Martha Opondo from the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) represented the international Prolinnova network virtually at FAO’s Agrifood Systems Technology and Innovations Outlook (ATIO) writeshop held in Soesterberg, Netherlands, on 7-9 October 2024. The other participants were from the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Wageningen University, Universidad de Talca, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), University of Gothenburg, CGIAR, African Centre for Technology Studies (ACTS), the global coalition Land is Life, Oxford University, Maastricht University and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada.
The goal of the writeshop was to contribute to writing Chapter 3 “Evolving Agrifood Innovation Systems” of the ATIO 2025 report by reviewing and improving the existing draft. This chapter focuses on discussing the types of innovation in agrifood systems, the pathways through which innovations evolve, the bundles and layers of innovation (technological, social, organisational etc), the players, impact and outcomes. It is divided into four sections: 1) Agricultural Innovation Systems (AIS): what are they and how this approach has been implemented; 2) Paradigms and emerging players in agricultural innovations shaping the future AIS; 3) Transformation and evolution of AIS (the pathways, transitions, approaches and bundles); and 4) AIS for responsible and just transitions.
Besides participating in various discussions, Martha provided examples of grassroots innovation (the process) and innovations (the products of such processes) documented by members of the Prolinnova network.
