Agricultural Innovation
At KIT Royal Tropical Institute, our expertise in research, training, and teaching helps create novel solutions for agricultural problems. Agricultural growth can help hundreds of millions of people improve their income while also securing enough food for themselves and their communities.
However many people in agricultural systems operate in increasingly complex and uncertain economic, technological and social environments. Working both in the field and with theory, we ease the pressure of constant change and complexity by supporting our clients to introduce innovation into agriculture.
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Project
HortiNigeria
Nigeria is currently unable to meet the local demand for vegetables, with a supply gap of around 13 million metric tons. The HortiNigeria programme aims narrow this gap by transforming and accelerating the development of a sustainable and inclusive horticulture sector that contributes to food and nutrition security in rural communities and alleviates poverty.
Read more about HortiNigeria -
Project
Fodder Seeds: Empowering Women and Closing Gaps in Afghanistan
How can fodder gaps in the water constrained provinces of Baghlan and Nangarhar in Afghanistan be reduced? What are the links between women’s empowerment and sustainable fodder production systems? These were two of the questions addressed during a week-long workshop in Amman, Jordan organised by The International Center for Agriculture Research (ICARDA), CSIRO and Murdoch University – in collaboration with the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR) and KIT Royal Tropical Institute.
Read more about Fodder Seeds: Empowering Women and Closing Gaps in Afghanistan -
Project
UNDP Agribusiness Supplier Development Program
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Project
Supporting a National Centre for Agricultural Technical Training in Egypt
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Project
Building Life Skills for Adolescent Girls with Plan UK
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Project
Graduate Opportunities for Innovation and Transformation (GO4IT)
Our Approach & Expertise
At KIT we work with a diverse range of individuals and organisations—such as smallholder farmers, private agents and service providers—to strengthen and accelerate problem solving and bring about desirable change within current food systems. We create tailor-made approaches for clients’ agricultural challenges by combining elements of large-scale system thinking, farmer-led innovation, and value-chain development. Using decades of theoretical as well as practical knowledge we build bridges between academia, policy makers, and private sector actors—enabling solutions that work in the field. Particular emphasis is placed on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the meaningful inclusion of women and vulnerable groups in all of these efforts.
Variety of agricultural services
The quest for innovation brings with it a need for a variety of agricultural services. Research and advisory services are perhaps the most well-known agricultural services—which need to cater to a wide range of farmers and other individuals within the agricultural sector. To do this efficiently and effectively we train and coach researchers, farmer organisations, policy makers and extension agents (i.e. those who apply research insights) to be better able to link to and learn from others involved the agricultural innovation system. Additionally, we co-design agricultural research and extension projects and policies, and support efforts to monitor and evaluate their performance.
Achieve (development) impact
We know that NGOs and research organisations are increasingly expected to achieve (development) impact at considerable scales. For many this raises questions about how to convert a successful pilot project into a large-scale project with wider public or private success. Our understanding of system processes and the best enabling conditions in environments, institutions and economic settings can aid creation of successful increases in scale. At KIT we help clients to look beyond inputs, activities and outputs, and learn about the success factors and blockers of pilot projects. Using this to help define scaling strategies—while documenting, analysing and publishing innovative developments in agricultural practices—gives KIT the edge to improve our clients’ work and achieve wide-reaching adoption of successful agricultural innovations.
Our services
Education, training and coaching
There is probably no better contribution towards sustainable development than investing in people and building capacities at all levels. KIT Royal Tropical Institute plays a major role in this by offering a range of education and capacity building services, from formal education at masters level to client-oriented training and coaching support. Our training and coaching programmes are tailor-made to address the unique objectives and capacities of the requesting organisation.
More about Education, training and coachingPolicy & Programme Design
KIT Royal Tropical Institute operates at the intersection of theory and practice and between policy and implementation, translating good intentions into meaningful social and economic impact.
More about Policy & Programme DesignMonitoring, Evaluation & Impact Assessment
Monitoring, evaluation, and impact assessment are powerful tools to assess health, social, and economic impact. They allow us to learn what works and why. Our expertise and track record in these areas make us well-equipped to evaluate your work.
More about Monitoring, Evaluation & Impact AssessmentKnowledge Management
Development and research organisations are often so focused on achieving their objectives that they find it difficult to create the time to look back, analyse and learn from what they experienced and share their results.
More about Knowledge Management
