Retroinnovación como paradigma alternativo de innovación en la agricultura: evidencia de Portugal
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.48162/rev.36.160Palabras clave:
Portugal, Variedades tradicionales, Retro innovación, Cereales, Transición sostenibleResumen
Este artículo examina cómo los procesos de retro innovación difieren de los regímenes dominantes de investigación e innovación agrícola y en qué condiciones pueden influir en las agendas de investigación y en las políticas públicas. A partir de un marco analítico derivado inductivamente mediante la metodología Gioia, el estudio identifica cinco dimensiones clave de la retro innovación: temporalidad y reactivación del conocimiento, hibridación con condiciones actuales, racionalidad de la innovación, régimen de conocimiento y resultados de la innovación. Estas dimensiones se aplican al caso de la recuperación de variedades tradicionales de cereales en Portugal, con especial atención al proyecto CERTRA.
Los resultados muestran un patrón diferenciado de alineación. Mientras se observa una fuerte alineación en la reactivación del conocimiento, la hibridación y la generación de resultados socio ecológicos específicos del contexto, la alineación es solo parcial en la racionalidad de la innovación y los regímenes de conocimiento. Esto refleja la coexistencia de lógicas de innovación alternativas y dominantes, dando lugar a procesos híbridos y tensionados.
El estudio demuestra que la retro innovación es especialmente relevante en contextos donde las soluciones tecnológicas estandarizadas no son fácilmente aplicables, destacando la importancia del conocimiento y las prácticas territorialmente arraigadas. Más que sustituir los paradigmas dominantes, la retro innovación contribuye a su reconfiguración mediante la incorporación de diversidad, contextualización y pluralidad epistemológica.
Descargas
Citas
Aguiar, L. da C., DelGrossi, M. E., & Thomé, K. M. (2018). Short food supply chain: Characteristics of a family farm. Ciencia Rural, 48(5). https://doi.org/10.1590/0103-8478cr20170775
Baret, P. V. (2017). Acceptance of Innovation and Pathways to Transition Towards More Sustainable Food Systems. Potato Research, 60(3–4), 383–388. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11540-018-9384-1
Barreiros, L., Dimas, B., Costa, C., Maçãs, B., Palha, J., Albino, B., Martins, L., Pinto, T., Cabeça, J., & Mendes, J. (2018). Estratégia Nacional para a Promoção da Produção de Cereais (ENPPC).
Bruil, J., Anderson, C., Bernhart, A., & Pimbert, M. (2019). Strengthening FAO’s commitment to agroecology. http://www.coventry.ac.uk/research/areas-of-research/agroecology-water-
Carswell, A. M., Willcock, S., Blackwell, M. S. A., Upadhayay, H. R., Harris, P., McAuliffe, G., Neal, A. L., Rivero, M. J., Cardenas, L. M., Haefele, S. M., Whitmore, A. P., Dearing, J. A., Zhang, F., Farrell, M., Bauters, M., Boeckx, P., Silva, Y. J. A. B. da, Frimpong, K. A., & Collins, A. L. (2025). Agricultural practices can threaten soil resilience through changing feedback loops. Npj Sustainable Agriculture, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44264-025-00098-6
CERTRA. (n.d.). CERTRA - Desenvolvimemnto de Cadeias de Valor de Cereais Tradicionais para umaAlimentação Sustentável em Portugal. Retrieved February 26, 2026, from https://esa.ipb.pt/certra/4linhas.html
Chable, V., Nuijten, E., Costanzo, A., Goldringer, I., Bocci, R., Oehen, B., Rey, F., Fasoula, D., Feher, J., Keskitalo, M., Koller, B., Omirou, M., Mendes-Moreira, P., van Frank, G., Naino Jika, A. K., Thomas, M., & Rossi, A. (2020). Embedding cultivated diversity in society for agro-ecological transition. Sustainability (Switzerland), 12(3), 1–34. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12030784
Cid Aguayo, B. E., Vanhulst, J., & Rojas, C. (2019). Retroinnovación y sustentabilidad socioecológica: el caso de quesos campesinos de leche cruda en el Golfo de Arauco, Chile. Mundo Agrario, 20(44), e119. https://doi.org/10.24215/15155994e119
Connor, D. J. (2024). Analysis of farming systems establishes the low productivity of organic agriculture and inadequacy as a global option for food supply. Npj Sustainable Agriculture, 2(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s44264-023-00009-7
de la Cruz, V. Y. V., Tantriani, Cheng, W., & Tawaraya, K. (2023). Yield gap between organic and conventional farming systems across climate types and sub-types: A meta-analysis. Agricultural Systems, 211. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2023.103732
De Noni, I., Blasi, S., & Sabbadin, E. (2026). Retrovation typology: Exploiting and exploring past knowledge for nostalgic and sustainable innovation. Research Policy, 55(2). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.respol.2025.105406
