Technology and Innovation
Technology - seeds, breeds, fertility inputs, disease control measures, water management - is clearly key to getting agriculture moving. But the impacts of extensive investment in technology development and transfer in Africa and in some parts of Asia have been patchy. With new technology options coming on-stream (e.g. biotechnologies or various sorts) and important new players in the private sector in particular, there are new challenges for the governance of technology in the agriculture sector. The old research and development extension arrangements of 20-30 years ago are not appropriate, but what is? We want to ask a number of questions:
- How can agricultural technology be made to work for the poor? What are the implications for technology choice and priority setting mechanisms?
- How are technology trajectories linked to processes of agrarian/livelihood change in different settings?
- What should be the roles of public and private sectors (both international and national) in technology development?
- How is access to technology options constrained? What alternatives exist?
- How should national/regional innovation systems look to deliver inputs for small farmers?
Further Reading
DFID
Science and Innovation Strategy Consultation
S. Omamo, 2005, 'Agricultural
Science and Technology Policy for Growth and Poverty Reduction', A
keynote paper prepared for the conference on Emerging Issues in Agriculture
and the Role of the International Association of Agricultural Economists,
75th Anniversary Meeting of the IAAE, Cornell University, Ithaca, New
York, October 7-9, 2005
