Dynamics of Innovation in Livestock Genetics in Scotland: An Agricultural Innovation Systems Perspective Md. Mofakkarul. Islam 1, Alan Renwick 2, Chrysa Lamprinopoulou-Kranis 3, Laurens Klerkx 4 1Scottish Agricultural College (SAC), UK
[email protected] 2Scottish Agricultural College (SAC), UK
[email protected] 3Scottish Agricultural College (SAC), UK
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[email protected] Paper prepared for presentation at the 131st EAAE Seminar ‘Innovation for Agricultural Competitiveness and Sustainability of Rural Areas’, Prague, Czech Republic, September 18-19, 2012 Copyright 2012 by Islam, M. M., Renwick, A., Lamprinopoulou-Kranis, C., and Klerkx, L. All rights reserved. Readers may make verbatim copies of this document for non-commercial purposes by any means, provided that this copyright notice appears on all such copies. Dynamics of Innovation in Livestock Genetics in Scotland: An Agricultural Innovation Systems Perspective Md. Mofakkarul Islam, Alan Renwick, Chrysa Lamprinopoulou-Kranis, Laurens Klerkx Abstract: The application of genetic selection technologies in livestock breeding offers unique opportunities to enhance the productivity, profitability, and competitiveness of the livestock industry in Scotland. However, there is a concern that the uptake of these technologies has been slower in the sheep and beef sectors in comparison to the dairy, pig and poultry sectors. This is rather paradoxical given the fact that Scotland’s research outputs in farm animal genetics are widely perceived to be excellent. A growing body of literature, popularly known as Innovation Systems theories, suggests that technological transformations require a much broader approach that transcends formal research establishments. Accordingly, this paper reports on preliminary work exploring whether and how an agricultural innovation systems perspective could help identify the dynamics of technology uptake in the livestock sectors in Scotland.