Unraveling the Role of Innovation Platforms in Supporting Coevolution of Innovation: Contributions and Tensions in a Smallholder Dairy-development Program1

Introduction Smallholder agricultural development in developing countries faces challenges and constraints related to persistent food insecurity, food price volatility, food safety, and sustainability concerns, but also is experiencing increased opportunities arising from growing domestic and global agricultural market demand (McCullough, Pingali, and Stamoulis 2008; World Bank 2006, 2007). Such a dynamic context requires the sector to continually innovate if it is to contribute to sustainable socioeconomic development. In this regard, the agricultural innovation-systems (AIS) approach has gained currency as a framework for understanding bottlenecks and identifying opportunities for enhancing the innovation capacity of agricultural systems, particularly in Africa south of the Sahara (SSA) (Hounkonnou et al. 2012; Spielman, Ekboir, and Davis 2009; Sumberg 2005; World Bank 2006). AIS thinking recognizes that innovation occurs through the collective interplay among many actors—including farmers, researchers, extension officers, traders, service providers, processors, development organizations—and is influenced by factors such as technology, infrastructure, markets, policies, rules and regulations, and cultural practices (actors’ values and norms). Thus, innovations are not just about technology, but also include social and institutional change, and have a systemic and coevolutionary nature (Biggs 1990;