Institutions

Abstract

This article uses examples and insights from research in West Africa to analyse the concept of institutions and the consequences of their ‘invisibility’ in normal agricultural development practice. Comparative action research across nine agricultural domains in West Africa supported experiments with multilevel institutional change as a new approach to farm development. The work was inspired by the disappointing results of the prevailing focus on adoption of technology by individual farmers. The programme surprised those involved by showing the extent to which diagnostic studies can uncover institutional impediments to farm innovation and the ability of multi-stakeholder processes organized by and through innovation platforms to create multilevel opportunities for inducing change in institutional regimes. The details of each experience have been published elsewhere. This article concludes that if climate change and other systemic crises threaten agriculture and natural resource management, then institutional literacy and ingenuity offer a way forward.