According to the literature on regime transition, niches are sources of innovation that may lead to the transformation of the dominant regime, if processes at other level of the system – the landscape and the mainstream regime - are supportive. A focus on actors involved in the transition process and the analysis of their specific role in knowledge networks can help assessing the robustness of a specific niche and its growth potential. Knowledge systems, and in particular the dynamics of local and expert knowledge, have in fact a key role in innovation models.
Les systèmes semenciers paysans nourrissent le monde et font preuve de résilience face aux catastrophes naturelles. Cependant, ils sont menacés par l’emprise croissante des entreprises sur la nature et par l’accélération de la destruction de la biodiversité agricole. De plus en plus, les sociétés des semences et de l’agrochimie cherchent à privatiser, monopoliser et contrôler les semences en déposant des brevets et en encourageant la marchandisation de la source même de la vie.
La capacité de la région Proche-Orient et Afrique du Nord à réaliser des avancées majeures dans la concrétisation du deuxième Objectif de développement durable (ODD 2) dépendra, dans une large mesure, de la gestion durable des ressources en eau pour l’agriculture et de l’adaptation au changement climatique. La transformation agricole dans cette partie du monde a suivi une trajectoire particulière ayant conduit à un déséquilibre entre le développement agricole rural et urbain, qui se manifeste de manière très visible dans les systèmes de production alimentaire.
Pendant des siècles, les agriculteurs, éleveurs, pêcheurs et sylviculteurs ont développé des systèmes agricoles diversifiés, adaptés à leurs conditions locales, en employant des techniques et des pratiques ingénieuses, éprouvées au fil du temps, afin de fournir un ensemble vital de services sociaux, culturels, écologiques et économiques à l'humanité. Ces «Systèmes ingénieux du patrimoine agricole mondial» (SIPAM) sont des paysages d'une beauté remarquable associant la biodiversité agricole à des écosystèmes résilients et à un précieux patrimoine culturel.
Innovation in Vidzeme Planning Region is realized in the frame of National innovation system, the elements of which correspond to innovation and innovation system theories, and the best practices of which are applied in the most innovative countries of the world. Nevertheless, innovation in Vidzeme Planning Region is fragmented and is being introduced slowly, and its impact on economic development is faintly visible. It witnesses a problem, which was identified, analysed and its solutions searched by the authors.
This paper aims to analyze the role of newcomer farmers on farming system innovations. It is based on a two-months long field work in Southern Portugal’s Alentejo region. The analysis of 27 interviews with farmers and members of agricultural organizations reveals neo-farmers’ contribution to farming system innovations at three scales: the farm scale, the scale of professional networks, and the territorial scale.
Increasing attention is being given to evaluating the impact of advisory services in terms of their effectiveness in providing farmers with knowledge and networks for innovation as well as understanding the factors that influence this effectiveness (Prager et al, 2017). The demand and uptake of advisory services is one factor and Klerkx et al (2017) comment on the variation in farmers’ demand and the influences of variables such as farm size, asset status and education as well as stability or turbulence in the regulatory environment.
According to the literature on regime tran-sition, niches are sources of innovation that may lead to the transformation of the dominant regime, if pro-cesses at other level of the system –the landscape and the mainstream regime -are supportive. A focus on actors involved in the transition process and the analysis of their specific role in knowledge networks can help assessing the robustness of a specific niche and its growth potential. Knowledge systems, and in particular the dynamics of local and expert knowledge, have in fact a key role in innovation mod-els.