Exploring microAKIS: farmer-centric evidence on the role of advice in agricultural innovation in Europe

ABSTRACT Purpose To provide novel empirical evidence on the role of advice in technological and non-technological innovation uptake decision-making processes from the perspective of European farmers, we develop the microAKIS (farmer microscale knowledge and innovation systems) framework. Design/methodology/approach The MicroAKIS framework is expanded to gather empirical evidence built on quantitative data from a sample of 675 European farmers. Findings Different types of innovation lead to different microAKIS, and farmers’ involvement with innovation introduces new dynamics in advice supply. MicroAKIS supporting innovations tend to be small in size and diversity, suggesting the anticipated pluralism of advice resulting from advisory services privatisation across Europe did not work as expected, i.e. not translating into pluralistic microAKIS. Practical implications Pluralism in advice for innovation is needed and could be enhanced by integrating different sources of advice: professional and non-professional, formal and informal, agricultural and cross-sectorial. Theoretical implications We advance the scope of the AKIS concept by accounting for the temporal dynamics of innovation uptake decision-making and adopting multi-level analysis that combines micro (farm) and meso (region) scales. Originality/value Empirical evidence at the European level, gathered from the common farmer’s perspective on the dynamics of farm-level microAKIS and the role played by farm advisory, accounting for diversity of innovations and regional contexts.