Abstract/Summary

Recent research and development efforts within East and Southern Africa, as a case in point, have clearly shown that constraints to adoption of conservation agriculture (CA) can be overcome but stress the need for local innovation systems that involve farmers exchanging among themselves and use of participatory methods that help to adapt CA principles to local conditions. This chapter explores one such innovation system using a district in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique, as a case study. The aims of the chapter are twofold: firstly, to describe the process of construction of the innovation system, and by way of actors' perceptions of the system, to better understand key components central to its formation and functioning; and secondly, to explore farmers' perceptions of CA (including motivation to comply with certain actors in the innovation system) and the effectiveness of the current innovation system in reaching its target beneficiary - the very poor.