Implementation Of Large-scale Programs Research Articles

Operationalizing the agricultural innovation system concept in a developing country context – examining the case of the MiDA programme in Ghana

ABSTRACT Purpose This paper argues that large-scale agricultural programmes embedded with the Agricultural Innovations Systems (AIS) thinking helps in facilitating innovations. Design/Methodology/Approach The study adopted a qualitative approach involving focus group discussions, key informant interviews and secondary document analysis. This approach helped to obtain an in-depth understanding of the processes involved, why and how innovation takes place. Findings The design and implementation of the MiDA programme had elements of the AIS embedded. This helped to contribute to success in areas that aligned and failures in areas that fell short. Stakeholders encountered implementation challenges that did not ensure reflective learning, conversely, some actors worked independently of others, mimicking linear extension approaches. Practical Implications The future of extension and research in Ghana should not be prescriptive (top-down) but fully integrate farmers and wider stakeholders in the design and implementation of agricultural investment programmes. This is premised on addressing challenges relating to trust, effective leadership and entrepreneurship. Theoretical Implications Adds on to the limited use of AIS as a conceptual and operational tool in supporting large-scale agricultural investment in the global south by incorporating AIS thinking in policy formulation and implementation of large-scale programmes. Originality/Value This article adds to the unbalanced literature in Sub-Saharan Africa on the use of AIS in the design and implementation of large-scale programmes. Additionally, it highlights the use of AIS in extension and research in facilitating innovations.

Sustainable Development of the Region: The Spatial Dimension

One of the most important issues in implementing the strategic goals of the sustainable development of the territories of the region is the sustainable development of a project management system for the economy of the whole region, the mechanisms of which will allow concentrating its own resources for implementation of large-scale programs for the sustainable development of territories of agglomerating and peripheral types. The solution of this issue requires the sustainable development of mechanisms that can concentrate its own resources for implementation of large-scale programs, which in turn requires the sustainable development of new methods for assessing the uniformity of the sustainable development of regional territories. In this article we give a description and results of approbation of the methodical approach to modelling the spatial development of the region, based on the method of cenological modelling. Economic cenosises of territories have a pronounced competition, the presence of which is determined by the nature of elements of the subsystem having different properties. For the description of the structure of the economic cenosis itself, a rank-parametric distribution has been used. The result of the modelling is a matrix of concordance coefficients, which, in essence, is an indicator of the existence of problem issues in each group of sustainable development indicators considered in terms of the spatial arrangement of the investigated objects. The results of the research presented in the paper allow us to conclude that it is expedient to use the developed method to evaluate the spatial development of the regions.

Lessons from a pilot program to induce stove replacements in Chile: design, implementation and evaluation

We present the design, implementation, and evaluation of a subsidy program to introduce cleaner and more efficient household wood combustion technologies. The program was conducted in the city of Temuco, one of the most polluted cities in southern Chile, as a pilot study to design a new national stove replacement initiative for pollution control. In this city, around 90% of the total emissions of suspended particulate matter is caused by households burning wood. We created a simulated market in which households could choose among different combustion technologies with an assigned subsidy. The subsidy was a relevant factor in the decision to participate, and the inability to secure credit was a significant constraint for the participation of low-income households. Due to several practical difficulties and challenges associated with the implementation of large-scale programs that encourage technological innovation at the household level, it is strongly advisable to start with a small-scale pilot that can provide useful insights into the final design of a fuller, larger-scale program.