Strengthening agricultural innovation capacity: are innovation brokers the answer?

Abstract

Taking the case of Dutch agriculture as an example, this paper examines the emergence and role of innovation brokers in stimulating agricultural innovation system interaction and innovation capacity building, and reflects upon their potential role in developing and emerging countries' agriculture and how their emergence and functioning can be fostered. It concludes that innovation brokerage is likely to be relevant in developing countries, that public or donor investment may be needed to overcome inherent tensions regarding the legitimacy and funding of such players in the innovation system and that stimulating the emergence of innovation brokers requires a policy that supports institutional learning and experimentation to ensure that the brokers become locally embedded.