The Impact of National Innovation Systems on Agricultural Development Productivity Growth in Sierra Leone

Abstract

Innovation has become an increasingly important subject in the field of economics. This paper examines the impact of National Innovation System on Agricultural Development Productivity Growth as a poverty alleviation tool towards the transformation of subsistence level of farming to commercialization in Sierra Leone since 2005 to 2014 inclusive. The Multiple Regression Model (MRM) OLS econometric techniques and Time series data analyses were used for the study to estimate the relationship between agricultural development productivity growth as a dependent variable and its potential macro elements as explanatory variables. Given the implication of national innovation systems on agricultural development productivity growth, it is imperative to investigate key impacts of innovation systems on agricultural productivity growth on the Sierra Leone Economy from 2005-2014 inclusive, using Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) unit root test, Johansen’s test of co-integration and the Error Correction Model. The Innovation has become an increasingly important subject in the field of economics. This paper presents the impact empirical results reveal that national innovation system has a significant positive functional relationship with agricultural development productivity growth in the long run. Therefore, the government should pursue policies in enhancing; funding more agricultural research development projects, establish strong patent laws and intellectual property laws so as to encourage enterprise to innovate and thus increase growth of output. Institutional context of any innovation should be adequately analyzed by policy makers as requisite to promote such innovation.Future research direction could be the nexus between the performance of the agricultural sector development and Economic growth in Sierra Leone.

Keywords:Agricultural Development Productivity Growth, Innovation, Sierra Leone, Research and Development.