How Innovative Is Your Agriculture ? Using Innovation Indicators and Benchmarks to Strengthen National Agricultural Innovation System

This paper explores the application of the innovation systems framework to the design and construction of national agricultural innovation indicators. Optimally, these indicators could be used to gauge and benchmark national performance in developing more responsive, dynamic, and innovative agricultural sectors in developing countries. The paper develops a conceptual framework that ties the innovation systems framework to the agricultura sector; reviews how the framework has been used to develop innovation indicators in other fields; discusses a set of potential innovation indicators for developing-country agriculture; and identifies potential data sources and methods for constructing different types of indicators.