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Analysis of the implementation of Agricultural Innovation Systems in Soybean value chain within the dis-trict of Dassa-Zoumé in Central Benin
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In Benin, soybean production has increased in recent years due to the development of technological, organizational and institutional innovations. But these innovations that can increase the productivity, competitiveness and viability of farms are not widely adopted in central Benin. This study analyzed the soybean value chain innovation systems implemented in Central Benin to induce changes in famers' behavior in soybean production systems. Socioeconomic data and perceptions of innovations introduced were collected from 69 actors involved in soybean innovation systems. The results show that the actors of the innovation systems benefit from the relationships they maintain among themselves. These relationships are essentially both strong relationships based on trust, frequency of contact, information exchange, collaboration and weak relationships, particularly between research organizations and farmers on the one hand, and farmers and support institutions on the other hand. Furthermore, in the implementation of innovation systems, the actors are confronted with constraints such as the weaknesses of the management structure of the producers noted by almost all the actors interviewed and the difficulty in funds mobilization stated by 40% of the actors. Also, the innovations diffused within the systems present constraints, which need to be further investigated. Finally, this study has shown that agricultural innovation systems are appropriated framework in the diagnosis of the inherent problems to the diffusion of innovations, and thus suggests its more frequent use in agricultural innovations development and extension processes.
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Capitalizing on 18 years of experience of shared farm machinery in Benin: such is the project undertaken by the Farm Machinery Cooperative of Benin (UN Cuma) along with its historic partner, the French Farm Machinery Cooperative Cuma Benin.
In 1997 in the village of Ina in Northern Benin, a group of Beninese farmers purchased a tractor and established what would be the first farm machinery cooperative (Cuma) with the support of the Dordogne département Cuma. This was done through a project of the Association of French Farmers and International Development (AFDI for the French acronym). Since then, farmers in Benin have been gradually increasing the number and forms of cooperatives of this kind. Currently, there are around one hundred Cuma organizations in Benin with approximately 850 members, and a network of unions, across four départements (Alibori, Borgou, Mono and Couffo). Cooperation between farmers from France and Benin takes many forms that have been expanded and made more professional through the establishment of the Cuma Benin Association, which unites a plethora of stakeholders from the Aquitaine Region,members of the Cuma, and other key contacts.
To assess the benefits of the development of farm machinery cooperatives in Benin and to establish the best ways to boost the development thereof, UN Cuma and the Cuma Benin Association thought it would be of great interest to have an outside perspective on their experience, in the form of this study. The National Federation of French Cuma (FNCuma), The Foundation for World Agriculture and Rurality (FARM) and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) contributed to this endeavor between February 2014 and March 2015. This study picks up many of the salient points of work done by a student at the Montpellier SupAgro Institute for Higher Education in Tropical Agri-food Industry and Rural Development.
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Climate-smart agriculture (CSA) is one response to the challenges faced by agriculture due to climate change. As with other sustainability transitions, technological innovation is highlighted as playing a critical role, however, the adoption and diffusion of technological innovations in OECD countries is slow. The aim of this paper is to identify key socio-economic barriers, in terms of supply and demand, that inhibit the adoption and diffusion of CSA technological innovations in Europe. To achieve this aim, a theoretical framework is constructed based on a literature review of socio-economic barriers effecting adoption and diffusion. This framework is explored with data from semi-structured interviews with CSA technology providers and members of agricultural supply chains, such as farmers associations and consumer goods producers (the end-users of the technology). Data was collected on the barriers they experienced, with interviews conducted in the Netherlands, France, Switzerland and Italy. This data was thematically coded and categorised to identify key barrier typologies. The results demonstrate that barriers exist on both the demand (user) and supply (technology provider) sides. The paper provides recommendations for increasing the adoption and diffusion of CSA technological innovations, as well as implications for the CSA and innovation literature..
