Measurement of Innovativeness in Agriculture – Methodological Approach
Measurement of Innovativeness in Agriculture – Methodological Approach

Summary/Abstract: The article depicts methods of measuring innovation in agriculture proposed by international organizations such as the World Bank, as well as by foreign authors. The following indicators are included: share of farmers who have tried/adopted some new natural resource management techniques (e.g. soil erosion control, water harvesting), the share of farmers who have tried/adopted new agricultural production practices (e.g. new crop variety or livestock breed). The aforementioned indicators replace commonly used ones. Classical indicators of the agricultural sector include agricultural sector growth rates and total factor productivity. The growth rate of the agricultural sector is an important indicator of the sector’s potential. Increase in agricultural productivity is a major driver of agricultural growth and is an important measure of agricultural competitiveness. These indicators are of course useful, but AIS (Agricultural Innovation Systems) suggests that using indicators based on innovation processes is more comprehensible. They are able to measure smallholder innovation processes, including experimentation with new plant varieties and other knowledge and technology generated from local or foreign sources. Measurement results include a number of product or process innovations, which farmers tried or adopted. The article is based on mainly foreign literature, describing measurement indicators of agricultural innovations.

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