China’s Agricultural Innovation Brokers Research

"Barriers between departments" are the most important problem in the construction and development of agricultural science and technology innovation system in China for a long time, which leads to the low rate of agricultural science and technology innovation achievements conversion, and the shortage push power for agricultural industry from agricultural science and technology. Along with the establishment and further development of market economy system in our country, the market-oriented agricultural production and operation pattern has formed. Farmers’ demands for agricultural technology and agricultural science and technology service also showed a trend of diversified and comprehensive, and the traditional agricultural technology extension systems and the unified technical services don’t match the present development of marketization and diverse yet. In order to adapt to the new situations and the demands, some new types of agricultural science and technology service main bodies have emerged and established a bridge and the linkage between the agricultural technology suppliers and demanders, providing a new development path for the construction of agricultural innovation system.In this study the individuals and institutions that contribute to the spread of knowledge, technology diffusion, and promote the technological innovation across borders in the process of the agricultural innovation were defined as the agricultural innovation brokers. With various kinds of services and strategies, they make the agricultural production operators (such as small farmers, the family farm and agribusiness enterprises) accept the agricultural knowledge, science and technology information and innovation, and applied to the concrete agricultural production and operation activities, and the commercialization. Agricultural innovation brokers usually take the strategies such as maintaining fair position, striving trust of the partners, improving their ability of searching information and social connection, and connecting the different actors to provide the science and technology service. They help agricultural production operator express innovation needs, establish agricultural innovation network, and promote resource integration and integration innovation process. In this paper, according to the practical operation and focusing features of different agricultural innovation brokers, we mainly analyzed four types agricultural innovation brokers:System agricultural innovation brokers, such as technical task force; Mutual assistance agricultural innovation brokers, such as farmers’ professional cooperatives; Market-oriented agricultural innovation brokers, such as agriculture leading enterprise and agricultural materials dealers; Knowledge agricultural innovation brokers, such as agricultural college technology extension services institutions.In this study, based the framework of the "actor oriented approach", we adopted the observation method and the interview method in the field investigation, and using literature analysis and case analysis discussed the behavior motivation, strategy and functions about different types of agricultural innovation brokers, and found that:the agricultural science and technology diffusion behaviors of Agricultural innovation brokers objectively promoted the development of the modern agriculture which were drived by "scientific and technological innovation" in China, perfected the agricultural innovation service system, accelerated the transformation of agricultural scientific and technological achievements, changed the traditional agricultural technology promotion model which was oriented by "research" and "technology", increased the income of farm household, improved the whole quality of Chinese farmers. The constructions of China’s agricultural innovation brokers service system are important measures that promote the transformation of agricultural management institution, accelerate agricultural modernization, and improve the comprehensive abilities of agricultural productivity.