Presentation by Patricia Wagenmakers of the Min. Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation, The Netherlands, to the meeting on Busoiness knowledge for development, held at Hivos on 3 April 2012.

1. Business knowledge and development
And the winner is…
Patricia Wagenmakers
Min. Economic Affairs, Agriculture and
Innovation
p.s.wagenmakers@mineleni.nl

2. Agriculture and food: who’s in charge
• Private sector:
Horticulture: ‘world solutions for world challenges’
Agrofood: ‘export of system’s solutions for sustainable food’
• Public sector: common goals on food security, sustainable
agriculture and climate change (adaptation/mitigation, reshaping
production/consumption, land use)
• Knowledge institutes:
scaling up initiatives, monitoring and evaluating, keeping balance
between fundamental and applied research & valorisation

3. Way of working
• Precompetitive, objective knowledge development and capacity
building
• Combination of new technology and local knowledge ->
innovation
• Making use of each others networks

4. What enables win-win situations?
• Local involvement, demand drivenness
• Good relationships industry-farmer (organisation)
• Knowledge of local market potential
• Cofinancing or in-kind contributions
• Bilateral profits (labour vs technology)

5. Case: potato Ethiopia
• Growing demand in Ethiopian diet
• 3-4 higher yield perspectives than current staple teff
• Low seed quality on informal market, low inputs (water, fertilizer,
pest and disease control), low processing, lack of credit facilities
• System change: development of a product-market combination:
local urban demand, export to neighboring countries and Middle
East
To do:
8. organize growers
9. Variety screening and multiplication
10.Post harvest production lines

6. The challenge of PPP’s
• Who’s in charge?
• Who wins?
• What is the right balance between production and valorisation of
knowledge?

7. Pitfalls and tensions
• Lack of commitment and communication
• Lack of ability to change roles, positions, habits
• Lack of strategy for follow up (isolation)
• Lack of reflection/learning
• Lack of money?