The Contribution of University Research to the Formation of an Agri-Food Sectoral System of Innovation in Cameroon

By Eric Joel Fofiri Nzossie, Ludovic Temple, Robert Ndjouenkeu
English

Issues related to food supply of Sub-Saharan African cities must orient public policy towards the support for increasing agricultural availabilities and improving access to international markets. In Cameroon, investment in technological university research creates innovation potential for the agri-food sector. However, such innovation potential is rarely put into practice, as evidenced by the increase in the prices of processed food products and increasing imports. This finding raises the hypothesis of a lack of synergy between technological research and the needs of the productive sector. In mobilizing an analytical framework in terms of innovation system, we test this hypothesis using the work carried out in ENSAI (École Nationale Supérieure des Sciences Agro-Industrielles). The results show that, if technological university research contributes to the formation of human capital, it is conditioned by international financial opportunities and personal initiatives. The output in terms of knowledge and technologies is rarely transformed into marketable innovation in the productive system. JEL Codes : D83, O13, O32

Keywords

  • food security
  • research policy
  • technological innovations
  • agro-food
  • innovation system
  • Cameroon
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