IICA creates observatory of institutional innovations for the Americas

San Jose, Costa Rica, November 26, 2012 (IICA). The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) recently launched an Observatory of Institutional Innovations, the main objective of which is to share agricultural innovations in the western hemisphere that have proven successful and could be replicated in other countries of the region.

The portal was unveiled officially at a technical forum on innovative agricultural research models held at IICA Headquarters in Costa Rica, and webcast throughout the hemisphere.

Arturo Barrera, Manager of IICA’s Innovation for Productivity and Competitiveness Program, remarked that the observatory was “a space for sharing experiences and making more and better information available to support the adaptation and modernization of institutions.”

The Web page was created for the institutions that make up the national agrifood innovation systems of Latin America and the Caribbean, so they can upload information about innovations they have introduced and believe to be of public interest.

“The innovations must be new actions promoted by an institution whose implementation got under way within the last three or four years,” explained IICA specialist Karen Montiel.

Montiel added that, for the purposes of the observatory, institutional innovations are changes that enable institutions to better achieve their objectives. They include new management models, new businesses in which institutions become involved, transfer models and lessons learned, skills development for human resources, the creation of partnerships with public or private stakeholders, and asset management.

“So far, 21 institutions in 13 countries have posted information about 41 innovations,” Montiel reported.

As well as offering information on institutional innovations, the observatory aims to become a forum for the discussion of opportunities and challenges related to the issue, and a tool for supporting the generation of technical cooperation policies on the subject.

A look at some institutional innovations

A number of institutional innovations originating in Latin America and the Caribbean were presented at the technical forum organized by IICA.

One of them was presented by Chile’s technological consortium on fruit. Jaime Kong, manager of the Consorcio de la Fruta S.A., pointed out that Chile was the world’s leading exporter of fresh fruit, but the creation of brands and increased competition posed a threat to the industry’s sustainability.

In the face of that threat, the best solution was the creation of Chilean varieties. “That was how the consortium came about. The INIA of Chile, private entities, and academia decided to work together to generate products that everyone could use,” Kong pointed out.

In this case, institutional innovation involved sectors with common interests joining forces, and called for investment in technology transfer, training, and genetic improvement.

The sustainable agriculture platform of the Coca Cola Company was another of the cases presented. Under the project, the company’s subsidiary in Costa Rica joined forces with Earth University to create an experimental vegetable garden in an educational center in Los Chiles, in the Zona Norte, one of the poorest regions of the country.

The platform’s president, Ernesto Brovelli, explained that under the partnership with Earth University, “we are experimenting with orange growing techniques that reduce the use of fertilizers, and the results have been very good in terms of growth and productivity.”

Another of the innovations presented was the creation of regional innovation consortia by Uruguay’s National Agricultural Research Institute (INIA), a management model involving the private sector.

José Silva, the INIA’s technology business manager, explained that, under the model, the State and the private sector each had two representatives on the board of directors, making it possible for agricultural producers to set research priorities.

“Public-private partnerships are a good example of a useful way of bringing about innovations in the institutional framework of agricultural research in Latin America and the Caribbean,” Barrera commented.

For more information, contact: 
arturo.barrera@iica.int