Status and dynamics of agricultural innovations in Côte d'Ivoire (Innov'Agri - Côte d'Ivoire)

SPIA Côte d'Ivoire project launch workshop
Summary of discussions and next steps

I- Presentation of the SPIA project in Ivory Coast

The workshop to launch the SPIA Côte d'Ivoire project (Etat et dynamique des innovations agricoles en Côte d'Ivoire-Innov'Agri) was held on Thursday 15 May at the Silver Moon Hotel (Cocody, Abidjan). The workshop began with an opening speech by Sylvie Zah, Assistant to the Director General of Planning, Statistics and Projects at the Ministry of State, Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Food Production (MEMINADERPV). This was followed by a round-table discussion to introduce all the participants by name, and a family photo. Following this, the SPIA project, its objectives, research team, methodology and activities were presented by Profs. Thierry ZOUE, Tanguy BERNARD, Kaleb BAYE and Zineb OMARY, all project coordinators.

As far as the project is concerned, the elements presented relate to the three areas of research:
(i) Inventory of innovations
(ii) Dynamics of dissemination of these innovations
(iii) Implementation and enforcement of agricultural policies.

The success of this vast project requires the genuine involvement of stakeholders in seven categories:

- Government structures
- National agricultural support structures
- Universities and research centres
- CGIAR centres
- Partners and international organisations
- Agricultural associations
- NGOs

II- Echanges

The discussions covered both questions of understanding and contributions from the stakeholders present.

The main questions raised were as follows:

How was the project formulated? What are the sources of funding? What institutional mechanisms and technical tools are planned to ensure effective and continuous monitoring of activities throughout the project cycle? How is the synchronisation of data collection periods between the different work packages organised? Are there plans to collect primary data, and how will this be done? What framework governs the intellectual property of the data collected, the analyses produced and the final results, particularly in terms of access and sharing between stakeholders? What are the practical arrangements for the involvement of the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development? How are farmers involved not only in data collection, but also in the co-construction of agricultural innovations and the dissemination of results?

All the questions raised were answered. Concerning the adoption of the project by the Tutelle, the CAPEC CEO reassured that the project will be presented in due course to the cabinet of the Director of Agriculture. It should also be noted that the results and impact indicators will be developed jointly with the stakeholders and will be regularly monitored. As far as data collection is concerned, the research activities of the various work packages are interlinked and will be carried out simultaneously. As far as data analysis is concerned, it has been pointed out that there is a lack of cross-referencing and standardisation of data from the various institutions. Efforts to pool and harmonise data therefore need to be stepped up. The aim of this research project is not only to compile an inventory of agricultural innovations initiated by the CGIAR and its national research partners, but also to monitor the adoption and dissemination of these innovations over time. The SPIA project could thus provide an opportunity to produce data in line with national priorities relating to the agricultural ecosystem. It could, for example, produce an Atlas of Agriculture in Côte d'Ivoire.

The stakeholders present enriched the discussions with their contributions. Impact assessment requires the systematic integration of investment costs in order to facilitate more objective transnational comparisons. Furthermore, the inventory of agricultural innovations must go beyond strictly scientific criteria to incorporate an analysis of the socio-cultural and anthropological characteristics of farming communities. This holistic approach would make it possible to assess the appropriation of innovations by farmers, whose active involvement in the design and dissemination of innovations determines their sustainable adoption. Collecting data directly from producers is essential, as projections based exclusively on the results of research institutes have their limitations, particularly because they are often disconnected from local agronomic and socio-economic realities. In addition, the identification of stakeholders must include a wider range of players, such as the Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques in Côte d'Ivoire, Aderiz, the IRD, regional seed centres such as the Ouaki centre in Ghana, as well as producers' representatives via their professional associations and cooperatives. The search for up-to-date data, particularly via recent reports from the Ministry in charge, is essential in order to identify reliable and contextualised primary data, while at the same time requiring targeted secondary data collection from specific stakeholders. Data traceability and the computerisation of data collection processes are methodological imperatives to guarantee transparency, reproducibility and analytical efficiency. Finally, the success of the project depends fundamentally on the active involvement of stakeholders at every stage, requiring the introduction of mechanisms for ongoing consultation and the co-construction of indicators, in order to anchor the innovations in a collective and sustainable approach.