This chapter analyses the functioning of the Brazilian agricultural innovation system. It discusses the role of the different actors and describes governance mechanisms to define priorities and evaluate performance. It analyses trends in agricultural R&D expenditure and sources of funding, the role of intellectual property protection in fostering knowledge markets, and outlines mechanisms used to facilitate knowledge transfers, including collaboration at the national level and the adoption of innovation at the farm or firm level.
This chapter outlines the role of a well-functioning agricultural innovation system in ensuring good use of public funds, and higher responsiveness to the needs of ‘innovation consumers’ through improved collaboration between public and private participants, including across national borders. A well-functioning agricultural innovation system is key to improving the economic, environmental and social performance of the food and agriculture sector.
This paper reviews the experience of the Biodiversity Consortium at the Philippine site in conducting research to develop tools and approaches to improve biodiversity conservation with the active involvement of the communities that live near the Mt. Kitanglad Range Nature Park. The following section discusses the global setting of Integrated Conservation Development Projects (ICDP) , highlights some of the key lessons learned so far, and proposes a theoretical framework.
Hacia el fin de la primera década del siglo xxi se han producido en el mundo alimentos más que suficientes para alimentar a una población mundial de cerca de siete mil millones de habitantes. Sin embargo, en los países en desarrollo alrededor de una de cada seis personas todavía padece hambre crónica, lo cual plantea una situación tan terrible, que de ninguna manera puede aceptarse.
How can the transition and transformation towards more sustainable food and agriculture (SFA) materialize at country-level? Who will own, drive and be committed to this process? How can the process be sustainable and reach scale? The practical, "how-to" contribution titled "System-Wide Capacity Development for SFA" attempts to answer these questions.
There is a considerable shortage of improved seed in Ethiopia. Despite good reasons to invest in this market, private sector investments are not occurring. Using an institutional economics theoretical framework, this chapter analyzes the formal Ethiopian seed system and identifies transaction costs to find potential starting points for institutional innovations.
Successful cases of innovation invariably demonstrate a range of partnerships, alliances and network-like arrangements that connect together knowledge users, knowledge producers and others involved in enabling innovation in the market, policy and civil society arenas. With this comes the realisation that public agricultural research needs to strengthen links to a wider set of players from the private and civil society sectors and, of course, farmers themselves. Public agricultural extension services have traditionally played the role of linking farmers to technology.
Este capitulo es parte de un libro del proyecto Específico “Procesos socio-técnicos de innovación en los territorios” del Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA) de Argentina.
In the Amazon, slash and burn is the most common technique used by American-Indians, small farmers and even big ranches to transform forests into rural landscapes. The basis of food subsistence for diverse populations (rice, corn and bean), slash and burn is also a must for the plantation of cocoa, coffee, palms and pastures. The Amazonian rural landscape is currently dominated by pastures, occupying around 80 % of the deforested surface.
Some of the most promising and at the same time some of the most challenging areas of future food production are found in the savannas of South America. Integrating cropping, livestock, and forestry in these regions can increase the eco-efficiency of agricultural production. This chapter presents a case study of an integrated crop, livestock, and forestry system in Brazil. The study area is in Goiás State in the Cerrado region, a vast savanna covering almost one quarter of Brazil's land area.