35293 Linking Agricultural Innovations to Knowledge Sharing in Africa M ost recent African indigenous patterns in Africa. knowledge (IK) literature, especially in But, too oftenAfrican indigenous agriculture, emphasizes that Africans are innovators are overlooked in the search process for new solutions. Notes informed innovators. This literature is filled with success stories (see for Two main reasons can be attributed instance Chaiken 1998, Ndoum 2001 and for this: (i) the innovations and Nwokeabia 2001). Excellent examples of discoveries they produce are mostly local innovations and discoveries include incremental meaning that they do not crop breeding, grafting against pests, carry high income gains; and (ii) water harvesting, soil management, culturally, there is little knowledge conservation and processing. Indigenous sharing due to lack of records and KI agricultural innovations have continued to the application of innovations in be important as most of the locally-grown isolation. Indigenous innovators face food is for local consumption. uncertainty because of a lack of In Nigeria, for instance, the informal organizing frameworks. They lack agriculture sector, mostly using indig- information as to who needs innova- enous methods and techniques, has an tions, how to find the users, when to http://www.worldbank.org/afr/ik/default.htm estimated worth of about US $12 billion, approach them, why they should be providing income for an estimated 81 approaching them, and most impor- million people.1 The knowledge in the tantly, whether the receivers will sector can be characterized as: appreciate the effort. · rooted in particular places, experiences The consequence of the lack of an and unique climatic conditions, organizing framework is that innova- · orally transmitted or transmitted through tors mostly become indifferent to imitation and demonstration, diffusing their knowledge, and not · widely relevant for poor women, utilizing potential scale effects, · constantly reinforced by experiences No. 88 and trial and error and adapting, pragmatic, January 2006 · shared occasionally, IK Notes reports periodically on Indigenous Knowledge (IK) initiatives · usually asymmetrically distributed and in Sub-Saharan Africa and preserved within a group, occassionally on such initiatives · may involve specialists by virtue of ex- outside the region. It is published by perience or authority, and the Africa region's Knowledge and Learning Center as part of an · situated within a culture/society includ- evolving K partnership between the ing technical information. World Bank, communities, NGOs, At a general level, new approaches may development institutions, and still be needed to address some of multilateral organizations. The views Africa's problems. There is some unique expressed in this article are those of the authors and should not be World Bank knowledge among the local producers attributed to the World Bank Group or that can contribute to help make hunger its partners in this initiative. A and malnutrition history, and reduce webpage on IK is available at grass-root poverty, especially among poor //www.worldbank.org/afr/ik women without changing cultural food 2 efficiency and productivity gains from their innovations. why formally self-sufficient African societies are suddenly The system can now be said to be caught in an `indiffer- becoming unable to take care of themselves. In an indiffer- ence-trap'. People thus hold back on productive innova- ence-trap, the value of these innovations will continuously tions and discoveries that they would have otherwise fluctuate between their current values and zero (the passed to others. current innovation is not additive to the previous innovations This note explains the link between asymmetric informa- and collapses to zero when the innovator ceases to apply tion, the indifference-trap, loss of efficiency gains and it). Even though there may be infinite amount of innova- stunting of the growth of indigenous innovations and tions on a particular knowledge e.g. soil management, they proposes a pragmatic solution. The paper describes, with do not become additive because of indifference and some empirical evidence, how indifference feeds into the information asymmetry. The impact of such isolated process, motivations and dynamics of the indifference-trap. innovation processes on general technological and eco- nomic growth is short-lived. The Indifference Trap Testing for Indifference An indifference-trap occurs in a system when innovators no longer share potentially efficiency and productivity- As such, African agriculture, caught in a seemingly per- enhancing innovations and discoveries. Commonly, an petual indifference-trap doomed to technological stagnation innovator in the traditional system has three options: and low productivity. While accepting that local agriculture · being open and share knowledge, is of considerable value and that Africa's local producers · being secretive, are both richly innovative and caught in an indifference- · being indifferent and doing nothing. trap, the larger question is: how many African farmers are This paper discusses the third option, which often leads to a actually indifferent. Using a sample of 243 agriculturists, breakdown in the flow of information and innovation. the author tested this through interviews. Mainly, the lack of a sharing network is the central factor In the survey of 243 local agriculturists, while about 90% contributing to asymmetric information among active admit generating new knowledge on their own, none cared agents, and hobbling secular economic and social develop- to record or pass this knowledge on to other agriculturists. ment in indigenous agricultural activities relates to poor As a general response, only 1% of the sample was willing local knowledge sharing networks. Innovators just do not to pro-actively share its innovations, on the condition that it have enough information about their counterparts. In the could identify in advance a person who needed them. presence of these uncertainties, the indigenous innovators Respondents make it clear that basically they consider adopt an indifference attitude, mostly leading to indirect sharing useless, thus illustrating the existence of the restriction of the innovation, among the innovators and indifference-trap. The result also proved that indifference producers. The result is a deficit in the (incremental) is a serious setback to the diffusion of innovations in technological progress. Africa. The overall deficit in the incremental technological However, the responses changed significantly when the progress from lack of sharing is explained through what we issue of public assistance was linked to the process of call a "continuous but non-additive innovations" effect, diffusion of knowledge