Bioleft: open-source seeds for low-input farming systems

This article describes Bioleft, an ‘open source’, highly collaborative seed breeding initiative, in order to encourage reflection on potential synergies with fair trade ideas and practices. Bioleft aims to develop and redistribute collective agency over seed breeding, as a response to the emergence of an oligopolistic seed industry. It is experimenting with novel approaches to seed innovation that increase the diversity of crop varieties, in order to support agricultural practices that are ignored by mainstream seed firms, particularly smallscale family farming and more ecologically and socially sustainable agricultural practices. More generally it is experimenting with new forms of social and productive organization based on norms of sharing and solidarity.Fil: Cremaschi, Almendra. Universidad Nacional de San Martin. Escuela de Economia y Negocios. Centro de Investigaciones Para la Transformacion.; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Van Zwanenberg, Patrick. Universidad Nacional de San Martin. Escuela de Economia y Negocios. Centro de Investigaciones Para la Transformacion.; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Comercialización y producción; de las familias productoras a las familias consumidoras

Durante los últimos 25 años el Cinturón Hortícola Platense, Buenos Aires, Argentina, ha atravesado significativos cambios en las formas de producción, la estructura de los mercados y la concentración de la tierra. Estas transformaciones significaron un aumento de la dependencia de insumos, reducción del poder de negociación de las familias productoras frente a los últimos eslabones de la cadena y dificultades para el acceso a la tierra. Así, la producción familiar se ha visto vulnerable ante un sector cada vez más polarizado. En este contexto, a partir de un proyecto de la Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales (UNLP), surgió la posibilidad de realizar una feria en el predio de la Facultad, que no sólo significaría una alternativa de comercio más justo, sino un espacio de intercambio a través de venta directa, lema de la Feria “Manos de la Tierra”. A partir de esta experiencia, el grupo empezó a poner en discusión aspectos relacionados a qué y cómo producir. El objetivo de este relato es compartir los aprendizajes de esta experiencia.Eje: B3 Economía y agroecología (Relatos de experiencias)Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestale

Comercialización y producción; de las familias productoras a las familias consumidoras

Durante los últimos 25 años el Cinturón Hortícola Platense, Buenos Aires, Argentina, ha atravesado significativos cambios en las formas de producción, la estructura de los mercados y la concentración de la tierra. Estas transformaciones significaron un aumento de la dependencia de insumos, reducción del poder de negociación de las familias productoras frente a los últimos eslabones de la cadena y dificultades para el acceso a la tierra. Así, la producción familiar se ha visto vulnerable ante un sector cada vez más polarizado. En este contexto, a partir de un proyecto de la Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales (UNLP), surgió la posibilidad de realizar una feria en el predio de la Facultad, que no sólo significaría una alternativa de comercio más justo, sino un espacio de intercambio a través de venta directa, lema de la Feria “Manos de la Tierra”. A partir de esta experiencia, el grupo empezó a poner en discusión aspectos relacionados a qué y cómo producir. El objetivo de este relato es compartir los aprendizajes de esta experiencia.Eje: B3 Economía y agroecología (Relatos de experiencias)Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestale

Bioleft: A Collaborative, Open Source Seed Breeding Initiative for Sustainable Agriculture

This chapter provides a chronological and thematic account of the work carried out in Argentina, reflecting on the lessons these experiences bring to sustainability transformations and some of the concepts covered in the earlier chapters. It describes the identification and framing of the sustainability challenge and the ways in which various methods (for example, Q-method) and transdisciplinary approaches were applied. The chapter outlines key moments in the transformation laboratory (T-Lab) process, leading to the initiation of the ‘Bioleft’ open-source seed platform, and the lessons that were learnt as a result. The ways in which the transdisciplinary team worked together and the importance of shared ownership of this pioneering model for open-source seeds as a ‘bridging innovation’ are seen as particularly important. The chapter offers specific insights from the Argentinean case

Sembrando esperanza : 1º feria nacional de semillas nativas y criollas , 4º feria provincial

Fil: Pochettino, María Lelia. Laboratorio de Etnobotánica y Botánica Aplicada (LEBA). Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Fernández, Valentina. Cátedra de Agroecología. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Gargoloff, Agustina. Cátedra de Agroecología. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Muscio, Luciana. Institutos de Investigación y Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Pequeña Agricultura Familiar (IPAF) Región Pampeana. INTA; ArgentinaFil: Pérez, María Laura. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: González Espinoza, Lucía. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Bonicatto, María Margarita. Cátedra de Agroecología. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Pérez, Maximiliano. Institutos de Investigación y Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Pequeña Agricultura Familiar (IPAF) Región Pampeana. INTA; ArgentinaFil: Cremaschi, Almendra. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Barreto, Eliana. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: May, María Paula. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Cababié, Javier. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; ArgentinaFil: Marasas, Mariana Edith. Cátedra de Agroecología. Facultad de Ciencias Agrarias y Forestales. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; Argentin

Structured Collaboration Across a Transformative Knowledge Network-Learning Across Disciplines, Cultures and Contexts?

