Operationalizing an Innovation Platform Approach for Community-Based Participatory Research on Conservation Agriculture in Burkina Faso

Dabire, Der; Andrieu, Nadine; Djamen, Patrice; Coulibaly, Kalifa; Posthumus, Héléna; Diallo, A.; Karambiri, Médina; Douzet, Jean‐Marie; Triomphe, Bernard

doi:10.1017/s0014479716000636

Cited by 24 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…In order to avoid repeating the shortcomings of earlier learning methods such as farmer field schools, policymakers must carefully consider aspects of sustainability in the design and implementation of learning programs. Since IPs in the study site depend on donor support (Ragasa et al 2016;Dabire et al 2017;Schut et al 2018), the following lessons may be used by policymakers while designing and implementing learning programs: To begin with, IPs such as Mt.Elgon women in coffee developed and are enforcing bi-laws to control fake inputs and coffee products in collaboration with the local government. Joint development and implementation of bilaws is an opportunity that can be drawn and used to help farmers learn more effectively.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disentangling the experiential learning process of coffee farmers in Uganda’s innovation platforms

Ochago

Dentoni

Lans

et al. 2021

The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension

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Purpose: While new rich learning opportunities emerged through the introduction of Innovation Platforms (IPs) in agricultural value chains, the extent to which IPs enhance farmer experiential learning is still unclear. Design/methodology/approach: This paper brings clarity to the above question by interviewing 91 coffee IP farmers. Data were analyzed through content analysis to generate overarching themes for farmers' experiences, learning activities, and outcomes. Findings: Results reveal that participation in IP learning activities generates farmers' knowledge to cope with coffee value chain challenges. Specifically, farmers' making-meaning of challenges and generating new solutions represents an iteration between individual critical reflection and experimentation of value chain activities. The IPs facilitated multi-directional knowledge flows among farmers by mobilizing necessary resources. Practical implications: As many Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) governments cannot provide sufficient extension support, farmers increasingly rely on IPs whose processes stimulate members' learning commitment and endeavors. Nevertheless, Governments can use these findings to tailor the design and implementation of IPs to farmers' experiential learning processes. Theoretical implications: The study contributes to experiential theory in the context of agriculture by advancing a model on how IPs can accelerate farmers' experiential learning processes based on the challenges experienced. Originality/value: This article extends knowledge of experiential learning in IPs context.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disentangling the experiential learning process of coffee farmers in Uganda’s innovation platforms

Ochago

Dentoni

Lans

et al. 2021

The Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension

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“…Some support mechanisms like innovation platforms (i.e., groups of individuals with different backgrounds but common innovation goals) can help resolve problems that producers and other actors encounter during the agroecological transition. As observed in different contexts in Africa (Dabire et al 2017;Angbo-Kouakou et al 2018), the success of these platforms is based upon several principles: construction and exchange of knowledge between actors; facilitation of collective action; strengthening or development of collaborative practices between multiple organizations with sometimes divergent interests; and facilitation of planning of action and the monitoring, evaluation, and capitalization of experimental activities.…”

Section: Levers For Action At the Local Level To Support Producersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Levers for the agroecological transition of tropical agriculture

Côté

Rapidel

Sourisseau

et al. 2022

Agron. Sustain. Dev.

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To promote greater sustainability in agriculture, development of agroecology is increasingly being invoked. What are the conditions for establishing agroecological production in tropical regions? Based upon case studies in several tropical areas, we provide here some answers to this question. We review the “pillars” (i.e. principles) and the “implementation levers” (i.e., tools) for the development of agroecology. We identify three main pillars: (1) the mobilization and management of ecological processes for the sustainable production and the resilience of agroecosystems; (2) the development of interactions between technical, social, environmental, and institutional components of agroecosystems for a holistic approach to agroecology; and (3) the scaling up of agroecology that takes place with a plurality of actions and pathways at different organization levels rather than an increase in resources and a replication of standardized technical processes. To implement these three pillars, we identify 11 main bio-technical, cognitive, socio-political, and organizational levers. Bio-technical levers include those for (1) mobilizing complementarity between crop species to optimize natural resources use, (2) mobilizing functional biodiversity at the plot scale to optimize natural regulation of pests and diseases, (3) managing biodiversity at landscape and territorial scales, (4) increasing the efficiency of biogeochemical cycles, and (5) renewing targets for genetic improvement. Cognitive, socio-political, and organizational levers include those for (6) political and institutional action at the national and global level, (7) action at the local level to support producers, (8) political and organizational action at the territorial level, (9) the marketing and the development of new agri-chains, (10) the development of new methods for evaluating production systems, and (11) the recognition of the values of gender and generation within families and other organisational levels. This paper provides an overall orientation for the agroecological transition in tropical agriculture and also considers the socio-political context that underlies this transition.

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“…Such studies have shown that the design of innovative agricultural systems has to involve technical, social, and organizational changes and to be analyzed and implemented with stakeholders at multiple levels (Delmotte et al, 2016;Moraine et al, 2016). Participatory mechanisms such as multiactor innovation platforms associated with exploration tools, such as modeling tools or on-farm experiments, are key in such processes to facilitate mediation and the development of a common language among partners (Dabire et al, 2016). Such multi-actor innovation platforms can be defined as networks intended to strengthen interactions between actors in order to facilitate change that enables innovation (Kilelu et al, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Co-designing Climate-Smart Farming Systems With Local Stakeholders: A Methodological Framework for Achieving Large-Scale Change

Andrieu

Howland

Acosta-Alba

et al. 2019

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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The literature is increasing on how to prioritize climate-smart options with stakeholders but relatively few examples exist on how to co-design climate-smart farming systems with them, in particular with smallholder farmers. This article presents a methodological framework to co-design climate-smart farming systems with local stakeholders (farmers, scientists, NGOs) so that large-scale change can be achieved. This framework is based on the lessons learned during a research project conducted in Honduras and Colombia from 2015 to 2017. Seven phases are suggested to engage a process of co-conception of climate-smart farming systems that might enable implementation at scale: (1) "exploration of the initial situation," which identifies local stakeholders potentially interested in being involved in the process, existing farming systems, and specific constraints to the implementation of climate-smart agriculture (CSA); (2) "co-definition of an innovation platform," which defines the structure and the rules of functioning for a platform favoring the involvement of local stakeholders in the process; (3) "shared diagnosis," which defines the main challenges to be solved by the innovation platform; (4) "identification and ex ante assessment of new farming systems," which assess the potential performances of solutions prioritized by the members of the innovation platform under CSA pillars; (5) "experimentation," which tests the prioritized solutions on-farm; (6) "assessment of the co-design process of climate-smart farming systems," which validates the ability of the process to reach its initial objectives, particularly in terms of new farming systems but also in terms of capacity building; and (7) "definition of strategies for scaling up/out," which addresses the scaling of the co-design process. For each phase, specific tools or methodologies are used: focus groups, social network analysis, theory of change, life-cycle assessment, and on-farm experiments. Each phase is illustrated with results obtained in Colombia or Honduras.

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Operationalizing an Innovation Platform Approach for Community-Based Participatory Research on Conservation Agriculture in Burkina Faso

Cited by 24 publications

References 18 publications

Disentangling the experiential learning process of coffee farmers in Uganda’s innovation platforms

Disentangling the experiential learning process of coffee farmers in Uganda’s innovation platforms

Levers for the agroecological transition of tropical agriculture

Co-designing Climate-Smart Farming Systems With Local Stakeholders: A Methodological Framework for Achieving Large-Scale Change

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