and innovations.Amuch higher instead of a "continuous and additive innovations" effect. percentage - 75% -would now record its new knowledge/ In a continuous but non-additive innovations situation, one innovations, and 81% would pass on what it knew to other gets a rise and collapse of innovations and a highly unstable agriculturists in the locality.2 production process. Basically, this occurs when an economy is caught in the indifference-trap with isolated agents innovating on the same knowledge system over and Need for a sharing network over again. Because of isolation and barriers to flow of information and absence of a knowledge sharing network, However, in spite of an indifference trap, African agricul- these innovators are indifferent to the public utility/effi- tural producers continually need new environmentally- ciency-impact of their innovations being widely diffused. specific innovations and hence, processes and products to Resulting innovations are also used in isolation and may deal with changing supply conditions and to use core collapse when the innovators die. competencies in a profitable way. To continually increase This rise and collapse of isolated innovations may explain efficiency and productivity, producers need the support and 3 advice of others. Lack of a cohesive learning and sharing unlock the secrets of the economic and cultural transfor- network for innovations detracts from the ability of isolated mation of these societies. The technological and secular individuals to take advantage of generally available skills. approach to innovation systems is based on putting these Therefore, an important obstacle to sharing indigenous innovations into the public domain to achieve a scale effect, knowledge inAfrica, particularly in the low-income sector and increasing the productivity of the poorest. of agriculture, is the absence of a sharing mechanism. Organizational conditions must be changed to gradually enable people to share and connect to those who may add Conclusion to their knowledge. In fact, the author observed that This study promotes the creation of local knowledge indigenous African agricultural producers often do feel the sharing networks to help innovators share their inventions need to learn and share knowledge with others and seeks with potential users and other innovators to both gain to explain the role of a knowledge sharing network in this recognition for their work and to increase knowledge process. generation for further innovation. The study bases its It is generally accepted, that while innovations and observations on interviews with community based innova- discoveries do take place in Africa, they are largely tors. It calls for public support for creating or fostering unknown. Public policy, laws, institutions, customs and local knowledge sharing networks. The policy objective of regulations - factors that affect a knowledge sharing a local knowledge sharing network should be to find network - determine the intensity and direction of people's workable strategies to increase allocative efficiencies, innovative activities and the impact of innovation on the increase their scale effects, and stabilize their growth in efficiency and productivity of innovations. local economies. The policy would have to first stimulate a In a knowledge sharing network, indigenous innovators need to share knowledge among disparate innovators. and adopters can quickly and easily relate to one another, Second, the policy would have to provide for knowledge contributing to collective learning and nurturing a willing- "connections" to enable innovators, adopters and intermedi- ness among innovators to connect. aries to interact, for innovators to enhance the innovation In a nutshell, knowledge sharing stimulates economic process, for adopters to find solutions to their problems and development in four main ways: for intermediaries to help connect and support interactions · facilitates knowledge transfer; or improve the knowledge sharing environment. · encourages further innovations; · catalyzes for new technologies and businesses; and · creates joint ventures, and other income generating References activities. The higher the number of adopters in this network, the Allen, Davina A. DA. Dependency Theory. [web page] larger the probability that the user will further innovate - a 2001; http://www.xrefer.com/ (Accessed on 3rd May continuous and additive innovation effect. Where only few 2001). people bear highly productive knowledge amongAfrican Barro, R. J. and Sala-I-Martin X, (1995). Economic indigenous producers (for example herbalists),working with Growth. Cambridge Mass.: The MIT Press. these few to promote their knowledge can help a system Chaiken, M. S. (1998). "Primary Agriculture Care Initia- achieve excellence by tapping the capacity of the best. tives in Colonial Kenya", World Development, 26(9), Allen (2001) also argued that in endogenous technologi- 1701 ­ 1717. cal advances, imitations and innovations determine the ECA (1992) Study on the Role of the Informal Sector in long-run economic growth-path of a country. Growth of African Economies - E/ECA/PSD.7/13. -Paper pre- technological knowledge produces useful outputs, and sented to the Seventh Session of the Joint Conference of technological advances define the values of resources and African Planners, Statisticians and Demographers, 2-7 the rates of utilization, hence impacting sustainability in a March 1992, Addis-Ababa, ECA. sector such as African agriculture. Ndoum D. Mbeyo'o (2001). Dynamics of agro-ecological To complement the innovative achievements of African knowledge among the Mafa North Cameroon. CML local agriculturists, a mechanism is needed to promote, with University of Leiden, Netherlands. participatory public support, a sharing and additive system Nwokeabia, Hilary (2001). Why Industrial Revolution of innovation among the lowest-income producers of Missed Africa: A traditional Knowledge Perspective. Africa. Incubating local agricultural innovations can help to Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia. 4 Footnotes: 2The questions are: a.) are you willing to continue gener- 1Estimated by the author using national statistics. Infor- atingnewknowledge/innovationsifgivenassistance;b.) mal usually are those economic activities that are not areyouwillingtorecordyournewknowledge/innovations registered, do not pay taxes. It is part of each sector in if given public assistance; and are you willing to teach to Africa and estimated to provide income for up to 600 otheragriculturistsinyourlocalityanynewknowledge/ millionAfricans (see also ECA1992). innovationsyoumayacquireifgivenassistance? This IK Note was written by Hilary Nwokeabia, staff of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.Formoreinformation,email hnwokeabia@yahoo.com