low for the development of a common approach to dealing with challenges that have already transcended national frontiers (FAO, 2003). An ongoing training program is recommended for the design and implementation of scientific, technological and innovation policies. This is necessary in order to meet the challenges of social inclusion and the new market demands in which protecting the environment and the health of consumers are prerequisites (Embrapa, 2004; FAO, 2003).

4.2.1.2 Priority to research that supports development and sustainability goals
AKST systems should give priority to research whose practical results demonstrably contribute to the goals of IAASTD, that is to say, that can point to improvements in the quality of life of local populations, promote social and gender equality (in other words, respect for the differences between men and women), a healthy environment and increased productivity. Basic research is essential to understanding the underlying ecological and social mechanisms that create inequality, hunger and environmental degradation.      It is clearly not possible to achieve development and sustainability goals one at a time, since the goals are all interconnected. In Amazonia, for example, the promotion of cattle raising as the only land exploitation system can lead to satisfactory living standards for certain groups, but the disadvantages in terms of gender equality and equality between social groups and the degradation of environmental functions make it unsustainable. Only a holistic vision in which the different goals are all considered together and the best trade-off sought between them in the socio-economic and biophysical conditions of the land can achieve this goal.      The need for a holistic approach to research is related to the analysis of the relationships between the different parts of the system on the property but also between the socio-economic environment and the landscape created by human activities that tranform the natural environment. In the mountainous regions of Central America, for example, primary forests are being transformed into a mosaic of secondary forests, coffee plantations, pasture land and fields of maize. The proportion of this type of use depends on market conditions, means of access to land ownership and on many other socio-economic variables. Depending on the diversity of the landscape, the degree of transformation and the intensity of use of the land, this landscape may include different levels of biodiversity that in turn will participate in different ways in the provision of environmental goods and services (for example, soil conservation, storage and purification of water, carbon sequestration or biocontrol of pests) (Mattison and Noris, 2005). Implicit in this representation is the improvement of human well-being with sustainable production at a high level of environmental goods and services.
     It is essential to understand the relationships between these different entities, identify the drivers and the threshold impact in relationships in order to model this system of interactions and improve the management of all resources, whether human, economic or ecological. For example, it is known that transformed landscapes are capable of resisting the invasion of (invasive) species if the proportion of the natural ecosystem does not fall below a certain threshold and if the trend toward more intensive land use is slowed.

 However, the inner workings of the mechanisms affecting these qualities of the various agroecosystems (and various landscapes) are not known, although the positive role of biodiversity is well established (Kennedy et al., 2002).
    It is also necessary to prioritize the research on options for increasing incomes (returns) and conserving biodiversity with a gender perspective. Initiatives targeted to women improve family incomes and help realize the potential of the know-how accumulated by them and which is only now
beginning to be recognized (Cavalcanti and Mota, 2002).

4.2.1.3 Development and strengthening of agricultural programs to generate and increase the value of knowledge for local and indigenous communities
Of the three types of knowledge of AKST that have been identified, the traditional/indigenous is the least formalized and thus the most threatened. Preservation of the cultural services and biodiversity that this system sustains can be done by the development and strengthening of educational programs, crop preservation and knowledge retention, and agricultural research by and for local and indigenous communities. This, in turn, can be achieved by empowering local communities and combining their know-how with agroecological expertise, taking into account the fact that local and indigenous know-how is generated and disseminated within small social groups (family, town, association).
     Rarely is this local and indigenous know-how broadly formulated and recognized outside the local environment. This situation makes it difficult to use and develop the capacity to observe and understand the functioning of the ecosystems developed by these populations (Veiga and Albaladejo, 2002). Knowledge of the functions of local biodiversity and other natural resources would be very useful in developing agroecology that depends to a great extent on intimate knowledge of the natural conditions that are peculiar to each region/crop. This knowledge should also enrich conventional knowledge to help correct any negative environmental impacts of these practices without reducing their productivity and economic value. To this end, one promising option would be to put in place instruments to regulate access to traditional knowledge.
     Properly focused, traditional knowledge, science and technology can lead to development and social well-being. To achieve better coordination between higher education programs and programs in science and technology, both in research and in the transfer of knowledge, requires a reorganization of academic and scientific research institutions in all areas and ending the isolation and dispersion that currently exists. It is necessary to strengthen educational and occupational training programs that promote and respect diversity and differences and permit advantage to be taken and use made of the positive elements of the agricultural revolution that is under way, while also combating and managing the crushing force of this very revolution as we enter into a new paradigm of agricultural science and technology (Sanchez, 1994).

4.2.1.4 Promotion of advances in agroecology as cuttingedge technology
Agroecology needs incentives for it to become cutting-edge technology, while evaluations (short, medium and longfromCK