This paper examines the governance, efficiency, and development of the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS) in Bulgaria. The Governance of AKIS includes diverse governing agents, a variety of rules, mechanisms and modes for agents, and the process of governing, and the outcome (specific order and efficiency) of the governance. First, participants in the country’s AKIS and the type of their relations are specified. Second, a diagnosis of the state and trends in AR&D is made. The study is based on available data from statistical sources, official reports, fields surveys as well as assessments of a panel of leading experts in the area and stakeholders’ representatives. The study has found out that AKIS of the country consists of diverse and numerous organisations, for which activities and complex relations have no sufficient official or other reliable information. Bulgarian AKIS demonstrates low resource endowment and efficiency, domination of outdated public institutions and undeveloped private sector, insufficient sharing of knowledge and innovations, slow and uneven application of modern technologies, varieties, production and management methods, digitalisation, etc. in different types of farms, sub-sectors of agriculture and regions of the country.

After the collapse of the USSR, Central Asian countries faced a number of political and economic challenges. The most pressing issues were inter-State interaction in the energy sector and the pursuit of their independent energy policy. But the efforts of the countries to implement integration projects in the energy sector failed. The Central Asian states had twin economies and poorly developed infrastructure. The main obstacle for expanding energy cooperation of the countries in the region was their geographical remoteness from the major hydrocarbon resource consumers. Despite the difficulties, the countries pursued a policy aimed at attracting foreign investment in the development of deposits and implementation of pipeline projects. China and Western countries had great influence on the discussion and further implementation of a series of pipeline projects. Central Asia was of great importance for China which sought to strengthen its influence in the countries of the region but curtail Russia and Western countries’ influence. In this matter, China has made significant progress with the pipeline projects in the region. The EU and the US were also promoting energy projects. However, the remoteness of the countries from the European market for hydrocarbon resources precluded projects for oil and gas pipelines going from Central Asia to the west to be implemented. As a result, the Central Asian countries largely opt for China and Russia, as an important partner, in the implementation of their energy policy.

The purpose of this article is to analyze the security challenges and prospects facing the states of Central Asia after the collapse of the USSR. Three stages of formation and development of regional security systems of the countries of the Central Asian region are presented. The authors characterize the steps taken by the independent states of Central Asia to maintain security in the face of new challenges and trends. The collapse of the Soviet Union marked a major transformation in the political, economic, social and cultural fields in all the former Soviet republics. For many decades, the Central Asian region as part of the USSR was the ideological and political enemy of the West in the framework of the Cold War. Despite the previous historical experience of confrontation between the USSR and NATO, the geopolitical importance of the Central Asian region has always remained high. Significant changes were required in the creation and approaches to the issues of the security system. New relations with the border states of the Central Asian region that have received independent status, as well as foreign policy partners in the person of China, Western players (US and EU) and the Russian Federation, have created a platform for both geopolitical challenges and prospects for creating regional security. However, this process is not unambiguous and for more than thirty years of sovereignty of the countries of the region has been going on within three historical periods. This article not only traces and characterizes these three stages, but also assesses the current state of security systems in the region, offering pragmatic solutions and recommendations for improvement.

Institutional linkages and information flow between agricultural organizations play a critical role in addressing sustainability issues and promoting agrarian innovation. The aim of this study was to evaluate institutional relations and information between the various actors within the agricultural knowledge and information system (AKIS). The study focused on eight actors within the AKIS in Dakahlia governorate of Egypt, namely policy, extension, research, agricultural cooperatives, higher education, secondary education, credit, and the private sector. Thus, the survey sample included 11 representatives of each actor with 88 respondents. Data were collected by a standardized questionnaire distributed online. The graph theoretical technique was used for the quantitative assessment of information flow and institutional linkages established among actors. The findings indicated that agricultural extension ranked first about their real cause and effect on the rest of the system, having a value of 7.95. Two critical information pathways within the AKIS sustained innovation outcomes: (1) higher education–extension–agricultural cooperatives, (2) research–extension–agricultural cooperatives. The results also revealed that agricultural cooperatives ranked second after the extension component on the extent of supplying information to other members in the AKIS, with a value of 4.8. In contrast, the highest component received information from other components (7.6). By analyzing institutional linkages and information flow, this article gives insights to policymakers on the mechanisms that still need to be strengthened and the information gaps between actors to address the challenges of sustainable rural development.

summaryAgricultural Research and Innovation Systems in TransitionAgricultural knowledge and innovation systems (AKIS) are in transition in many countries from a linear, top‐down approach towards more flexible and interactive arrangements. This transition to a system more responsive to changing demands seeks to improve the adoption of innovation in order to strengthen the competitiveness of the agri‐food sector. This article focuses on the research and innovation components of the AKIS to analyse the main developments of recent years and their drivers. It concludes that the diversity of institutional arrangements and priorities is likely to persist as they are path dependent and respond to different socio‐economic contexts. This article suggests how national governments could foster innovation in the agri‐food sector by considering a whole range of policies and improving their coherence. One suggestion is that the European Union play a role in coordinating (basic) science and research infrastructure, manage spillovers between EU regions, as well as promoting market‐based instruments, support capacity‐building and international exchange of staff, provide information using modern Information and Communication Technologies and guidelines for the evaluation of AKIS, and create a forum to exchange experiences.

