1) Contributions of SMEs to rural development increasingly recognized. 2) Trends enhancing SMEs roles: a) growth of off farm activities; b) shift from supply to demand orientation; c) weak linkages ¿ constraint to tech adoption; d) filling in gap in supply and service delivery ¿ job for enterprises. 3) Challenges raised: a) SME upgrading - meet quality requirement of the market; b) understanding the market ¿ nature and complexity; c) fostering Agri SME competitiveness: science and technology, new types partnerships, missing link, cases on what worked and failed
Insights on RKS & IP: 1) Innovation is a process of social interaction that generates new knowledge within the actors. 2) Most farmers and communities construct knowledge without interaction with scientists. 3) Scientific innovation systems and institutions have denied farmers pride in their own learning 4) Scientists need to learn how to contribute to wider societal processes of learning and acting
toward development 5) Importance of sharing credit and benefits among those who contributed to knowledge
Insights on RKS & IP: 1) Innovation is a process of social interaction that generates new knowledge within the actors. 2) Most farmers and communities construct knowledge without interaction with scientists. 3) Scientific innovation systems and institutions have denied farmers pride in their own learning 4) Scientists need to learn how to contribute to wider societal processes of learning and acting
toward development 5) Importance of sharing credit and benefits among those who contributed to knowledge