On Monday, November 30, a special Humidtropics book launch and award ceremony took place in Kampala, Uganda, in the presence of Humidtropics Director, Kwesi Atta-Krah, the winners of the competition, the editors and authors of the book, and Hon. Ruth Nankabirwa the Government Chief Whip, Republic of Uganda.
Resulting from the Innovation Platforms Case Study Competition, the new book entitled Innovation Platforms for Agricultural Development: Evaluating the Mature Innovation Platforms Landscape features eight cases studies – the top three, and those of five other contestants – that document stories and assess the efficiency of Innovation Platforms from various countries in the developing world.
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Innovation Platforms (IPs) form the core of many Agricultural Research for Development programs, stimulating multi-stakeholder collaboration and action towards the realization of agricultural development outcomes. This book enhances the body of knowledge of IPs by focusing on mature IPs in agricultural systems research, including the crop and livestock sectors, and innovations in farmer cooperatives and agricultural extension services. The examples reported will help the many actors involved with agricultural IPs worldwide reflect on their actions and achievements (or failures), and find tools to share their experience. Chapters feature case studies from Central Africa, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Nicaragua and Uganda. Authors reflect critically on the impact of IPs and showcase their progress, providing an important sourcebook and inspiration for students, researchers and professionals.[/su_box]During the award ceremony, the authors of the top three case studies were honored and awarded cash prizes of respectively $2000, $1500 and $1000 USD:
- Winner: Rebecca Kalibwani, Bishop Stuart University, Uganda. Can an Innovation Platform Succeed as a Cooperative Society? The story of Bubaare Innovation Platform Multipurpose Cooperative Society Ltd.
- 2nd place: Thanammal Ravichandran, ILRI, India. MilkIT Innovation Platform: Changing Women’s Lives – One Cow and One Litre of Milk at a Time – Deep in the Foothills of India’s Himalayan Mountains.
- 3rd place: Perez Muchunguzi, IITA, Central Africa. Overcoming Challenges for Crops, People and Policies in Central Africa – the Story of CIALCA Stakeholder Engagement.
Read the official winners’ announcement published earlier this year.
The book is published by Routledge (Taylor & Francis Group), and edited by Iddo Dror, Head of Capacity Development at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Jean-Joseph Cadilhon, Senior Agricultural Economist at ILRI, Marc Schut, Social Scientist at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and Wageningen University and Research Centre, Michael Misiko, Innovation Scientist at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), and Shreya Maheshwari, an independent editor based in India.
Post by Valérie Poiré, Communication Officer, Humidtropics. Photos by Brian Kawuma/ILRI.