Working Paper #2007-014
Technology supply chain or innovation capacity?: Contrasting experiences of promoting small scale irrigation technology in South Asia
The most effective approach to agricultural technology promotion and
innovation is still a source of considerable debate, and nowhere more so
than in the context of agricultural engineering hardware. Contemporary
perspective on agricultural innovation stress the importance of
institutional change and give emphasis to the need to develop innovation
capacity in systems terms rather address limitations of technology
transfer mechanisms. This paper illustrates using the case of manual
irrigation technology - treadle pumps -- in Bangladesh and India. It
identifies 5 elements of this capacity: (i) A sector coordination
mechanism; (ii) a developmental rather than technical organising
principle for sector development; (iii) habits and practices
(institutions) of key organisations; (iv) Interaction as a learning and
knowledge transmission mechanism (v) Market demand as key an incentive
for innovation; and (vi) Policies and institutional innovations to
ensure adequate stakeholder participation. The paper concludes by
suggesting that identifying new sources of institutional innovation is
the most presses task for initiatives that seek to make more effective
use of knowledge and technology in development.
- Keywords
-
- Agricultural machinery
- technology
- innovation systems
- innovation capacity
- agricultural research
- poverty reduction
- small scale irrigation
- supply chains. UNU-MERIT Working Papers ISSN 1871-9872
Cite this as
APA 7th ed.Hall, A., Clark, N., & Naik, G. (2007). Technology supply chain or innovation capacity?: Contrasting experiences of promoting small scale irrigation technology in South Asia (UNU-MERIT Working Paper No. 2007-014). UNU-MERIT. https://unu-merit.nl/publications/working-papers/abstract/?id=2830