Agricultural knowledge and innovation system (AKIS) has a strong potential to enhance economic performance of farming and contribute to agricultural sustainability, as it may increase synergies and complementarity among actors. This paper is aimed to develop a proposed framework to strengthen AKIS in the study area based on the results of this study. This paper explores perception and views about strengthening AKIS in Dakhalia governorate of Egypt by applying a multi-actor approach. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through face-to-face interviews and focus group discussion. This paper focuses on three structural dimensions, namely actors, interactions, and technologies, to describe the nature of innovation processes within AKIS. Results indicate that legal and regulatory frameworks, lack of infrastructure, and weak the role of intermediary organizations are the main barriers that AKIS faces. Linkages of contracting and public–private partnerships were viewed as main interactions required to strengthen AKIS. The analysis also explores the availability of innovation requirements at each actor, as well as the distributive technologies, that should be encouraged to build the capacity the agricultural sector. A proposed framework is developed based on the results of this study and the characteristics of the AKIS in the study area. This framework could be used for stimulating innovation and enhancing coordination between actors.

His paper explores ethical and methodological challenges experienced by educational researchers in undertaking fieldwork in Central Asia, particularly Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. Based on empirical data generated by interviews with international and local researchers, the identified challenges were categorized into six groups: underdeveloped research culture, limited understanding of research ethics, unreliable secondary data, difficulties in gaining access to and selecting participants, challenges in building trust and ensuring confidentiality, language barriers, and dilemmas in disseminating research results. Although these challenges can be blamed on political, social and cultural context of Central Asian countries, some of them were caused by the subjective factors. Overall, the paper contributes to the debates of ethical and methodological challenges encountered by researchers in a non-Western con- text and, as such, can be useful to researchers, university administration and policy makers of the region. 21 interviews with foreign and local researchers were conducted. The authors offered recommendations for the development of educational researches in Central Asia. Among them: they suggested to take into account the labor costs of lecturers for research activities, improve the quality of scientific and meth- odological training of young researchers, develop pluralism of scientific methodology, use quantitative, qualitative and mixed research methods; develop ethic boards and their procedures. Key words: educational research, research in Central Asia, research culture, research ethics.

Traditionally, Central Asia is associated with a favorable geographical location and significant natural resources. These factors are of interests for the West, Russia, and China in the region. Meanwhile, the potential of Central Asian countries leaves many questions unanswered, as they face many regional challenges. The aim of the study is to identify the geopolitical and economic potential of the Central Asian countries, as well as to identify the challenges that the states have faced in recent years. A special attention is paid to the water and energy issue, which remains the most pressing problem for the whole region. In the conclusion, the author identified two of them: the persistence of economic difficulties in the development of Central Asian countries, which to a certain extent act as economic competitors, as well as the increased influence of extra- regional actors on the countries of the region.

SummaryThe AKIS (Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System) concept is now widely applied in the EU partly due to latest CAP regulation. Visualisation‐based AKIS diagnosis relies on the iterative elaboration of an AKIS diagram that provides a static picture of what elements of the system are linked through what kind of relations in which socio‐economic contexts and environments. In this article we discuss the implications of using the visualised AKIS diagnosis method based on our empirical assessment of AKIS in 28 European countries. The method involved drafting AKIS diagrams based on targeted desk research, conducting dialogues with experts affiliated with or overseeing prominent knowledge organisations to adjust and refine the diagrams and to analyse actor diversity and linkages. The final diagrams and the background reports on AKIS appraisal were used to deepen the AKIS understanding among various stakeholders in the agriculture sector, as well as an input for the CAP strategic plan preparation in some countries. We conclude that the visualised AKIS diagnosis has a great potential to make complex knowledge infrastructures and exchange processes tangible. However, it also comes with risks, for example, that the snapshot in time may become misleading, through being an outdated or erroneous representation.

The paper presents an evolutionary perspective on how Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation Systems (AKIS) have adapted over time to new challenges and technological paradigm and trajectories. Starting from a conventional science-based approach and the robust empirical evidence supporting it, the analysis highlights the emergence of some system failures and the need for new conceptualization and design of the AKIS. Particularly concentrating on developed countries’ agenda, we then discuss how, along this evolutionary pattern, bioeconomy emerges as the convergence of traditional sectors as a result of these new technological trajectories. Finally, some implications for the EU policies are drawn.