The Australian story of farmer innovation in Conservation Agriculture reveals a complex interplay of policy, economics, science, and farming. Farmer experimentation with Conservation Agriculture began in the 1960's and has continued to this day where around 80%-90% of Australia's 23.5 million hectares of winter crops are now grown using Conservation Agriculture principles. This remarkable achievement is the result of both sustained investment in agricultural research and development and farmer innovation. Australian economic settings and science policies have encouraged and facilitated farmer participation in the Conservation Agricultural innovation system. Australian farmers have embraced Conservation Agriculture because it has met their needs, maintaining productivity and profitability in the face of declining terms of trade, and sustainably intensifying production with enhanced environmental outcomes. Drawing on individual farmer case studies, the specific strengths of farmer innovation are identified and the enabling conditions necessary for farmer innovation to flourish are discussed.
This study identifies entry points for innovation for sustainable intensification of agricultural systems. An agricultural innovation systems approach is used to provide a holistic image of (relations between) constraints faced by different stakeholder groups, the dimensions and causes of these...
L’eau d’irrigation est une ressource cruciale pour le développement économique et social en Tunisie. Dans un contexte de décentralisation et de délégation du rôle de l’État, une part importante de la gestion de cette eau d’irrigation a été confiée aux...
The purpose of this research was to investigate factors influencing agricultural personnel and consultants’ attitude and behavioral intention to use precision agricultural technologies. The survey research and multistage random sampling were used to collect data from 183 agricultural consultants in...
The process of adopting innovation, especially with regard to precision farming (PF), is inherently complex and social, and influenced by producers, change agents, social norms and organizational pressure. An empirical analysis was conducted among Italian farmers to measure the drivers...
La co-conception de systèmes agricoles innovants est une piste prometteuse pour répondre au défi de l’innovation, notamment pour les exploitations agricoles familiales africaines confrontées à de multiples changements. Mais il faut penser à la place et aux rôles tenus par...