This study is based on the observation that many digital tools and services for agriculture do not put farmers’ expectations and interests first, resulting in top-down research and development. On-Farm Experimentation (OFE) contributes to overcoming these limitations because it places farmers at the center of innovation processes, while ensuring rich interactions with various value chain actors. The richness of OFE is in part explained by the diversity of stakeholders involved and the co-learning that results from their interactions. Studies in management and social sciences show that such open innovation processes can be difficult to manage. Aligning the visions and interests of the different stakeholders, fostering the sharing of resources and knowledge to produce value, and sharing the value created in an equitable manner remain a real challenge. Although these issues can refine the understanding of the mechanisms that condition the success of OFE, they have yet to be sufficiently analyzed. Recent publications underline the need to explore the organizational and managerial aspects of OFE to facilitate its implementation in various contexts. This work proposes to fill this gap by providing ten key lessons for conducting OFE with the aim of creating shared value, i.e., developing innovative technologies and practices that benefit all parties but, first and foremost, farmers. These ten key lessons stem from the reflexive monitoring of an OFE process aimed at developing the SoYield® decision support system for helping mango value chain actors to estimate fruit production in Africa. This reflexive monitoring was conducted by the main actors involved in this process, namely, farmers, a private firm and research centers. These key lessons lay the foundations for strengthening a community of practice on OFE implementation and for facilitating its development worldwide. This study also provides insights into the contributions and limitations of digital tools for conducting OFE.

本研究基于以下观察：许多农业数字工具和服务并未将农民的期望和利益放在首位，导致自上而下的研发。农场试验 (OFE) 有助于克服这些限制，因为它将农民置于创新过程的中心，同时确保与各种价值链参与者进行丰富的互动。OFE 的丰富性在一定程度上可以通过所涉及的利益相关者的多样性以及他们互动产生的共同学习来解释。管理和社会科学研究表明，这种开放式创新过程可能难以管理。协调不同利益相关者的愿景和利益，促进资源和知识的共享以产生价值，以公平的方式分享创造的价值仍然是一个真正的挑战。尽管这些问题可以加深对 OFE 成功条件机制的理解，但尚未对其进行充分分析。最近的出版物强调需要探索 OFE 的组织和管理方面，以促进其在各种情况下的实施。这项工作建议通过提供旨在创造共享价值的 OFE 的十个关键经验教训来填补这一空白，即开发有利于各方但首先是农民的创新技术和实践。这 10 条关键经验源于对 OFE 过程的反思性监测，该过程旨在开发 SoYield® 决策支持系统，以帮助芒果价值链参与者估算非洲的水果产量。这种反思性监测是由参与这一过程的主要参与者进行的，即农民、私营公司和研究中心。这些重要经验教训为加强 OFE 实施实践社区和促进其在全球范围内的发展奠定了基础。这项研究还提供了对数字工具对执行 OFE 的贡献和局限性的见解。