Agricultural Systems Special Issue Launch: Enabling Inclusive Innovation in Agriculture and Food Systems 

 

POSTPONED - A new date will be confirmed soon.

 

Location: Conference room 3, UN Campus, Nairobi, Kenya and online

Since 2021, ISDC has focused on inclusive innovation and what that means to CGIAR. The work started with a brief that led to a literature review, which inspired a Science Forum series on inclusive innovation and a special issue in Agricultural Systems. The 2024 Science Forum will take place during CGIAR’s first Science Week in Nairobi and will serve as a launch event for this special issue with four corresponding and/or lead authors presenting research related to CGIAR. 

Special Issue Abstract 

With increasing awareness of the complexity and context-specificity of agriculture and food (agrifood) systems, there are widespread calls for more inclusive approaches to research and innovation. Greater capacity for inclusivity presents an important opportunity to increase the relevance, legitimacy, and effectiveness of research and development institutions. This will require a shift in paradigm and resource allocation. To enrich the evidence base for inclusive practices in agrifood systems innovation, key arenas include improved characterization of local contexts and trade-offs; broader, multilevel engagement; bundled technologies; inclusive value chain entrepreneurship; functional capacity development; empowerment of farming communities and marginalized groups; novel modes of knowledge exchange and emergent collaboration; and system-level sustainability transitions. 

This special issue in Agricultural Systems (impact factor 6.6) explores institutional culture, regulatory, and governance dimensions of inclusive innovation in public and private agrifood research organizations. 

Agenda

Special Issue Opening Remarks (virtual) 

Laurens Klerkx, Editor, Agricultural Systems & Professor of Agrifood Innovation and Transition, Universidad de Talca, Chile & Wageningen University, The Netherlands (remotely)

ISDC Opening Remarks 

Holger Meinke, Special Issue Guest Editor & ISDC Chair (remotely)

Opportunities and Challenges with Inclusivity  

Amy R. Beaudreault, Special Issue Managing Guest Editor & ISDC Secretariat Lead 
Md. Mofakkarul Islam, Special Issue Guest Editor & Senior Fellow of Behavioural Sciences (Food and Nutrition Security), University of Greenwich 

Advancing Inclusive and Effective Agri-Food Systems Research for Development: A Short Communication   

Nompumelelo Obokoh, ISDC Vice Chair & CEO, South African Council for Natural Scientific Professions (SACNASP), South Africa 

Innovation Portfolio Management for Responsible Food Systems Transformation in the Public Sector: Lessons, Results and Recommendations from CGIAR 

Marc Schut, Senior Innovation Portfolio Management Advisor, CGIAR & Senior Scientist at Wageningen University 

Linguistic Diversity, Climate Shock, and Farmers-Herder Conflicts: Implications for Inclusive Innovations for Agro-Pastoralism Systems 

Chun Song, Spatial Econometrician, Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT 

Equity Principles: Utilizing Social Theory for More Effective Social Transformation in Agriculture Research for Development 

Erin McGuire, Director of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Horticulture, a U.S. Agency for International Development-funded Feed the Future initiative program based at the University of California, Davis 

Panel Discussion with Presenters 

Moderated by Md. Mofakkarul Islam, Special Issue Guest Editor & Senior Fellow of Behavioural Sciences (Food and Nutrition Security), University of Greenwich 

Closing Remarks 

Amy R. Beaudreault, Special Issue Managing Guest Editor & ISDC Secretariat Lead 

Additional Resources 

CGIAR Science Week
CGIAR Science Week 2024 - With Science We Can

2023 Science Forum 
Innovation for Impact: Growing Gender Equality, Youth, and Social Inclusion 

2022 Science Forum  
Building Inclusive Innovation in International Development 
Side Event: QoR4D to Strengthen Institutional Innovation