Prelude: Producers on the ‘Innocentive’

InnoCentive is a Massachusetts-based open innovation company that accepts by commission research and development problems in a broad range of domains such as engineering, computer science, math, chemistry, life sciences, physical sciences and business and frames them as “challenge problems” for anyone to solve. It gives cash awards for the best solutions to solvers who meet the challenge criteria. – Wikipedia 2014

Through the provision of their service the business helps clients to engage a world of creative and diverse on-demand talent to rapidly generate novel ideas and solve important problems. Rather than crowd-source funding for a particular project, the company outsources progressive minds with problem solving capabilities in order to meet the complex challenges of other clients.

Simply ingenious.

However tech4agri is yet to reach this stage of innovation. At this point our interest lies in the term “Innocentive” – an amalgamation of the words innovation and incentive.

This post is a prelude to a four part series on food producers from Trinidad and Tobago who are going the extra mile in their business or agri sector. These producers clearly understand that technology use leads to progress.

Although they may face challenges such as high investment or set up costs, maintenance issues and unpredictable markets these producers forge ahead and delve into the technologies that take their business to the next level of success.

Their incentive is not only to make an income and a livelihood but to see forward development of the local food sector.

The aim of this series is to dispel the notion that local or rather Caribbean agriculture is ‘backward.’ It is common place for the public to shun the sector due to negative perceptions such as extreme physical labor and an overall difficult lifestyle.

There is some truth to this as the Caribbean is a developing region with numerous small holder farmers facing problems that are far too numerous, systemic and tiresome to tell.

However without these small scale producers, food, our basic necessity would be difficult to come by. Hence the food producers featured in this series prove that progress and development of the sector can and is occurring.

They serve as a clear example of the prowess of technological application to the sector.

Over the next few weeks follow the series. Share, comment and tweet (@wiscobasco) examples of technological application in agriculture of any kind. Your opinions and comments are welcomed!

Visit tech4agri on facebook to view the prelude album: Producers on the ‘Innocentive’ Those images highlight aspects of the tech4agri blog such as agriyouth and agribusiness as well as some ‘honorable mentions’ of thoughtful stakeholders in the field who are applying technology were they can.