Four on-farm experiments in central Benin examined whether land-use succession and fertilizer treatments for prior cotton would sustain subsequent maize crop yields and achieve balanced plant nutrition. Treatments consisted of three prior land use successions, i.e. before planting maize (egusi melon-cotton-cottonmaize, cotton-maize-cotton-maize and cassava-maize-cotton-maize) including for each, four replications of three fertilizer treatments: recommended practice [150 kg ha-1 of 14-23-14 (NPK) plus 5S-1B, applied 25 days after sowing and 50 kg ha-1 of urea on 40 days after sowing], NPK-SB mixed with urea (the recommended amount of NPK-SB and urea are mixed then applied 40 days after sowing) and reduced NPK-SB dose (recommended practice, but the amount of NPK-SB is reduced to 100 kg ha-1). Prior cotton and subsequent maize yields and nutrient uptake were not significantly affected by fertilizer treatments. Furthermore, fertilizer treatments had no significant effect on soil chemical properties before planting the subsequent maize crop. Land use types had significant effect on cotton yields, soil chemical properties, subsequent maize yields and nutrient uptake. The lowest yield and nutrient uptake were registered in the cotton-maize-cotton-maize land use succession and the highest in the egusi melon-cotton-cotton-maize succession. For sustainable soil fertility management, adoption of adequate crop succession system and recommended fertilizer application practice are suggested.
Various authors have identified the potential relevance of innovation system approaches for inclusive innovation, that is, the means by which new goods and services are developed for and by the poor. However, it is still a question how best to operationalize this. Innovation platforms (IPs) represent an example of putting an inclusive innovation system approach into practice by bringing different types of stakeholders together to address issues of mutual concern and interest with a specific focus on the marginalized poor. This paper explores the formation and functioning of IPs with the aim of providing lessons on the conditions and factors that play a role in making them effective. The study shows the importance of social organization, representation, and incentives to ensure a ‘true’ participatory innovation process, which is based on demand and embedded in the context. Critical to this is a flexible planning process stimulating incremental change through so-called innovation bundles (i.e. combinations of technological, organizational, and institutional innovations) and reflexive learning (systematically challenging constraining factors). Furthermore, local institutions embedded in norms and values are crucial to understand people's decisions. Due to weak linkages between value chain actors, innovation brokers have a vital role in facilitating the innovation process. Overall, IPs are a promising model for inclusive innovation, but they require a careful assessment of and adjustment to the institutional context.
Innovation systems and knowledge communities in agriculture and agrifood sector
This article examines how research on agriculture and agribusiness mobilizes the concept of Innovation System (IS). The literature review on IS provides an analytical framework that distinguishes the theoretical background, the scope and the social uses of this concept. Based on this framework, a bibliometric analysis on international scientific journals in innovation and agriculture reveals the existence of four knowledge communities that question differently the specific character of innovation and IS in this sector. The current challenge is to promote exchanges between these communities, particularly between the community which applies the evolutionary approach to the agri-food sector, and the epistemic community which seeks to build its own concepts emanating from rural sociology, economics of development and the farming system approach.
Ce livre fait suite au Symposium "Innovation and Sustainable Development in Agriculture and Food" (ISDA) organisé par l'UMR Innovation à Montpellier (2010-06-28 - 2010-07-01)
Les légumineuses herbacées proposées aux agriculteurs pour améliorer la fertilité des sols dans la région centrale du Bénin ne sont pas adaptées à toutes les catégories d'agriculteurs surtout celle disposant de peu de ressource foncière. Ainsi, le soja, une légumineuse à graine, a été envisagé comme une alternative. Après les récoltes du soja plus de 70 % de la biomasse produite sont brûlés. Pour améliorer la fertilité des sols pauvres un essai a eu lieu à Gomé et Miniffi deux sites de recherche développement au Centre du Bénin. La production de biomasse aérienne de soja évaluée en 2003 est estimée à 4 t/ha sur le site de Recherche-Développement de Miniffi et 7 t/ha sur celui de Gomé. En 2004, le maïs a été semé sur ces parcelles qui précédemment avaient reçu une culture de soja selon deux traitements: T1 avec enfouissement des résidus de soja et T2 où les résidus ont été brûlés (pratique paysanne). Le maïs est également semé sur une parcelle n'ayant pa