De Ponti, T., Rijk, B., & Van Ittersum, M. K. (2012). The crop yield gap between organic and conventional agriculture. Agricultural Systems, 108, 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2011.12.004
Dinis, I., Mendes-Moreira, P., & Padel, S. (2018). Deeveloping marketing strategies for food diversity: a case-study in northern Portugal. In A. Raupelienè (Ed.), Proceedings of the 8th International Scientific Conference Rural Development. Vytautas Magnus University. https://doi.org/10.15544/rd.2017.233
Dinis, I., Santos, D., & Mendes-Moreira, P. (2025). Revitalising Traditional Cereals in Portugal: Challenges, Opportunities, and Strategies for Value Chain Development. Sustainability (Switzerland), 17(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/su17062745
Doré, T., Makowski, D., Malézieux, E., Munier-Jolain, N., Tchamitchian, M., & Tittonell, P. (2011). Facing up to the paradigm of ecological intensification in agronomy: Revisiting methods, concepts and knowledge. In European Journal of Agronomy (Vol. 34, Number 4, pp. 197–210). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eja.2011.02.006
European Commission - DG Agriculture and Rural Development. (n.d.). Cereals production. Retrieved February 11, 2025, from https://agridata.ec.europa.eu/extensions/DashboardCereals/CerealsProduction.html#
Ferrario, V. (2021). Learning from agricultural heritage? Lessons of sustainability from italian “coltura promiscua.” Sustainability (Switzerland), 13(16). https://doi.org/10.3390/su13168879
Garnett, T., Appleby, M. C., Balmford, A., Bateman, I. J., Benton, T. G., Bloomer, P., Burlingame, B., Dawkins, M., Dolan, L., Fraser, D., Herrero, M., Hoffmann, I., Smith, P., Thornton, P. K., Toulmin, C., Vermeulen, S. J., & Godfray, H. C. J. (2013). Sustainable Intensification in Agriculture: Premises and Policies. Science, 341(6141), 33–34. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1234485
Gioia, D. A., Corley, K. G., & Hamilton, A. L. (2013). Seeking Qualitative Rigor in Inductive Research. Organizational Research Methods, 16(1), 15–31. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094428112452151
Gomiero, T. (2016). Soil degradation, land scarcity and food security: Reviewing a complex challenge. In Sustainability (Switzerland) (Vol. 8, Number 3). MDPI. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8030281
Jerez Henríquez, B., Eugenia Cid-Aguayo, B., Oliveros, V., Henríquez Ramírez, A. A., Letelier, E., Bastías-Mercado, F., & Vanhulst, J. (2024). Wineries in the Itata and Cauquenes Valleys: Local flavors, multiple dispossessions and care for the commons as pluriverses for (neo)peasant climate resilience. Environment and Planning E: Nature and Space, 7(2), 862–881.
https://doi.org/10.1177/25148486231185235
Kilis, E., Adamsone-Fiskovica, A., Šūmane, S., & Tisenkopfs, T. (2022). (Dis)continuity and advisory challenges in farmer-led retro-innovation: biological pest control and direct marketing in Latvia. Journal of Agricultural Education and Extension, 28(5), 653–670. https://doi.org/10.1080/1389224X.2021.1997770
Klerkx, L., van Mierlo, B., & Leeuwis, C. (2012). Evolution of systems approaches to agricultural innovation: concepts, analysis and interventions. In I. Darnhofer, D. Gibbon, & B. Dedieu (Eds.), Farming Systems Research into the 21st Century: The New Dynamic (pp. 457–483). Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4503-2_20
Knapp, S., & van der Heijden, M. G. A. (2018). A global meta-analysis of yield stability in organic and conservation agriculture. Nature Communications, 9(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-05956-1
Koohafkan, P., & Altieri, M. A. (2011). Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems A Legacy for the Future. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Kopittke, P. M., Menzies, N. W., Wang, P., McKenna, B. A., & Lombi, E. (2019). Soil and the intensification of agriculture for global food security. In Environment International (Vol. 132). Elsevier Ltd. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2019.105078
Kušar, A., Pravst, I., Pivk Kupirovič, U., Grunert, K. G., Kreft, I., & Hristov, H. (2023). Consumers’ Preferences towards Bread Characteristics Based on Food-Related Lifestyles: Insights from Slovenia. Foods, 12(20), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods12203766
León-Bravo, V., Moretto, A., Cagliano, R., & Caniato, F. (2019). Innovation for sustainable development in the food industry: Retro and forward-looking innovation approaches to improve quality and healthiness. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 26(5), 1049–1062. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1785
Lima Santos, J. (2016). Intensificação sustentável: um novo modelo tecnológico na agricultura. Cultivar, (3), 13–21.
