http://www.fao.org/africa/events/detail-events/en/c/330741/ Presentation of Etienne Hainzelin from CIRAD describing local innovation systems within agroecology. The presentation was prepared and delivered in occasion of the Regional Symposium on Agroecology in sub-Saharan Africa, held in Dakar, Senegal on 5-6 November 2015. © FAO: http://www.fao.org

1. Agroecology (AE): Social Innovation,
Livelihoods and Technology
Etienne Hainzelin
In collaboration with Cirad researchers
Regional Meeting on Agroecology in sub-Saharan Africa
5 et 6 Novembre 2015
1

2. Outline
1. The local innovation systems are essential
2. The challenge of involving different scales can be a
catalyst of social dynamics
3. AE transition is particularly adapted to small holders

3. - AE is a science of local context because it depends on the
local ecosystemic services, but it will also need basic research
1. The local innovation systems are essential
- no possible prescriptive production model: production
systems should be «custom made», not «one size fits all»
- A central role for local innovation systems with the farmers
at the center mingling traditional and scientific knowledge
- Training, learning and empowerment processes will have a
key role

4. - Based on ecosystemic services mobilized at larger scales,
AE transition concerns not only the plot and the farm level
but the landscape or the regional levels
2. The challenge of involving different scales can be a
catalyst of social dynamics
- AE suppose a diversification and coordination of farmers
at these levels
- AE generates co-evolution of technical and social systems
- Some of the AE transition drivers remains outside of
farmers reach

5. Economic
market
Landscape
Adapted from M. Griffon 2013
Watershed
basin
Farm
Animal
productions
Plant
productions
Field
The different space scales of integration
Food
systems

6. - AE prioritize tapping on unlimited natural resources
(biodiversity and its services, solar radiation, nitrogen and
carbon from the air, etc.)
3. AE transition is particularly adapted to small holders
- Land tenure, access to agrobiodiversity are two key factors
to be taken into account
- AE transition will possible only if it improve livelihoods
(manpower productivity) and resilience, decrease work
hardship, etc.
- AE transition generates risks for the farmers and there is a
risk of eviction of less fit
- There is an obvious need for enabling public policies and
incentives