Against the grain and to the roots: Maize and cassava innovation platforms in West and Central Africa

West and Central African Council for Africulture Research and Development (WECARD) and Royal Tropical Institute (KIT) research that explores how national agricultural research organisations use innovation platforms to strengthen innovation capacity and address capacity gaps in sector development. The aim is to share the experiences of the national agricultural research systems, and real-life stories of the challenges and successes in facilitating innovation platforms.The chapters of the book take up several sticky issues and engage with them critically: policy pathways, gender equity and inclusion, and knowledge and information sharing. The introductory chapter provides context on food crops, food security and the importance of women in production, processing and trade. It traces the development of agricultural research and extension and examines innovation platforms – what they are and how they work. From there the authors introduce DONATA, an initiative involving all of the cases presented in this book. The publication discusses how it was set up and how it interpreted innovation platforms in cassava and maize sectors in West and Central Africa.