Sustainable Cattle Production in Brazil - The Agricultural Innovation System of Integrated Livestock Systems in Mato Grosso State

Abstract: The precarious state of affairs in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest, particularly in Mato Grosso, where unsustainable cattle ranching is driving the deforestation. Brazil needs to invest in sustainable development of its cattle production. Integrated Livestock Systems is a technology which serves this purpose, but is poorly integrated into Brazil’s Agricultural Innovation system. The literature review found that overall the Agricultural Innovation system of Mato Grosso involved in Integrated Livestock Systems innovation is highly diversified, with a wide range of actors in the public, private and NGO sectors, with collaboration between stakeholders across the Agricultural Innovation system. Yet, there are still challenges to innovation capacity, especially in research, knowledge-sharing, education and training, funding and infrastructure, where small farmers form the frontier of Integrated Livestock Systems innovation and adoption. The Agricultural Innovation system framework is designed to apply an analytical framework to information from available empirical material, such as earlier studies exploring science, technology, and innovation policy issues in the sector, in order to determine linkages and interactions between actors within and across domains, as well as institutions and policies which constitute the enabling environment for innovation. The intervention framework then diagnosed current and required capacities for facilitating innovation, with which it suggested principles and options for policy interventions. Most mechanisms that work to support the innovation of Integrated Livestock Systems are already in place, but remain have many challenges. Interventions were suggested to expand the existing mechanisms that supported innovation, focusing on increasing multi-stakeholder collaboration in areas such as research, knowledgesharing, education and training, and funding, while focusing support away from cattle ranching.