The ancient art of innovation [2]

Are you an innovator or an inventor? With much talk these days about 'innovation approaches' it s important to know. An innovator introduces something new; an inventor just thinks something up. Maybe you are both. The bridge from fantasy to the field can be straightforward. In the foreword to Enabling Innovation, the Dutch social scientist Niels Röling pithily observes that scientists see themselves as sources of innovation, but it is in the transfer and application that the real creativity and hard work lies. That argument is backed up by a fascinating ride through a brilliantly written, almost novel-like, landscape of tales of innovation. They bring together cases in wind energy, computer systems and a wide range of agricultural technologies (mainly on rice) all requiring the spark of human ingenuity. Without that, the author prods, how will the second Green Revolution ever happen? That spark is so often found in the hands of the small farmer, as Farmer innovation in Africa explains. There are dozens of meticulously detailed cases of how women and men producers have changed methods of plant breeding, soil conservation, cultivation, communication, marketing, you name it, all across the continent. The authors special gift is the infectious way they comment on the strengths and weaknesses, and chances of success, of each innovation. By the end of the book, you could be doing it yourself. Farmer Innovation in Africa. A Source of Inspiration for Agricultural Development Edited by C Reij and A Waters-Bayer, Earthscan, 2001. 384 pp. ISBN 1853838160 GBP18.95 Euro 30.70 Earthscan Publications Ltd 120 Pentonville Road, London, N1 9JN, England Fax: +44 20 72 78 11 42 Email: earthinfo@earthscan.co.uk CTA number 1074, 40 credit points Enabling innovation: A practical guide to understanding and fostering technological change By B Douthwaite, Zed Books, UK, 2002. 268 pp. ISBN 1 85649 972 3 GBP 15.95 Euro 25.80 Zed Books 7 Cynthia Street, London N1 9JF, England Fax: +44 20 7 833 39 60 Email: general@zedbooks.demon.co.uk

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation
Format:	News Item biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation 2002
Online Access:	https://hdl.handle.net/10568/47515 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/99601
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