National Agricultural Innovation Strategy of the Republic of Suriname.

The National Agricultural Innovation Strategy of the Republic of Suriname is a national strategy with a cross-cutting approach. The vision of this strategy is that Suriname will have established itself as the food basket of the Caribbean by 2025. The mission of the strategy is to promote and facilitate innovation among farmers in order to enhance their competitiveness in local as well as overseas markets. The core values to guide its implementation include: (i) An integrated and holistic ‘agricultural innovation system’ approach; (ii) Focus on results and have clear measurable targets; (iii) Import of knowledge and technology is key to Suriname’s agricultural innovation strategy; (iv) Responsiveness to stakeholder (farmers, processors, exporters, consumers) needs; (v) Stimulation of entrepreneurship and learning among farmers and fishermen; (vi) dynamic, learning organization that experiment with different approaches. The expected outcomes include an improved performance of the agricultural innovation system, improved agricultural innovation, and increased yields.
Agriculture, fisheries, and forestry will become more productive and sustainable through use of innovation promoted by better collaboration and coordination between the different research actors as well as a greater stakeholder participation in defining the research agenda. The Plan recommended giving agricultural research a financial impulse and improving collaboration and coordination between the different research actors. In order to achieve the latter, the Plan proposed the establishment of a National Agricultural Research Board. The core of the agricultural innovation policy will belong to agricultural research and extension. The principal crops that currently are supported by research and extension activities are: rice (ADRON), cassava (CELOS), and vegetables, fruits and flowers & ornamental plants (ARSD).
Three functions that are closely related to agricultural innovation and that cut across all four actors include: (i) diagnostic services; (ii) the maintenance of different seed and plant collections; and (iii) reproduction of seed and planting materials. Coordination between the different actors is needed in order to streamline the performance of these functions and avoid duplication. Increased agricultural production will result in reduced poverty.
The National Agricultural Innovation Board will be in charge of monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the agricultural innovation strategy.