Various authors have identified the potential relevance of innovation system approaches for inclusive innovation, i.e. the means by which new goods and services are developed for and by the poor. However, it is still a question how best to operationalize this. Innovation platforms are a way of operationalizing interaction and learning among actors, and enable reshaping of relations and institutions.

In recent years, large-scale agricultural investment projects have increased in sub-Saharan Africa as a result of the growing appetites of local and international investors for land resources. Research has so far mainly focused on land issues, but the water implications of these land deals are starting to surface. Taking the Office du Niger (ON), in Mali, as a case study, it is shown that while around 100,000 ha is currently being cultivated, mostly by smallholders, a total of 600,000 ha of land has been allocated in the past ten years to investors in large-scale farming.