Innovation and research trajectory

Jatish Chandra Biswas and Md. Khairul Bashar

Photo: Amirul Rajiv

An innovation is a new way of doing things by applying technical, methodological or organizational knowledge. This knowledge might be acquired through extension, media, research, experiences or any other sources. The new idea may come from several actors including farmers, NGOs, public and private sectors. It is a change in behavior, even a small one. For example, a person who plants a new rice variety or buys seed for the first time, is innovation.

Innovation involves different sources of knowledge interacting with each other in order to share and combine ideas. These interactions and processes are usually very specific to a particular context having its own routines and traditions that reflect historical origins shaped by culture, politics, policies and power. So, different ideas such as farmer first and last, participation, PRA, PLA, public private sector partnerships, local innovation and so forth have emerged. Agricultural innovation is a repackaging of ideas borrowed from industrially developed countries.

We need to effectively mobilize the innovation diversity in order to cohesively argue for the sorts of policy and institutional change needed to create the space for further diversity to emerge. It is about ensuring conditions that nurture eclectic approaches to innovation exist and those competitors join forces with each other to constantly adapt institutional and policy framework conditions for innovation.

If we are interested in development and if we agree that development is about change, then we should emphasize on the conditions needed to bring about that change. We find technological success in one region, but not in the other corners of the world. For example, high-yielding cereal revolutionized food production in Asia, but failed to do so in Africa. Privatization of seed supply systems improves client orientation in India, but not in Bangladesh. These indicate that development is location specific and we have to work accordingly to bring any change in our agricultural sector.

How innovation occurs in agriculture?
i. Marketing facility prominently drive agricultural development instead of production.
ii. Production, trade and consumption environment for agriculture and agricultural products is growing more rapidly and evolving in unpredictable ways.
iii. Knowledge, information and technology are generated, diffused and applied through private sector.
iv. Rapid change in information and communications technology has transformed the ability to take advantage of knowledge developed globally.

Why innovation is not working?
Attitudes and practices are a major obstacle to innovation. Strong incentives to innovate have rarely been sufficient to induce new patterns of collaboration, especially in Bangladesh.

Inadequate access to new knowledge because of communication gap and illiteracy.

Weak or absent of technological learning at the company/farmer/entrepreneur level.

Lack of connections to sources of financing for innovation.

Innovation adoption scenario of major crops in Bangladesh

A study conducted by Nagy and Alam found highly positive production and yield/ha growth rates for Boro rice, wheat, potato and jute. However, T. Aman and Aus rice and sugarcane exhibited negative growth rates. There is the highest adoption rates and incremental production with rice, wheat and potato due to adoption of post-1980 varieties, while sugarcane and jute adoption and incremental production rates were much lower. Their findings also reveal that the rate of varietal adoption and timely replacement of older varieties is not praise worthy. Farmers are cultivating old varieties. For example mean average age of T. Aman rice varieties is 24.6 years, wheat 15.7 years and sugarcane 18.9 years and the dominant variety in terms of area planted for each of these crops was released in the early 1980's. These findings simply indicate that extension mechanism is not working properly in Bangladesh.

The cutting edge innovations that we need to feed our people are development of crop varieties that suit saline and drought areas, utilize water and nutrient efficiently and resistant to pests pressure. We have to diversify crop production in specialized location maintaining soil health. Innovation on integrated crop production packages would play a vital role for alleviating poverty and ensuring food security of the country.

Agricultural Research
Average crop yields in developing countries have increased by 71% since 1961, while average grain yields have doubled to 2.8 t/ha. Yields of many commercial crops and livestock have also grown rapidly. International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) studies on impacts of public investment in India and China showed that agricultural research and development had higher impacts on poverty reduction compared to most other public investments (Fan, Zhang, and Zhang 2000; Fan, Hazell, and Thorat 1999). Other studies have shown that 1% increase in agricultural yields in low-income countries leads to 0.8% reduction in the number of people below the poverty line (Thirtle, Lin, and Piesse 2003). Now, let's see what our nationalized organizations are doing for the wellbeing of poor farmers in Bangladesh?

