Policies for the integral development of biofuels and
other renewable sources of energy are established within a
framework of environmental sustainability. Similarly, laws
are adopted to encourage agroecological-based agricultural
production systems, and fees or taxes are imposed to limit
agricultural operations that use large tracts of land or single
crop techniques. In the middle of the period, policies to facilitate
access to land for small landless producers are defined,
as a way of minimizing the impact of the climate on
this vulnerable social group. Various conditions are facilitated,
and credit, technical assistance, training, and the like
are provided, so that they can produce at least the basic food
they need to survive in such adverse circumstances.
Education is a key element for making the institutional
changes needed by this new society. By about 2010, most LAC
countries invest on average 13% of their GDP in education.
At the outset of this period, many countries see the
emergence of groups of scientists who advocate more a systemic
approach to agriculture. In their view, for instance,
research on the biosecurity of transgenics should take into
account the possible systemic repercussions of genetic manipulation
on the cell and the environment. These groups
argue that agriculture needs to use more environmentally
friendly practices.
Advances in scientific knowledge, including biology and
nanotechnology, continue. Major investments are also made
in R&D on the environment and its effects on agriculture.
Research in this field provides the technological basis for
certification of environmental protection for agricultural
products.
To reduce the risk of new environmental disasters, various
international organizations, including the World Bank,
UN, UNESCO and WHO, step up efforts to organize and
empower traditional communities around the world. The knowledge of these communities begins to be more
highly valued. Numerous initiatives for environmental protection
and for certification of the environmental safety of
products and production processes are proposed. In many
Latin American countries, there are numerous initiatives
to systematize traditional knowledge and elucidate its
principles.
3.4.4.1.2 AKST systems
One of the demands for R&D is development or improvement
of agricultural processes such as the following ones:
(1) biological control of pests and diseases; (2) control of
the application of nutrients and residues to soils in the productive
system; (3) elimination or reduction of agricultural
and agroindustrial residues or waste; (4) identification and
use of natural sources of soil fertilizer; (5) supervision of
safety and quality in processing foods; and (6) generation
of productive processes with a lower environmental impact.
Processes for increasing productivity continue to be given
importance, but environmental aspects are also prioritized
now. The following topics linked to the environment and
ecosystems are now considered as priorities: (1) on-site
prospecting and conservation of germplasm; (2) economic
valuation of biodiversity and natural resources; (3) sustainable
economic exploitation of biodiversity; (4) traditional
knowledge of biodiversity; (5) management of fishing resources;
(6) conservation-oriented agriculture, management,
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and zoning; (7) management of water quality and use; and
(8) management of forest resources.
The existence of barriers promotes research on certification
of origin systems and ecological labeling of foods. A
large part of R&D is channeled to research on adaptation
to climate change. In defining R&D priorities, consideration
must be given first and foremost to the need to adapt to and
mitigate climate change and environmental sustainability.
Added to the social groups that have been the traditional
users of agriculture research are now small-scale producers,
subsistence farmers, and indigenous communities,
as high priority groups for R&D.
In LAC, all countries are interested in and share efforts
to ensure that R&D is used to offer responses to the demands
of these social groups. However, only a few countries
have the infrastructure, trained scientists, and financial
resources to achieve advances in this area. Incorporation
of know-how is partly limited by these resources. It occurs
only after an evaluation of its potential repercussions on socioeconomic
and environmental systems. Everyone involved
in scientific work makes major efforts to incorporate traditional
knowledge into formal AKST systems, while guaranteeing
the rights of traditional/indigenous communities.
In some LAC countries there are sufficient but not optimum
R&D resources. In allocating these resources, priority
is given to major environmental protection objectives,
sustainable agricultural practices, and the safety of the consumer.
These resources are for the most part national government
monies or social funds, but a small portion comes
from regional sources.
Strict biosecurity protocols are defined for research in
biotechnology and nanotechnology. Research in these sciences
is uninterrupted, but progresses slowly.
R&D management is important, so that it is channeled
correctly to meet environmental protection objectives. Various
social groups gain full participation in the integral process
of agricultural R&D.
R&D is concentrated in research institutes and public
universities, which work in a highly participatory way with
users and other organizations interested in R&D and its social
repercussions. Private firms cooperate to some extent
with these organizations, but their sphere of action is more
restricted by laws limiting their concentration (i.e. to prevent
a few firms from controlling the entire market). They
are oriented more towards solving problems related to productivity
and reduction of production costs in productive
systems and their environmental externalities. Towards the
end of 2015, the vast majority of private R&D firms become
aware of the existence of important environment-related
markets that are worth exploiting.
In a situation of scarce resources, R&D endeavor to
achieve efficiency in their use. Yet effectiveness is more important
than efficiency. In other words, the emphasis is on
R&D products and how well they adapt to the need for a reduced
environmental impact, and only secondarily on optimization
of the use of financial resources to obtain them. In
the beginning of the period, few technologies are available
for the wide range of R&D users. By the end of the period,
capacity increases, as does the understanding of the needs of
these users. There is also an increase in the stock of different
technologies available and adapted to different users.
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