Switzerland Leads Global Innovation Index (GII) 2017 for 7th Year

In the 10^th anniversary edition of the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2017, Switzerland leads the rankings for the seventh consecutive year, followed by Sweden, The Netherlands and the United States.

The index, a collaboration between INSEAD, Cornell University and the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), provide insights into the recipes that the leaders in global innovation use to promote sustainable growth.

The GII measures a country’s innovation performance based both on its innovation inputs such as regulatory environment, education, R&D and infrastructure as well as its innovation outputs such as patents filed and knowledge diffusion).

Placed 5^th is the United Kingdom followed by Denmark in the 6^th place, Singapore 7^th, Finland 8^th, Germany 9^th and Ireland in the 10^th position. Switzerland, according to the report, has performed well in all pillars of the GII model, especially in terms of business environment and ability to transform available resources into innovative outputs.

Stressing the vital need for innovation in agriculture, the report said a key to feeding the world would be to release pressure on the use of scarce natural resources through such methods.

In the top 25, China, which entered that group last year, moves up another three places, becoming the 22nd most innovative economy in the world. It had shown the strongest improvements in patent applications, university rankings and gross R&D expenditure. It also scores significantly in companies engaged in R&D and fostering research talent.

India, the other major Asian economy on the growth path, climbed six places to rank 60 among the130 nations to become the top-ranked economy in Central and South Asia. The ranking report noted that India’s rise has benefited a host of neighbouring countries. “Opportunities have emerged to leverage the rise of new East Asia Innovation Tigers, fostering deeper regional innovation networks and benefiting from the rise of India,” it added.

“As demonstrated in the GII for some years, India has consistently outperformed on innovation relative to its GDP per capita. Recently, it made important strides in innovation input and output performance,” the report added.

The report found India was continuing to make  improvements in terms of investment, tertiary education, quality of its publications and universities, its ICT services exports and innovation clusters. It expressed the hope that the country would continue on this trajectory, with innovation investments leading to more and more dynamic R&D-intensive firms that are active in patenting, high-technology production, and exports.    

Stressing the vital need for innovation in agriculture, the report said a key to feeding the world would be to release pressure on the use of scarce natural resources through such methods.

While global food demand is expected to increase by at least 60% by 2050, it noted that around one in nine people in the world currently suffers from hunger. One in three is malnourished in one form or another. Thus, innovation in agriculture was imperative to provide nourishment to a population of 10 billion.

The U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development all rely to some extent on innovation. However, while drones, satellite-based sensors, field robotics and virtual reality are increasingly used in farming in all parts of the world, there is still a lack of global spread innovation in improved processes and services that occur along the agricultural value chain, from seed selection to conditioning, transportation and distribution.

This is where significant bottlenecks currently exist, in the form of poor infrastructure, liquidity constraints, lack of information and awareness, especially in developing countries. In India, for example, 40% of all fresh food perishes before it can get to consumers. Effective linkages and improved delivery are just as critical, if not more so, than new technology.The report also came out with a few recommendations to enhance the efficiency of the food and agriculture ecosystem.

These are providing adequate information to farmers, ensuring workers along the value chain have the latest skills and adopt the best available processes. There should be access to digital technologies and platforms that positively impact agriculture.

Steps should also be taken to  boost entrepreneurship and venture capital within the sector besides infusing the sector with ICT tools. Regulations should be streamlined and bureaucracy reduced, particularly when rolling out advanced farming technologies.

Public authorities have a crucial role to play in overcoming market failures, investing in research and development (R&D), education and eliminating obstacles and distortions to global trade in agricultural and food supplies. They must also reduce the lag between R&D breakthroughs and widespread adoption of technology and methods.

Sub-Saharan Africa, in particular, has yet to benefit from earlier waves of agricultural innovations. But the business sector also has to take the lead in spreading such innovations worldwide, and gearing them towards the needs of the poorest, the report said.

Among other countries in the list, some, termed “innovation achievers,” like Viet Nam that jumped 12 places to rank 47. Kenya (80) and India (60) are joined by Bulgaria (36) and Tanzania (96).

Kenya, ranking first in the African region, has performed well in the information and communications technology (ICT) arena. M-Pesa is a firm example of Kenya’s innovation wherewithal, widely hailed as a solution to Africa’s vast unbanked consumer base and informal economy. It is a blend of local achievement with foreign investment, the concept originating from a British NGO and the U.K.’s Department for International Development and realised by a student at Moi University, the report said.

In the MENA region, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) went up six ranks to 35.

Last year’s GII had sounded an alarm about the lack of public investment in innovation amid a low-growth global economy. Although some positive signs are emerging about a possible resumption of growth in some parts of the world, it is now private investment that displays signs of shying away from innovation financing, according to recent data.

As shown in the figure above, investment, particularly in emerging markets, has still not recovered to pre-crisis levels. Global labour productivity meanwhile was as low in 2016 as it was in 2015. To maximise chances that positive signs coalesce into a sustainable economic recovery this year, both public and private investment in R&D must grow, the report said.

Investment must rebound and continue to meet the growing need for innovation. Agricultural innovation requires good institutions, out-of-the-box thinking and funding for adaptation in the food value chain. Progress in reducing global malnutrition can and must be a priority for all nations, not only the hungry ones, it added.(Image Source: Pixabay.com)