The creative process that leads to farmers’ innovations is rarely studied or described precisely in agricultural sciences. For academic scientists, obvious limitations of farmers’ experiments are e.g. precision, reliability, robustness, accuracy, validity or the correct analysis of cause and effect. Nevertheless, we propose that ‘farmers’ experiments’ underpin innovations that keep organic farming locally tuned for sustainability and adaptable to changing economic, social and ecological conditions.
This is the proceedings of the international conference ‘Innovations in Organic Food System for Sustainable Production and Enhanced Ecosystem Services’. The proceedings are a compilation of peer-reviewed articles based on presentations of 18 speakers invited conference speakers and published as a Special Issue of the scientific journal ‘Sustainable Agriculture Research’ by the Canadian Centre of Science and Education.
El objetivo de este trabajo es dar a conocer cómo se han desarrollado los vínculos entre el sector productivo y la Estación Experimental de Pastos y Forrajes “Indio Hatuey”. Se emprendieron una serie de medidas para la recuperación de la base alimentaria del ganado, con el empleo de prácticas alternativas y la aplicación de sistemas sostenibles de producción animal, las cuales tenían como principal objetivo el aumento de la producción, aun con pocos recursos
The implementation and ongoing adoption of agricultural sustainability tools are challenging and not well addressed in the literature on sustainability assessment. Co-production of sustainability assessment and reporting systems between researchers and stakeholders has been promoted to increase the successful adoption of sustainability tools. Scientific attention has focused primarily on the development of sustainability assessment tools and has given less attention to the factors that encourage or discourage adoption and implementation.
Research and analysis of agricultural innovation processes and policies over the last 20 years has made a major contribution to scholarship on and the understanding of the nature of innovation. To an important, but much lesser degree this has also led to re-framing practice at the research-innovation interface. Innovation studies (for want of a better word), like many branches of science, finds that it needs to deliver solutions across the full spectrum of discovery (concepts and theories) to application in both policy and practice domains.
Farmers’ experiments can be defined as the autonomous activities of farmers to try or introduce something new at the farm, and include evaluation of success or failure with farmers’ own methods. Experiments enable farmers to adapt their farms to changing circumstances, build up local knowledge, and have resulted in countless agricultural innovations. Most research on the topic has been conducted in countries of the south.
Organic farming is recognized as one source for innovation helping agriculture to develop sustainably. However, the understanding of innovation in agriculture is characterized by technical optimism, relying mainly on new inputs and technologies originating from research. The paper uses the alternative framework of innovation systems describing innovation as the outcome of stakeholder interaction and examples from the SOLID (Sustainable Organic Low-Input Dairying) project to discuss the role of farmers, researchers and knowledge exchange for innovation.
Este estudio se realizó en la Estación Experimental de Pastos y Forrajes Indio Hatuey con el objetivo de evaluar algunos indicadores clave, como la intensidad innovadora (IIE), la capacidad tecnológica (CTE) y el nivel de excelencia (NEE) del equipo técnico vinculado a las tecnologías de construcción y puesta en marcha de biodigestores
Se realizó un estudio con el objetivo de identificar las brechas de formación en cuanto a la capacidad gerencial; la situación actual en instituciones, organizaciones y proyectos respecto a la determinación de la demanda de formación de capacidades en cultura y gestión empresarial en el marco agropecuario; así como los actores con posibilidades de asumir labores como promotores, facilitadores y formadores, que dieran respuesta a un programa de formación propuesto para los años 2015-2017.
Se realizó una investigación con el objetivo de identificar las limitantes para la producción de alimentos, así como sus causas y posibles soluciones, en 25 fincas de los municipios Perico, Martí, Colón y Jagüey Grande (provincia Matanzas, Cuba) involucradas en el Programa de Innovación Agrícola Local (PIAL); las cuales se identificaron y construyeron, de manera conjunta, con productores, propietarios o usufructuarios de dichas fincas.