Research-extension linkage and innovation models at the National Institute of Agricultural Technology: analysis of institutional documents

Abstract

Agricultural research and extension are key to promoting innovation and rural development processes. In this article, we analyze the conceptions of research, extension and their link present in different institutional documents of INTA, the main Argentine institution of agricultural innovation and rural development. The analysis shows that the conceptions of research, extension and the link among them present in the institutional documentation are organized around two different models of innovation. The first is based on positivism. We named it ‘contextualized transfer of technologies’. In it, although the needs and feedback of farmers are valued, the knowledge is produced by specialists and transferred to the producers. In the ‘territorial constructivist’ model, innovation is related to social learning resulting from the horizontal interaction among multiple actors. It prioritizes knowledge for action and the local adaptation of knowledge in the context of use. The analyzed documents fail to integrate both models, since they oscillate between making the differences invisible and considering them from an evolutionary perspective that denies the legitimacy of contextualized transfer of technologies. We highlight the need for recognizing the different models of innovation and choosing the most appropriate in each context.

Keywords:
rural extension; agricultural research; innovation; transfer of technologies; territorial development