Promoting Local Innovation

Promoting Local Innovation: Enhancing IK Dynamics and Links with Scientific Knowledge Public Disclosure Authorized L ocal innovation refers to the dynam- These efforts generally failed to im- ics of IK – the knowledge that grows prove the farming and livelihood sys- within a social group, incorporating learn- tems of the poor. Most of the intro- ing from own experience over generations duced technologies were inappropriate but also knowledge gained from other for rainfed farming under marginal con- sources and fully internalised within local ditions such as dry or mountainous ar- ways of thinking and doing. Local innova- eas. In such settings, the key ingredi- tion is the process through which individu- ents for sustainable resource manage- als or groups discover or develop new and ment are not external inputs but rather better ways of managing resources – build- the farmers’ knowledge and manage- Public Disclosure Authorized ing on and expanding the boundaries of ment capacities and their skilful ma- their IK. nipulation of the locally available re- Local innovation through informal ex- sources. Most rural development ef- perimentation has always been happening, forts have failed to mobilise and en- but only recently has increased attention hance these “internal inputs”. The http://www.worldbank.org/afr/ik/default.htm IK Notes been given to identifying and document- dominant approach to research and ex- ing the innovations and the innovation tension still follows the pattern of processes. But documenting local innova- “transfer-of-technology”, based on the tion is not enough. In rural development, assumption that knowledge is created the challenge is to move beyond the exist- by scientists, to be packaged and ing innovations farmers1 have developed, spread by extension and to be adopted Public Disclosure Authorized using their IK and creativity, and to de- by farmers. This approach denies and velop these ideas further in joint experi- often suppresses local initiatives. mentation, integrating relevant informa- Some alternative approaches to agri- No. 76 tion and ideas from elsewhere. January 2005 IK Notes reports periodically on 1 “Farmers” is used here as a collective term Indigenous Knowledge (IK) initiatives to refer to all people who produce and/or in Sub-Saharan Africa and occasionally harvest from plants, animals and aquatic on such initiatives outside the Region. organisms. It includes peasant / family It is published by the Africa Region’s farmers, pastoralists, forest dwellers and Knowledge and Learning Center as artisanal fisherfolk, among others. part of an evolving IK partnership between the World Bank, communities, NGOs, development institutions and multilateral organizations. The Public Disclosure Authorized Why is it important to recognise local views expressed in this article are those of the authors and should not be World Bank innovation? attributed to the World Bank Group In the past, rural development efforts or its partners in this initiative. A webpage on IK is available at // usually focused on technical interventions www.worldbank.org/afr/ik/ relying on the use of external inputs. default.htm 2 cultural research and development (R&D) have been capital- · strengthening the process, often through improving local ising on the knowledge, creativity and management capaci- organisation and linkages with other actors in R&D, so that ties of local people, and linking IK and external knowledge in the PTD process will continue. joint exploration and experimentation (e.g. Gupta 2000, Reij and Waters-Bayer 2001). They commence by identifying As innovation in agriculture and NRM goes far beyond what farmers are already doing in their own development “hard” technologies to “soft” innovations such as new ways of and experimentation efforts, and promote action learning by gaining access to or regulating use of natural resources or farmers and supporting agencies to develop the local innova- new ways of farmer organisation (e.g. for marketing), the tions and complementary techniques further. term Participatory Innovation Development (PID) is increas- Identifying local innovations is a first step toward changing ingly being used instead of PTD to embrace this broader un- the way development workers regard farmers and interact derstanding of the approach. with them. They start to see farmers as partners with some- The local-innovation approach to PID starts with looking at thing to offer, not just to receive. A positive approach that what farmers are already trying, in their own efforts to solve starts from (but is not confined to) local ideas, that focuses problems or grasp opportunities they have already identi- on local people’s strengths and explores the particular oppor- fied. The joint situation analysis by community members and tunities open to them, rather than dwelling on their weak- outsiders is based on these concrete examples. Local innova- nesses and problems, is key to stimulating local innovation tions become foci for community groups to examine opportu- processes. nities, to plan joint experiments to explore the ideas further The purpose of identifying local innovation is not primarily and to evaluate the results together. This process, around to disseminate them in a transfer-of-technology mode of ex- concrete joint activities, helps to strengthen community tension – picking out what seem to be the “best”, most organisation for development. widely applicable technologies. Such an approach is not For researchers, as for development agents, learning to suited for the highly diverse environments in which many recognise local innovation and informal experimentation by smallholder farmers live. A local innovation is developed to farmers is an important step towards engaging in truly par- fit a particular biophysical and socio-economic setting and ticipatory R&D. It starts off the collaboration on a com- usually cannot be transferred “as is” to other settings. How- pletely different footing than approaches that start with in- ever, the documentation and sharing of local innovations can troducing external technologies for farmers to test. From the provide ideas and inspiration for others to try out and adapt outset, value is given to local people’s knowledge and cre- new ideas to their own setting. ativity. Farmers are recognised as partners in R&D. As useful as PID may be in agricultural research, it is primarily an approach to development. Most of the PID that is Entry points to Participatory Innovation Development happening today is being done by farmers and development agents without involvement of formal researchers. This Local innovations offer entry points for linking IK and scien- should be encouraged, as it will not be possible for formal tific knowledge in community-led Participatory Innovation researchers to work together with the millions of farmers in Development (PID). This is a more comprehensive term than remote, marginal and highly diverse areas throughout the Participatory Technology Development (PTD), an approach world. In such areas, local experimentation is necessary to that NGOs have long promoted. Basically, the activities in- see if new ideas – whether from other farmers or from formal volved in PTD are: research – can fit the local setting. Moreover, since condi- · getting started (getting to know each other); tions are constantly changing, all farming communities need · joint analysis of the situation – problems and opportunities; to be able to adjust to these changes. Therefore, farmer in- · looking for ways to try to improve the local situation; novation must be a never-ending process. PID strengthens · trying them out in community-led participatory experi- this process. mentation; · jointly analysing and sharing the results; and 3 The Role of NGOs in promoting PID and separate from government agencies. Now, they have recognised the need to bring about institutional and policy Many development-support NGOs have, for a long time, change so that PID is integrated into the regular work of recognised the potential of building on IK and local inno- government agencies. Some of these NGOs therefore took vation, combining this with relevant external knowledge, the initiative to establish PROLINNOVA, a global platform to so that farmers can improve their livelihoods in a sustain- promote local innovation in ecologically-oriented agricul- able way. They realise that, to be able to link IK and scien- ture and natural resource management (NRM). tific knowledge systems, the farmers and NGOs engaged in PID in the field need to work more closely together The PROLINNOVA initiative with government agencies of agricultural research, exten- Four years ago, when NGOs from the North and South were sion and education. preparing for the Global Forum on Agricultural Research in Development-support NGOs are in a good position to Dresden, Germany, they developed the idea of PROLINNOVA bring together different stakeholder groups in PID. They to forge multi-stakeholder partnerships in agroecological have normally established good working relationships with R&D. Since then, the initiative has grown in a decentralised individuals and groups of farmers, and are actively way. NGOs in Ethiopia, Ghana and Uganda (Agri-Service strengthening farmer organisations. It is not always so easy Ethiopia, Ecumenical Association for Sustainable Agriculture to establish good relations with government organisations, and Rural Development, and Environmental Alert, respec- which often regard NGOs with some reserve. On

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