The Fodder Experiment Adequate year-round supply of fodder is
one of the biggest problems faced by livestock keepers in
developing countries. While the underlying reasons for this may
be different, the fact remains that access to fodder ranks
alongside animal health as key to success. The Fodder Innovation
Project (FIP) project deals with the central questions emerging
from recent efforts to use the innovation systems concept to
address some of the shortcomings of commonly-used agricultural
research practices. Namely: How can the capacity to innovate be
strengthened in different rural settings? The project focuses on
fodder, as this is a key constraint in almost all of the
production systems important to livestock-dependent poor people.
The point of departure for the project is the idea that
technology is not the primary limitation in dealing with the
fodder problem. Rather the key issue is about how to mobilise
and utilise the different technologies and pieces of information
needed to make use of existing an