1. Information Management for Agricultural Innovation
Ajit Maru
GFAR Secretariat

2. Outline
Agriculture Development, Knowledge and Innovation and GFAR’s Role
Understanding Agricultural Innovation and Agricultural Innovation Systems
Enabling Information and Knowledge Systems for Agricultural Innovation
Examples of Information and Knowledge Systems that contribute to Agricultural Innovation
Strategy and Interventions by ARD Stakeholders

3. Agricultural Development, Knowledge and Innovation
Agricultural development depends to a great extent on how successfully knowledge is generated, shared and applied....for innovation.

4. GFAR’s role
The Global Forum on Agricultural Research has emphasized the need for all ARD stakeholders to enable agricultural innovation systems and promote agricultural innovation for development.

5. Key Question
How can we, as NARS leaders and information systems managers, contribute to enabling of (information and) knowledge systems that support agricultural innovation systems and contribute to agricultural innovation?

6. Understanding Innovation
Innovation is a process of generating, accessing and putting knowledge into use. The determinants of innovation are the interactions of different people and their ideas and the social setting of these interactions and relations.

7. Agricultural Innovation
Agricultural innovation is different than research.
“It is not a linear process of research institutes being creators of knowledge and technology, extension as its diffuser and farmers as adopters”.

8. Agricultural Innovation
Agriculture innovation can occur at any node, such as Producer or Processor, in a Value Addition / Supply / Market Chain activity:
Input provider
Producer
Processor
Market
Intermediary
Consumer

9. Defining “Agricultural Innovation Systems”
Defining an Agricultural Innovation System (AIS) is still difficult; more so in the context of small holder producers of the South.

10. Defining “Agricultural Innovation Systems”
In Industry or the Services sectors, agricultural innovation systems are based on:
The “Silicon Valley” model where scientific and technological institutions drive innovation and are part of the system
The “Cathedral” or “Microsoft Windows” model where private sector drives innovation
The “Bazaar” or “Open Source/Linux” model where a community participates innovation

11. Defining “Agricultural Innovation Systems”
In Agriculture?
Distinction emerging between North with more developed, Industrialized agriculture and the South, largely small holder producer, resource poor based agriculture.
The North has “Silicon Valley” and “Cathedral” Models with emergence of new knowledge intermediaries .

12. Defining “Agricultural Innovation Systems”
In agriculture of the South, development of agricultural innovation systems may be:
Driven by the public sector through the NARS
Driven by the private sector and in partnership with the public sector NARS
Driven by the “agricultural” community

13. Defining “Agricultural Innovation Systems”
In my opinion, all three models will operate simultaneously so we have to continue to strengthen information management for the NARS but also address the demands for information and knowledge of the “agricultural community” to enable innovation”.

14. Innovation Systems Thinking
Innovation systems thinking recognizes that innovation and change can originate and be catalyzed anywhere in the network in an activity and that relations among the actors are key to knowledge sharing and application.

15. Innovation Systems Thinking
Innovation processes can be enhanced by creating more possibilities for actors to interact. This is the core determinant for starting information support for agricultural innovation.

16. Innovation Systems Thinking
In innovation systems, information and knowledge is usually shared across a community bound by common needs, interests, values etc and not by “scientific disciplines” or “professions”.

17. Parameters for Developing Information and Knowledge Systems for innovation
Actors
Information Needs of the actors
Information Sources for the actors
Information Flows between the actors
Services that can satisfy the actor’s information needs
Technology for the Services

18. Actors in Agricultural Innovation
Input provider
Processor
Consumer
Producer
Market
Intermediary

19. Information Needs for Agricultural Innovation
Information needs of innovators in agriculture are complex and driven by the need to be competitive: reduce cost, time in production or processing, improve quality and/or reduce human pain and risk.
The information needs for innovation are now related to participation in markets, how others are solving similar problems and awareness about available solutions.

20. Information Sources
There are several sources of information for actors in agricultural innovation. They provide Market related information and “know how”. The sources for “know where” and “know who” however is weak.

21. Information Sources
In many instances, information producers are themselves also consumers of information (Prosumers). New “Guilds” or organization of groups of actors in the agricultural value addition chain are emerging as providers of information and knowledge, for example seed, fertilizer and pesticide suppliers, market intermediaries and producer organizations. We must promote, support and add value to these groups in their ICM and KM activities

22. Information Flow in Agricultural Innovation System
Information flows in an Innovation System are as in a network.
They are complex.

23. The role of ICT
With use of ICTs there are no geographic limitations to sharing of information and knowledge.

24. Services and Technology
Question and Answer (Q&A) Services through use of Telephony, Internet and Digital means
Online Social Networks
Electronic Discussions
Community of Practices
Wikis
Blogs

25. Services and Technology
Information repositories including databases and value added services such as for forecasts on weather, prices, transportation, consumer preferences etc
Advanced Search Engines
Knowledge based services through knowledge intermediaries
Learning opportunities at Community and Individual level

26. Examples
Q&A Services
Aaqua:

27. Examples Q &A Services.. Cont’d
Rice Doctor
Ask FAO
FAO’s Technology for Agriculture (TECA)

28. Examples Wikis RUN Network and Kitabu Wikipedia: Agropedia
India / Indian Institute of Technology
Japan / JIRCAS
RUN Network and Kitabu

29. Examples Community of Practice of Farmers
Mentored by Rural Development Agency, Republic of Korea
L3Farmers: Life Long Learning for Farmers, Learning Opportunities using ICT enabled Information Systems for Agricultural Communities in several Commonwealth Countries

30. What should be our Strategy?
Our strategy should be to enable these services through agricultural development stakeholders including the farmer organizations, community based organizations, non-government organizations, private sector, research and education institutions rather than to develop them through the public sector “NARS” Institutions.

31. New Institutional Frameworks
We also need:
New Institutional Frameworks
How to support these new information and knowledge services for agricultural innovation?
Public Sector support ?
Community based support ?
Private Sector Support?
Partnerships between Sectors?

32. New Institutional Frameworks
We also need:
New Institutional Frameworks
How to tackle issues of “Intellectual Property” on knowledge generated through a community
How to enable greater coherence in information flows related to agriculture and its development
How to create “Learning Opportunities” that enable knowledge access equitably in a community and globally

33. New Capacities We also need new capacities such as in:
Using new information technologies and tools to support ICM and KM for AIS
Generating and managing information and knowledge objects
Enabling and promoting ICT enabled social networks
Creating and supporting learning opportunities

34. What can GFAR do?
Create Awareness and Advocate how ICTs, information and knowledge systems can enable AIS and contribute to agricultural innovation.
Strengthen the capacities of its stakeholder groups in ICM and KM to contribute to development of AIS.

35. What can GFAR do?
Contribute to development of robust Institutional Frameworks for supporting agricultural innovation through coherence and governance
Information Management Standards, Norms etc.
Identifying and propagating appropriate information management tools and applications
Governance structures for information and knowledge sharing

36. What is GFAR doing ? GFAR’s stakeholders activities
IISAST (CABI,CGIAR, CTA, FAO, GFAR, IAALD, SIST, WAGENINGEN UNIVERSITY)
Advocacy
Information Management
Standards and Norms
Tools and Applications
Capacity Development

37. What is GFAR doing? EGFAR
Gateway and Node for information on critical issues of ARD
The re-engineered EGFAR as a Model Webspace and Platform for Regional and NAR Information Systems
My EGFAR
Electronic Repository Forum with a GFAR ARD Ontology and Integration with AGRIS
Integration of databases on ARD Institutions, Experts and Projects
Integration of databases on ARD stakeholders

38. ARD Webring

39. Thank You