Rural innovation policies: shaping the enabling environment for agricultural innovation systems

Rural innovation policies

Improving agricultural productivity, profitability and sustainability requires innovation. For many years, support for innovation tended to focus mainly on strengthening agricultural research. Innovation, however, is the result of interaction among stakeholders rather than a result of research. It is therefore important to involve farmers’ organizations, the private sector, and even policy-makers, as full-fledged partners for enhancing rural innovation. 

This dossier focuses on the role of policies and policy-makers in stimulating agricultural innovation. The different steps in rural innovation policy development are discussed to give the reader a clear view of how the enabling environment for innovation can be shaped by public policy-making.

Sections in this dossier:

• In-depth: background information on the issue;
• KIT's involvement: further information on the programme by the Royal Tropical Institute;
• Resources: a selection of relevant resources