The role of government in agricultural innovation: Lessons from Bolivia

"Many governments in developing countries attempt to foster agricultural development and innovation by setting up funding facilities, extension programs, and research centers and by subsidizing private-sector and farm activities through fiscal measures. However, when trying to manage complex innovation processes involving many and different actors, governments sometimes find it difficult to design effective interventions and therefore end up supporting and managing only the public research and extension organizations that directly depend upon them. With the aid of various donors, Bolivia introduced a scheme in 2001—the Bolivian Agricultural Technology System (SIBTA)—by which government support to agricultural research and extension was partly delegated to regional semiautonomous foundations. This brief presents the results of a study on the role of the Bolivian government in guiding and managing SIBTA. The study found that despite a number of weaknesses related to the design of the system and the government's limited commitment, the regional foundations have been able to effectively identify the demands of small farmers, set priorities, and provide transparency and accountability with regard to funding and decisionmaking. It suggests that instead of micromanaging such foundations, the government should focus on the big picture and conduct policy analysis and strategic planning to identify opportunities for agricultural innovation and set up incentive mechanisms and information networks that support the many actors involved in innovation processes." from textAgricultural innovations, Private sector, Technological innovations, Agricultural research, Agricultural development, stakeholders, Farmers, Producer organizations, Extension,

El rol gubernamental en el proceso de innovación agropecuaria: La experiencia de Bolivia

"Muchos gobiernos en países en desarrollo intentan estimular el crecimiento y la innovación agropecuaria estableciendo entidades de financiamiento, programas de extensión y centros de investigación pública, así como subvencionando actividades agrícolas y al sector privado por medio de medidas fiscales. Sin embargo, al tratar de gestionar procesos complejos de innovación, donde participan múltiples y diversos actores, en ocasiones los gobiernos encuentran difícil definir intervenciones eficaces y, en consecuencia, acaban apoyando y gestionando únicamente las entidades de investigación y extensión públicas que dependen directamente de ellos. Gracias a la colaboración de una diversidad de donantes, en el año 2001 Bolivia introdujo un novedoso sistema —el Sistema Boliviano de Tecnología Agropecuaria (SIBTA) — mediante el cual el apoyo gubernamental a la investigación y la extensión agropecuaria se delegó parcialmente a fundaciones regionales semiautónomas. Esta síntesis presenta los resultados de un estudio sobre el rol desempeñado por el gobierno boliviano en la definición de los lineamientos y la administración del SIBTA. En el estudio se determinó que, a pesar de algunas debilidades en cuanto al diseño del sistema y al limitado compromiso del gobierno, las fundaciones regionales han logrado identificar eficazmente las demandas de los pequeños productores, establecer prioridades y trabajar con transparencia y responsabilidad en los aspectos de financiamiento y toma de decisiones. En consecuencia, se sugiere que, en lugar de microgestionar dichas fundaciones, el gobierno concentre sus esfuerzos en considerar el panorama completo, realizando los análisis de políticas y la planificación estratégica que permitan identificar oportunidades para la innovación agropecuaria, y estableciendo esquemas de incentivos y redes de información que respalden a los muchos actores que toman parte en los procesos de innovación." from textAgricultural innovations, Private sector, Technological innovations, Agricultural research, Agricultural development, stakeholders, Farmers, Producer organizations, Extension,

Correction to: A nonsynonymous mutation in PLCG2 reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and frontotemporal dementia, and increases the likelihood of longevity

The IPDGC (The International Parkinson Disease Genomics Consortium) and EADB (Alzheimer Disease European DNA biobank) are listed correctly as an author to the article, however, they were incorrectly listed more than once

Correction to: A nonsynonymous mutation in PLCG2 reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, dementia with Lewy bodies and frontotemporal dementia, and increases the likelihood of longevity

The IPDGC (The International Parkinson Disease Genomics Consortium) and EADB (Alzheimer Disease European DNA biobank) are listed correctly as an author to the article, however, they were incorrectly listed more than once