COMPREHENSIVE INNOVATION
a value chain intervention there or a digital agriculture pilot elsewhere. When such projects end, the platforms often dissolve, networks weaken and momentum is lost, leaving behind reports rather than durable systems. The effectiveness of an AIS depends largely on how the roles of different actors are connected. Some serve as brokers linking farmers to research, inputs, finance and markets; others generate technologies or mobilize resources. When these roles are weak or poorly coordinated, innovation struggles to move beyond pilot stages. Farmers embedded in stronger networks are more likely to adopt improved practices because they benefit from trust, peer learning, feedback loops and institutional support. Crucially, adoption translates into improved productivity and income only when complemented by services such as advisory support, alongside access to markets and finance. These dynamics highlight how agricultural innovation
many of these platforms remain tied to short-term projects. Once interventions end, the platforms often disappear, revealing a paradox: While we speak of building systems, we frequently fund isolated initiatives. Long-term sustainability is rarely built into their design. That fragmentation is reflected in how actors operate. Extension services, including support and training for farmers, may promote new technologies without ensuring the availability of inputs, such as seeds and fertilizers. Universities may generate innovations without strong feedback mechanisms from farmers. Cooperatives formed during projects often weaken or dissolve once support ends, only to re-emerge when another intervention arrives. Similarly, private firms may enter value chains during subsidy or pilot programs but withdraw once incentives disappear. As a result, participation becomes project-driven rather than institution- driven. Instead of strengthening durable institutions and networks, efforts are scattered across temporary initiatives.
and support innovation beyond the life of individual projects. In a word: concentration. The political economy of discontinuity Even more damaging is how we build systems around political cycles. Agricultural transformation takes time. Building trust between actors, strengthening cooperative governance, reforming extension systems and aligning research with market demand are not next-election projects; they require a decade or more of consistent investment. Yet in many contexts, agricultural policy is tied to electoral timelines. One government launches a flagship program, the next government discontinues it; sometimes not because it failed, but because political incentives favor launching a new initiative rather than consolidating an existing one. We have seen input subsidy schemes rebranded rather than reformed. Innovation platforms dissolved and replaced. Digital agriculture registries abandoned midway. Institutional memory is eroded because attributing success to a predecessor carries little political reward. In such an environment, actors hesitate to invest deeply in relationships. Why commit to a long-term platform if it may not survive the next administration? Why align business models to a government program that could be reversed? This instability is a failure of coordination, rooted not in technical constraints but in political (dis)incentives, which constrain systems building.
systems are essential not only for diffusing technologies, but also
for ensuring that they bring meaningful and sustained livelihood improvements.
Innovation platforms become occasional engagements for the
project deliverable, rather than stable coordination mechanisms. What is missing is the sustained investment in coherent system structures that allow actors to build lasting relationships, coordinate effectively
Many projects, few systems
Over the last few decades, the concept of agricultural transformation via innovation platforms has gained increasing traction across Africa. Yet in practice,
Key takeaways Fully functional agricultural innovation systems cannot be built on short-term project or political timelines; they require commitment, consistency and political continuity. The temptation to launch new flagship programs at every political
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