National agricultural research systems (NARS)
The NARS framework has been the mainstay of agricultural development planning for about 40 years. Its goal is technology adoption and growth in productivity. The capacity to achieve this goal lies within the agricultural research, training and extension organizations of the public sector. This system proved very effective in areas where technological solutions with wide potential applicability were required. For example, food shortages in South Asia in the 1970s were overcome because it has been effective in creating agricultural science capacity and in making improved varieties of major food crops. However, research is not explicitly linked to technology users and other actors in the sector. As a result, NARS priorities are slow to reflect clients' needs and changing circumstances in the sector. The NARS framework is poorly suited for responding to rapidly changing market conditions and providing technologies for producers to supply emerging, high-value niche markets.

It is necessary to improve the flow of food from agriculture systems by creation, accumulation, sharing and utilization of knowledge and developing the capacity for innovation by all actors along the food and agriculture chain. Fostering innovation means investing in agricultural science and technology, research and extension, education and training and farmer organizations and other local institutions. The nationilized research institutes should be strengthen to tune up its capacity for generating and disseminating new knowledge, producing the next cadre of actors in the food and agriculture chain and for creation and marketing of agricultural products. In combination with indigenous knowledge, new findings and technology, they should use appropriate institutional and policy arrangements to promote increased productivity and competitiveness of agriculture and to improve the livelihoods of smallholder operators in rural areas of Bangladesh.

Although staple food production will remain very important event, exciting agricultural trend in many new production-to-consumption systems is emerging in Bangladesh. Many farmers are diversifying their rice fields into vegetables and fruits, spices, aquaculture products and nonfood products such as medicinal plants and cut flowers. The production of animal protein is increasing and the importance of post harvest handling and processing is growing to meet consumers' demand for storability and convenience.

These new agricultural activities are highly volatile, but frequently they provide considerable income and employment opportunities. Their development can make a large contribution to rural-based sustainable development. Many of these new agricultural activities and products emerge when private entrepreneurs respond to new market opportunities. Although the overall value of new agricultural activities can be considerable, the large number of products makes it impossible to develop national research programs for each one, except perhaps in very large countries such as China and India. Consequently, countries must develop new approaches to support innovation in these knowledge-intensive activities.

In 21st century, knowledge accumulation and application will drive development processes forward. The government should emphasise agricultural research and development for economic growth and poverty reduction. Moreover, policy and institutional innovations are required to generate, accumulate and disseminate technology and information and to ensure that they are used to find solutions in food and agriculture systems.

Feeding an additional 100-150 million people over the next few decades and improving food security for about 100 million people who are currently hungry or malnourished all in an era of worsening land and water scarcity, climate change, and declining crop yields is a dire challenge. Meeting it will require a giant leap in agricultural innovation in Bangladesh similar to the 1960s Green Revolution. Introgression of SALTOL and SUB1 gene to mega rice varieties like BRRI dha28, BRRI dhan29 and BR11 through biotechnology would be appropriate than conventional breeding techniques. Development of heat tolerant wheat and pulses with higher yield potentials are essential for cropping intensification.

Until the global food supply can meet this burgeoning demand, soaring food prices will be an ever-present concern to consumers, particularly in Bangladesh where food can account for 50% to 70% of household budgets. Soaring price of rice in the present market system is a good example of hue and cry for the present government. By bringing together public and private partners, PPPs could create dynamic conditions for conducting advanced research, developing new technologies and deploying new products for the benefit of the country.

The developed countries like Australia spend over $1.6 billion per annum on research and development; whereas it is less than 1% of GDP in Bangladesh. Recognising the pace of climate change and its impact on primary industries and associated rural communities, the government should spend at least 2-3% of GDP for agricultural development in Bangladesh. Special research thurst should given to unfavorable ecosystems to fill up the food basket. Training for researchers and extension personnel along with skill training for farmers and service providers and their effective linkages would be needed for food security in Bangladesh.

The writers are Principal Scientific officer and director (Research), respectively; BRRI, Gazipur.