Who we are
Strengthening innovation support Services to enhance Innovations (SERVInnov) is 3 year Project, aimed at strengthening innovation support services (ISS) to enhance innovations for sustainable food production, ensuring the well-being of rural populations, and reducing environmental degradation and resource depletion. SERVInnov is a consortium of 10 partners and 01 associated partner from 5 countries in Europe and Africa. Project target countries: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, and Madagascar.
Our objective
SERVInnov’s objective is to better understand the role of innovation support services in the development of agricultural and agri-food innovations taking into account the organization and the global offer of these services but also their ability to meet the demand for support. This understanding will make it possible to formulate recommendations to service providers and public decision-makers on support methods adapted to innovative initiatives in agriculture and agri-food.
Vision
“Agricultural and agrifood innovations, effective Innovation Support Services (ISS) are developed in an accessible and sustainable way, in collaboration with either public or private service providers”. Mission: “Characterize Innovation Support Services (ISS) in three countries: Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Madagascar, and within innovation case studies related to the improvement of agriculture, sustainable intensification and agrifood systems”.
The Challenge
There is a need to address and improve the food production in Africa through sustainable, intensifying farming practices, and through effective cooperation among the multiple actors along the food value chains. Innovations within agriculture and across food systems are crucial to facilitate the private sector’s (including farmer organisations) efforts and shifts in accomplishing economic growth and inclusive development. To solve these problems in a sustainable way, they need innovative initiatives. For this to happen, effective support for their initiatives is needed in terms of knowledge, facilitation and intermediation services. Our general research question is: how, when and from whom innovative stakeholders in agricultural value chains can obtain innovation support services to enable them to successfully overcome problems and improve their livelihoods?
Core project – Research Partners
- Le Centre de coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (CIRAD), France ;
- University of Hohenheim (UHOH), Germany ;
- University of Dschang, Cameroon ;
- Le Centre d’Etudes, de Documentation et de Recherche Economiques et Sociales (CEDRES), Burkina Faso
- L’École Supérieure des Sciences Agronomiques de l’Université d’Antananarivo (ESSA), Madagascar;
- Practice /development Partners
- European Institute for Cooperation and Development, France (IECD);
- Groupe de Recherche et d’Echanges Technologiques, (GRET) NGO, France ;
- FIFATA, National organisation of producers, Madagascar
- African Forum for Agricultural Advisory Services(AFAAS), International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Cameroon
Funders
- AFD (France),
- DLR-PT (Germany),
- MINRESI (Cameroon),
- FONRID (Burkina Faso)