A relatively new view to boost agricultural growth relies on the innovation system perspective. The Integrated Agricultural Research for Development Approach (IAR4D) adopted this as its main approach through the implementation of local decentralized Innovation Platforms (IPs) in eight countries. Previous research indicates considerable heterogeneity in IP impact. In this paper we show that this heterogeneity might have resulted from heterogeneity in implementation: IPs have equally implemented the principles of the IAR4D approach. We quantify the five defining principles of IAR4D into an IAR4Dness index and find that the index is correlated positively and significantly to the food security Looking at the sub-components of this index, it seems that especially participation in information sharing activities and field visits is crucial. Our analysis indicates that the effect of IAR4Dness on FSC does not operate through increased use of agricultural technologies or household social capital, two potential channels of impact.