From Afterthought to Forefront: Transforming Agricultural Resilience through CoDesigned Socio-Technical Innovations

Although social innovations are recognized as important to enabling technology use, when implemented, they are often considered as an afterthought or rarely co-designed with beneficiaries. The study used data collected from 783 farmers in three counties of Kenya to assess effectiveness co-designed socio-technical innovation bundles (conservation agriculture practices and inclusive, gender-sensitive, and policy-supported innovations) in enhancing climate resilience and productivity. Results indicate significantly higher resilience capacities among users of sociotechnical innovation bundles than non-users. Significant differences in agricultural output were reported, with users demonstrating higher productivity in maize (545 kg/acre vs. 398 kg/acre) and beans (237 kg/acre vs 187 kg/acre) under climate change. The effect of bundles on productivity was higher when co-designed for both crops – maize (556 kg/acre vs 520 kg/acre) and beans (240 kg/acre vs. 231 kg/acre). However, no significant differences were reported regarding the effect of co-designed socio-technical innovation bundles on farming households’ capacity to obtain support from community/local groups in times of climate-related shocks. These findings underscore the importance of co-designing and integrating socio-technical innovations into agricultural programs.