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,

     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.