Abstract
The impact of climate change and intensification of agricultural systems in Uruguay has led to a degradation of soil quality, increased soil erosion and poor water retention. Reduced tillage (RT) is a promising solution to addressing these problems, and is critical in supporting sustainable agricultural transitions. However, implementing RT remains challenging for family farmers due to higher labor demands and weed management, reducing the likelihood of adoption. A project led by the Universidad de la Republica Uruguay aims to explore organic management of RT systems using a co-innovation process. Local family farmers, agricultural technicians and research institutes are involved at all stages of the project that seeks to promote social learning by emphasizing information exchange and participation. The main research questions reflect Reed’s elements of social learning to explore how co-innovation impacts learning: to what extent have participants demonstrated knowledge and understanding of RT systems? And, has the change in understanding resulted from social interactions? 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted with key stakeholders, and a nominal group technique was applied to identify RT practices. Preliminary results indicate that participants are actively involved and demonstrate considerable knowledge regarding RT. Farmers are either implementing RT, or have future plans to do so, while agricultural technicians indicated that they share their knowledge to other networks. These findings reflect the potential of a co-innovation process, and further research will explore the diffusion of RT knowledge beyond this project to examine it’s impact on large-scale sustainable agricultural transitions in Uruguay.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Food Production and Sustainability
KEYWORDS
Agriculture, Co-innovation, Sustainability, Climate Change, Soil Science
