Goldin and Winters, 1992). Structural adjustment policies often tied aid to the privatisation of the delivery of services in sub-Saharan Africa. With a weak private sector many nongovernmental organisations-both international and local-were founded or expanded to fill the gap (Bratton, 1989). Systems of innovation therefore changed from centralised systems of national agricultural research institutions and extension services to a variety of service providers, with the entry of many new research and development stakeholders (Anandajayasekeram, 2011). In Uganda for instance, decentralisation reform has transferred the coordination of developmental projects from central to local governments. The former top-down approach in Uganda has changed to a bottom-up approach that has to be coordinated with community international and even virtually, and within value chains to form 'netchains' (Lazzarini et al., 2001). Netchains include farmers, researchers, traders, transporters, processors, finance institutions, international non-governmental organisations. 1.2 Innovation networks tackling food insecurity and poverty of family farmers in sub-Saharan Africa Over the past decade there have been an increasing number of initiatives that are testing strategies or intervention approaches to enhance farmers' capabilities (See case studies of CFS, 2015). These initiatives involve different configurations and levels of innovation networks, and also aim to foster some capabilities of family farms. Some initiatives seek to develop organisational and knowledge capabilities like in Farmer Field School networks, or Village Information and Communication Centers (Pérez Perdomo et al., 2009), in which farmers have the opportunity of learning by doing and sharing knowledge. In these initiatives farmers join "communities of practice" (de Jager et al., 2009, Pérez Perdomo et al., 2009, Nonaka and Takeuchi, 1995) as part of local small innovation networks. Chapter 1 5 Initiatives based on the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) that combine information systems using internet platforms and mobile phones, might foster information and communication capabilities of farmers to share market information and prices of commodities. Mobile phones are facilitating linkages of farmers to local, national and international markets. In the Philippines, Uganda, South Africa and Kenya 1 farmers get information by voice and text messages on markets and prices, daily or seasonal weather forecasts, the production of pesticides and even use internet for sending money to relatives. These new ways of sharing knowledge and social interaction mediated by the use of ICTs facilitate more participative and open approaches for fostering capabilities for innovation. While an increasing number of farmers have access to ICTs due to ubiquity of media and access to the technology, there are still factors that limit their use; such as a limited knowledge in the use of ICTs, costs of services of internet, and language limitations (Pérez Perdomo, 2003, Parkinso...