Critical Perspectives on the Support of Inclusive Agricultural Innovation in Kenya

This thesis is a critical exploration of how the concept of inclusive innovation is understood and practised, as well as its legitimacy across different spheres in the Kenyan agricultural sector. Though social exclusion from innovation processes has been a long-standing concern, the concept of ‘inclusive innovation’ has emerged recently to denote how innovation can include marginalised actors in its processes and outcomes. Despite its rhetoric within various policy and academic circles, the concept remains ambiguous and there lacks a consensus on what it entails and how it can be assessed. The central research question that the thesis engages with is therefore: How do processes of inclusive innovation unfold and relate across different spheres in an agricultural innovation system? Within this broad objective, the aim is to investigate discourses and practises about inclusive innovation in the spheres of academia, organisations and local communities. It employs four separate empirical studies to understand these issues across various spheres in the Kenyan agricultural sector.