Shared Visions: Brazil and the U.S.

Kenya's engagement with international agricultural research centers, such as CGIAR (previously known as the Consultative Group of International Agricultural Research), aids in overcoming this difficulty, given the majority of its land is arid. For example, maize is an important food crop in the country. It accounts for 40% of cropland and produces the majority of staple crops. However, maize yield levels remain low. Kenya's agricultural center, the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), collaborated with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT - Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo), another CIGAR research center, and non-governmental organizations such as the African Agricultural Technology Foundation (AATF) to develop, test, and convince Kenyan farmers to farm drought-tolerant maize. In addition, CIMMYT has access to a global innovation network of agricultural experts worldwide. It also maintains ties with private seed businesses by developing abiotic stress hybrids in 17 nations over nine years (Boyer et al., 2013; Weber et al., 2012).

Participating in an agricultural global innovation network.

Furthermore, this engagement with CGIAR has aided its national agricultural research organizations, such the Kenya Agricultural Research Institute (KARI) and KALRO, in addressing global agricultural concerns. As a result, the government has been able to strengthen its innovative capabilities in plant breeding and has begun to cultivate some of its newly developed crops. The country is expanding its traditional plant breeding expertise to generate superior plant types using more modern breeding and biotechnologies.
Two CGIAR centers, ILRI and ICRAF-CIFOR, were established in Nairobi to help train local researchers and scientists. Once such local inventive skills were formed, conventional crop breeding methods produced by the CGIAR network could be passed to local enterprises for further development and adaptation to Kenya's agroecological circumstances and agricultural practices.

Instead, Kenya has been able to leverage African advancements to strengthen its AgTech synergies.

Developing its qualities as a plant variety KALRO, the producer, cooperated with CGIAR research centers to develop the necessary plant kinds. Furthermore, non-profit groups provided financing to help teach, disseminate, and communicate the benefits of new plant kinds with farmers.
The Maize Lethal Necrosis (MLN) disease decimated Kenya's maize harvest, demonstrating regional coordination. In 2011, the disease caused Kenyan farmers to lose 30 to 100 percent of their maize crop yield. This disease had an equally devastating impact on other African maize farmers. In response, the CGIAR's CIMMYT research institute developed four MLN-tolerant hybrid cultivars. It distributed these kinds across business and public sector partners in East Africa for release. In 2012, CIMMYT worked with Kenya's KALRO, national plant protection agencies, and commercial seed firms to halt the disease's spread across Sub-Saharan Africa. Other collaborators included the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), AGRA, and AATF, as well as leading research institutes in the United States and Europe. Following national performance trials in Kenya, numerous second-generation hybrids were issued throughout five years beginning in 2013.
 This success has resulted in the growth of other fintech startups in the region.
Nairobi is emerging as a top region for agricultural technology startups in Africa, including innovators in agricultural fintech, digital supply chain management, and agribusiness B2B marketplaces tailored to the needs and conditions of African farming and business (AgFunder, 2023).
The Kenyan AgTech specialization in plant breeding is expected to grow. This is because, in 2015, the government relaxed the restriction on importing genetically modified goods. This prohibition was imposed in part because many of the richer economies that rely on Kenyan exports prohibit the import of transgenic crops. The government has also approved research on genetically modified and altered crops. The Kenyan National Biosafety Authority has authorized various transgenic crops, including corn, cotton, cassava, sorghum, and sweet potatoes. None of these permitted crops are sold to Europe, where transgenic crops are banned.
This in Bill 2012; the Crops Bill 2012; the Kenya Agricultural Research Bill 2012; and the Fisheries Bill.

How the mobile banking platform is altering Nairobi's value chain

A similar breakthrough in Nairobi's AgTech area, the disruptive mobile banking network M-PESA, is gradually boosting Kenya's agriculture value chain. M-PESA, which was backed by Kenya's Communication Authority, spread quickly throughout the country. It also provides clients with limited to no access to financial institutions, many of whom live in remote places, have a poor level of education, and have financial security concerns. om infrastructure was relatively inadequate, making the technology easy to absorb and adapt.
M-PESA is disturbing the agricultural value chain. It gives agricultural farmers access to money and credit, resulting in major benefits (Oostendorp et al., 2019). It has also paved the way for new AgTech startups based on the M-PESA platform. The SIM card's unique identification enables a dependable identification system and unrestricted product and service exchanges in the AgTech industry. For example, Hello Tractor is a new AgTech start-up that leases out tractors to farmers in need.

Conclusion

How can we ensure that countries continue to engage in agricultural innovation to increase productivity? This chapter explores how three agricultural innovation hubs (São Paulo, Brazil, Nairobi, Kenya, and Colorado, US) may help countries develop their inventive capacities.
The hubs' lessons can be summarized in three points. First, agricultural innovation is agroecologically particular. This implies that technological developments in agriculture.  Second, the public sector plays an important role in developing creative capacities. In addition, they are in charge of developing the structure and incentives that would allow and support private sector participation in agricultural innovation. This is why the presence of strong agriculture research centers, thriving farming communities, and entrepreneurial firms, as well as enabling institutions and infrastructures, all contribute to a strong local innovation capability. The co-location of these creative activities in AgTech hubs results in sector-wide information and know-how spillovers, either from other value segments of the agricultural value chain or from a related and adjacent field. Third, a country's potential to move its agricultural innovation trajectory toward the frontier is determined by the local capabilities of its innovation ecosystem, which refers to a complex environment of innovation-related players and their relationships and interaction