and Interactive Learning Activities for the IGAD Livestock Policy Initiative in Eastern Africa: A 3-year comparative research and capacity building project undertaken in collaboration with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and partners in India. The project investigated the nature of innovation capacity required to address the perennial problem of livestock fodder scarcity. The study also aimed to develop principles that will help others stimulate the institutional and policy changes needed to strengthen fodder innovation capacity in different situations where livestock is important to the livelihoods of poor people.
In late 2007 two main activities were completed under this project:
(1) the design of a conceptual framework that addresses the problem of animal fodder shortages from the perspective of innovation capacity scarcity, rather than the traditional focus on information and technology scarcity; and (2) organizing the first innovation systems diagnosis and action planning exercise with local partners — including the IFAD-Community-based Agricultural and Rural Development Programme (CBARDP) and the Confederation of Traditional Stockbreeders Organizations in Africa (CORET) — in Nigeria.
Tags: Africa, agriculture, rural, innovation, livestock, action planning, Eastern Africa, Nigeria
Building Innovation Capacity: Adapting and responding to drought and livestock disease emergencies in the IGAD region (Eastern Africa)
UNU Maastricht Economic and Social Research and Training Centre on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT)
Contact: Andy Hall
The study focused on innovation response capacity in Eastern Africa of the livestock products (pork and poultry) processing sector, and more specifically in Kenya. The research highlighted how local companies are responding positively to changing market conditions – for example the introduction of food safety (HACCP) quality measures or tapping into international sources of technology - although it is unlikely that this can be sustained under more intense competition.
The study concluded that policy and institutional support interventions will be required to ensure that the sector contributes to poverty reduction goals, and to enhance linkages between livestock companies, local research organizations and other sources of technical support.
Tags: Africa, agriculture, rural, innovation, horticulture, linkages, Eastern Africa, Kenya
Innovation response capacity in East Africa
UNU Maastricht Economic and Social Research and Training Centre on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT)
Contact: Andy Hall
The study explored how Kenya’s horticultural industry was adjusting to a series of external pressures, including increased competition from other countries, quality and photo-sanitary standards demands from its main market in Europe, and ethical concerns about the welfare of employees. The study found that while the sector has been relatively successful in innovating around these challenges, innovation has often involved moving away from the small-holder production base and favouring more intensive plantation modes of production.
The study concludes that while the Kenyan horticultural sector does have an innovation response capacity, it does not, however, always meet social objectives. In this case, as in many others, the State has a responsibility to intervene and ensure that modes of innovation not only maintain Kenya’s international competitiveness, but do so in a way that also achieves social development goals. A book which publication is foreseen in 2008, points to some options on how this could be achieved.
Tags: Africa, innovation, horticulture, adaptation, capacity, state responsibility, social responsibility, development goals, Eastern Africa, Kenya
Lessons from Self-Organizing Systems of Innovation: The Trajectory of Nerica Rice in West Africa
UNU Maastricht Economic and Social Research and Training Centre on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT)
Contact: Daniel Dalohoun
Time frame: 2006–2008
The research analyzing the spread of the NERICA rice variety in Guinea and Benin was completed in 2007. The project found that while Guinea adopted a large-scale technology promotion approach focused on farmer training, Benin had no such programme, yet it has achieved more innovations in rice production and consumption patterns. The achievements in Benin were found to be the result of complementary actions of the different players, that included: new links between rice growers and the processing industry; new links between different elements of the rice seed system, including both private sector organizations and the extension services (even though these are rather weak); and new credit arrangements to allow the bulking up of seed.
It has also taken the involvement of political actors to make changes in the seed system possible. The net result of these developments is that NERICA rice is starting to be produced, processed and consumed quite widely in Benin, unlike the case of Guinea. A particularly interesting conclusion of the study is that the emergence of an informal – at first - network of players has enabled the widespread adoption and spread of this technology through a ‘self-organizing’ process.
Tags: Africa, agriculture, NERICA rice, comparative study, informal sector, West Africa, Benin, Guinea
UNU-MERIT (LINK) training programme
UNU Maastricht Economic and Social Research and Training Centre on Innovation and Technology (UNU-MERIT)
Through its decentralized Learning, Innovation and Knowledge (LINK) programme, UNU-MERIT facilitated three capacity building workshops for Action Research on Agricultural Innovation Capacity in 2007. The workshops were co-organized with the Sub-Saharan Africa Challenge Programme (SSA CP) of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA). The first workshop, held in Kano, Nigeria in January, 2007, introduced the innovation systems concept and explained the implications of using this concept for project design, monitoring, evaluation and impact assessment.
The second workshop, conducted in Accra, Ghana in May, developed a research plan for SSA CP to adopt in the 2008-2010 period. In the third workshop, researchers from the SSA CP developed a set of guidelines for conducting action research on how to strengthen agricultural innovation capacity.
Tags: capacity development, Africa, agriculture, innovation, LINK
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Page last modified 2009.05.14.
