--- title: "Social relationships crucial to scaling agricultural innovations" url: https://newscentral.site/social-relationships-crucial-to-scaling-agricultural-innovations/ language: en publisher: "News Central Site" section: "Science" published: 2026-11-14T02:40:01.000Z updated: 2026-11-14T06:43:25.641Z id: c10e923d-ad7b-4aa5-856c-64b75342c7d9 source: "Phys.org https://phys.org/news/2026-11-role-social-relationships-scaling-agricultural.html" attribution: "Link to https://newscentral.site/social-relationships-crucial-to-scaling-agricultural-innovations/ and name News Central Site when you quote or summarize this story." --- # Social relationships crucial to scaling agricultural innovations A recent study has highlighted the importance of social relationships in scaling agricultural innovations, which is a complex challenge that requires both technical solutions and strong social connections among actors involved. A recent study published in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems has shed light on a crucial aspect of climate-oriented agricultural research: the role of social relationships in scaling innovations. While partnerships and institutional collaboration are often emphasized, their connection to the scaling process remains understudied. This lack of understanding hinders efforts to ensure that agricultural advancements reach more farmers, influence policy, and drive lasting transformations. The scaling of agricultural innovations is a complex challenge that requires technical solutions as well as strong social relationships among actors involved in these processes. Trust, partnerships, and collaboration are essential for expanding the reach of agricultural research and development initiatives. However, the current state of knowledge leaves much to be desired, making it difficult to design effective monitoring and evaluation systems. The study "Social capital and scaling in climate-oriented Agricultural Research for Development" investigates how social relationships contribute to the scaling process. By examining existing literature on the topic, researchers aim to better understand the role of trust, closeness, and support among actors involved in agricultural innovation. This knowledge is crucial for strengthening the design, monitoring, and evaluation of scaling processes. The study's findings highlight the need for a more nuanced understanding of social relationships in climate-oriented agricultural research. By exploring the intersection of technical solutions and social dynamics, researchers can develop more effective strategies for scaling innovations that benefit farmers, policymakers, and communities worldwide. The analysis of 273 results reports has revealed a significant gap between reported outcomes and the documentation of social and institutional conditions that can facilitate scaling. This discrepancy suggests that researchers often overlook the importance of these factors in achieving successful scaling. A team of researchers from the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, the University of Copenhagen, and the Gates Foundation analyzed reports covering 261 projects across 12 CGIAR research programs. The reports were submitted between 2018 and 2021 under the former CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security. The study has identified three key scaling pathways: scaling out, which involves expanding innovations to more people and places; scaling up, where policies and institutions are influenced by these innovations; and scaling deep, which transforms relationships, practices, and social norms. While the reports provide examples of these pathways, particularly scaling out and scaling up, they often lack a detailed explanation of how partnerships, trust, and institutional collaboration contribute to these processes. The researchers have found that the scaling deep dimension is notably underdeveloped in the analyzed documents, suggesting that this aspect is frequently overlooked in research. This omission can hinder the development of effective strategies for scaling innovations that benefit farmers, policymakers, and communities worldwide. By examining the intersection of technical solutions and social dynamics, researchers can gain a more comprehensive understanding of the factors that facilitate successful scaling. This knowledge can be used to inform the development of more effective scaling strategies that take into account the complex social relationships involved in achieving these goals. The analysis used a statistical model to identify patterns in the reports, categorizing them into four main areas: agricultural systems, climate change adaptation, climate change mitigation, and enabling environments. This exercise revealed 17 distinct topics within these categories. However, the researchers found that the reports often fail to explicitly connect collaborative relationships with scaling outcomes, leaving this potential connection implicit. By recognizing and documenting such connections, it is possible to enhance learning across projects and develop more effective strategies for scaling innovations. The study's findings highlight a gap in documentation, where social capital plays a significant role in research experiences but its relationship with scaling pathways remains unexplored. This lack of systematic documentation hinders the comparison of experiences and limits institutional learning. Examples from the study illustrate how partnerships based on trust and collaboration can facilitate different scaling pathways, such as the dissemination of drought-tolerant bean varieties to over 10,000 farmers across three countries through sustained relationships among national agricultural research organizations, seed companies, and farmer associations. The study highlights another example where collaboration between researchers and governments led to a significant outcome: incorporating agroclimatic information into nationally determined contributions under the Paris Agreement in several countries. This collaboration is exemplified by the Local Technical Agroclimatic Committees (MTA) in Colombia, which demonstrate how sustained interaction among farmers, extension agents, and local authorities can foster trust and facilitate the use of climate information. These committees illustrate a successful model that strengthens relationships between stakeholders. Governments, development organizations, and research programs can benefit from explicitly integrating social capital into their theories of change, planning, and monitoring strategies for scaling agricultural innovations. This involves identifying key actors and relationships and incorporating indicators such as trust, collaboration, network diversity, and participation. The authors also warn that networks can sometimes generate inequalities or exclude certain actors, emphasizing the need to understand these dynamics to promote responsible and inclusive scaling. Ignoring these issues could lead to unintended consequences. To better grasp the role of social capital in scaling pathways, researchers recommend explicitly recognizing and documenting its impact throughout project design, implementation, and monitoring phases. This could improve understanding of the conditions necessary for successful expansion of agricultural innovations. Researchers have highlighted the importance of social relationships in scaling up agricultural innovations, a crucial aspect that has been largely overlooked in previous studies. The study emphasizes that building strong connections among stakeholders is vital for the successful expansion of new farming techniques and technologies. By fostering trust and cooperation, farmers can share knowledge and best practices, leading to more efficient use of resources and improved crop yields. This could ultimately contribute to sustainable food systems and mitigate the impacts of climate change on agriculture. --- Source: [Phys.org](https://phys.org/news/2026-11-role-social-relationships-scaling-agricultural.html) Published by News Central Site: https://newscentral.site/social-relationships-crucial-to-scaling-agricultural-innovations/