Agricultural innovation scaling approaches tend to be
empirical but do not sufficiently take into account the
complex realities of ‘softer elements’ such as people,
supply chains, markets, financing mechanisms, policies
and regulations, professional knowledge, power
relations, incentives and history. As a consequence,
scaling initiatives often do not produce the desired
impacts and, in some instances, may even produce
undesirable impacts.
Designing scaling strategies that are adaptive to context
and available resources requires an understanding
of the enabling environment in which the scaling
processes are embedded. This can be achieved
by conducting an analysis to identify enablers and
hinderers influencing farmers’ adoption of irrigation
and water management technologies and introducing
measures to ensure success. This tool provides
implementers with a structured guide to carrying out
this analysis in a specific context.