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.
How do the innovation platforms and facilitated networks currently deployed in the Global South help trigger dynamics of collaborative innovation that can be useful for the agroecological transition? What are the difficulties encountered and how can they be overcome? This chapter throws lights on these questions. The first part justifies the interest in studying the ecologisation of agriculture through the prism of collaborative innovation and of its paradoxes.
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.
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.
Participatory Research (PR) at the International Potato Center (CIP) included seven major experiences. (1) Farmer-back-to-farmer in the 1970s pioneered the idea of working with farmers to identify their needs, propose solutions, and explain the underlying scientific concepts. The ideas were of great influence at CIP and beyond. (2) With integrated pest management (IPM) pilot areas in the early 1990s, entomologists and social scientists developed technologies with farmers in Peru and other countries to control insect pests.
Uno de los problemas básicos que presenta el estudio y el análisis de la gobernanza de los Sistemas Agroalimentarios Localizados (Sial), consiste en la ausencia o debilidad de los indicadores. Uno de los pocos intentos que se han hecho en este sentido, es el realizado por Gómez, Boucher y Desjardins (2006) al tratar de analizar varios Sial en Colombia. Esta ponencia se propone identificar las dimensiones y acciones de gobernanza territorial.
La cadena productiva incluye la tecnología y el saber-cómo utilizarla eficientemente (know-how). También existe la cadena de “suministro” que complementa la cadena productiva, donde se integra la actividad de los proveedores de materiales y servicios a la producción, la distribución de los productos o servicios terminados y su compra por los clientes. La cadena de suministro incluye la coordinación entre suministradores, intermediarios y clientes. En esencia, integra las actividades de suministro y demanda, dentro y fuera de las compañías.
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.
This chapter presents an innovation system approach for urban agriculture. It argues that urban agriculture is a systemic concept – agriculture intertwined with urban dynamic – but that a systemic approach is often missing. Such an approach allows identifying strengths and weaknesses of urban agriculture for a particular city, region or country, in a comprehensive way. Based on these insights, more precise and targeted policies can be designed to stimulate urban agriculture and innovations needed in its context.
Por su complejidad, el cambio profundo que hoy requiere la formación docente se vincula con la capacidad de comprender y reconocer el surgimiento de los procesos “emergentes” que den paso a la innovación. Para poder identificar intervenciones con mayores oportunidades de tener incidencia en los procesos de formación, es necesario reconocer y comprender los procesos “emergentes” y su sostenibilidad cuando se pasa del nivel local al general (masificación).