Realising the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will require transformative changes at micro, meso and macro levels and across diverse geographies. Collaborative, transdisciplinary research has a role to play in documenting, understanding and contributing to such transformations. Previous work has investigated the role of this research in Europe and North America, however the dynamics of transdisciplinary research on ‘transformations to sustainability’ in other parts of the world are less well-understood. This paper reports on an international project that involved transdisciplinary research in six different hubs across the globe and was strategically designed to enable mutual learning and exchange. It draws on surveys, reports and research outputs to analyse the processes of transdisciplinary collaboration for sustainability that took place between 2015-2019. The paper illustrates how the project was structured in order to enable learning across disciplines, cultures and contexts, and describes how it also provided for the negotiation of epistemological frameworks and different normative commitments between members across the network. To this end, it discusses lessons regarding the use of theoretical and methodological anchors, multi-loop learning and evaluating emergent change (including the difficulties encountered). It offers insights for the design and implementation of future international transdisciplinary collaborations that address locally-specific sustainability challenges within the universal framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Transformative pathways to sustainability: learning across disciplines, cultures and contexts

Transformations to sustainability are increasingly the focus of research and policy discussions around the Sustainable Development Goals. However, the different roles played by transdisciplinary research in contributing to social transformations across diverse settings have been neglected in the literature. Transformative Pathways to Sustainability responds to this gap by presenting a set of coherent, theoretically informed and methodologically innovative experiments from around the world that offer important insights for this growing field. The book draws on content and cases from across the ‘Pathways’ Transformative Knowledge Network, an international group of six regional hubs working on sustainability challenges in their own local or national contexts. Each of these hubs reports on their experiences of ‘transformation laboratory’ processes in the following areas: sustainable agricultural and food systems for healthy livelihoods, with a focus on sustainable agri-food systems in the UK and open-source seeds in Argentina; low carbon energy and industrial transformations, focussing on mobile-enabled solar home systems in Kenya and social aspects of the green transformation in China; and water and waste for sustainable cities, looking at Xochimilco wetland in Mexico and Gurgaon in India. The book combines new empirical data from these processes with a novel analysis that represents both theoretical and methodological contributions. It is especially international in its scope, drawing inputs from North and South, mirroring the universality of the Sustainable Development Goals. The book is of vital interest to academics, action researchers and funders, policy makers and civil-society organisations working on transformations to sustainability

Bioleft: a collaborative, open source seed breeding initiative for sustainable agriculture

This chapter provides a chronological and thematic account of the work carried out in Argentina, reflecting on the lessons these experiences bring to sustainability transformations and some of the concepts covered in the earlier chapters. It describes the identification and framing of the sustainability challenge and the ways in which various methods (for example, Q-method) and transdisciplinary approaches were applied. The chapter outlines key moments in the transformation laboratory (T-Lab) process, leading to the initiation of the ‘Bioleft’ open-source seed platform, and the lessons that were learnt as a result. The ways in which the transdisciplinary team worked together and the importance of shared ownership of this pioneering model for open-source seeds as a ‘bridging innovation’ are seen as particularly important. The chapter offers specific insights from the Argentinean case.Fil: Marin, Anabel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Centro de Investigaciones para la Transformación; Argentina. University of Sussex; Reino UnidoFil: Van Zwanenberg, Patrick. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Centro de Investigaciones para la Transformación; ArgentinaFil: Cremaschi, Almendra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Centro de Investigaciones para la Transformación; Argentin

Seeds Keep Wisdom alive

Our world is facing complex sustainability challenges that are threatening not only our capacity to feed the growing population, but also to nurture it. The Green Revolution and the introduction of sophisticated technological innovations were once considered the best way of fulfilling the food needs of the world population. Unfortunately, this approach doesn’t come close to meeting these needs and every year more people become undernourished, both of food and wisdom.Fil: Cremaschi, Almendra. Universidad Nacional de San Martin. Escuela de Economia y Negocios. Centro de Investigaciones Para la Transformacion.; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Marin, Anabel. Universidad Nacional de San Martin. Escuela de Economia y Negocios. Centro de Investigaciones Para la Transformacion.; ArgentinaFil: Van Zwanenberg, Patrick. Universidad Nacional de San Martin. Escuela de Economia y Negocios. Centro de Investigaciones Para la Transformacion.; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Lowenstein, Vanesa. Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Productiva; Argentin