Liopa-Tsakalidi, A. (2025). RETRO-INNOVATION IN BIODYNAMIC AGRICULTURE: BRIDGING TRADITIONAL WISDOM AND SMART TECHNOLOGIES FOR SUSTAINABLE FARMING. International Journal of Agriculture and Environmental Research, 11(01), 202–212. https://doi.org/10.51193/ijaer.2025.11113
Loucanova, E., Parobek, J., & Kalamarova, M. (2015). Retro-Innovation and Corporate Social Responsibility. Studia Universitatis „Vasile Goldis” Arad – Economics Series, 25(4), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1515/sues-2015-0023
Louwaars, N., & Burgaud, F. (2016). Variety registration: The evolution of registration systems with a special emphasis on agrobiodiversity conservation. In Farmers’ Crop Varieties and Farmers’ Rights. Routledge.
Marsden, T. (2009). Mobilities, vulnerabilities and sustainabilities: Exploring pathways from denial to sustainable rural development. Sociologia Ruralis, 49(2), 113–131. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9523.2009.00479.x
OECD. (2012). A Synthesis ofInternational Regulatory Aspects that Affect Seed Trade. Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
OECD. (2018). Oslo Manual 2018: Guidelines for Collecting , Reporting and Using Data on Innovation (4th Edition). OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264304604-en
Oehen, B., De Gregorio, J., Petrusan, J., & Moschitz, H. (2015). Report on the market potential of minor cereal crops and consumers perceptions about them in different European regions (Deliverable D8. 1, HealthyMinorCereals). Deliverable D8. 1, 1–124.
Pigford, A. A. E., Hickey, G. M., & Klerkx, L. (2018). Beyond agricultural innovation systems? Exploring an agricultural innovation ecosystems approach for niche design and development in sustainability transitions. Agricultural Systems, 164, 116–121. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2018.04.007
Rockström, J., Williams, J., Daily, G., Noble, A., Matthews, N., Gordon, L., Wetterstrand, H., DeClerck, F., Shah, M., Steduto, P., de Fraiture, C., Hatibu, N., Unver, O., Bird, J., Sibanda, L., & Smith, J. (2017). Sustainable intensification of agriculture for human prosperity and global sustainability. Ambio, 46(1), 4–17. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-016-0793-6
Rogers, E. M. . (2003). Diffusion of innovations. Free Press.
Rose, D. C., Barkemeyer, A., de Boon, A., Price, C., & Roche, D. (2023). The old, the new, or the old made new? Everyday counter-narratives of the so-called fourth agricultural revolution. Agriculture and Human Values, 40(2), 423–439. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-022-10374-7
Royal Society. (2009). Reaping the benefits: Science and the sustainable intensification of global agriculture.
Schumpeter, J. (1934). The Theory of Economic Development: An Inquiry Into Profits, Capital, Credit, Interest, and the Business Cycle. Harvard University Press.
Seufert, V., Ramankutty, N., & Foley, J. A. (2012). Comparing the yields of organic and conventional agriculture. In Nature (Vol. 485, Number 7397, pp. 229–232). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11069
Sixt, G. N., Klerkx, L., & Griffin, T. S. (2018). Transitions in water harvesting practices in Jordan’s rainfed agricultural systems: Systemic problems and blocking mechanisms in an emerging technological innovation system. Environmental Science and Policy, 84, 235–249. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2017.08.010
Statistics Portugal. (n.d.). Agriculture census - historical series. Retrieved September 20, 2024, from http://www.ine.pt
Stuiver, M. (2006). Highlighting the Retro Side of Innovation and its Potential for Regime Change in Agriculture. In T. Marsden & J. Murdoch (Eds.), Between the Local and the Global: Confronting Complexity in the Contemporary Agri-Food Sector. Research in Rural Sociology and Development (Vol. 12, pp. 147–173). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1057-1922(06)12007-7
Svensson, E., Eddudóttir, S. D., Kåreskog, I., Johansson, A., & Sundqvist, M. (2026). Conservation or Development? Challenging the Heritagization of Shielings in Transitional Times, for Climate Mitigation and (Post-)Pandemic Development. Heritage & Society, 19(1), 23–43. https://doi.org/10.1080/2159032X.2023.2228184
Tissone, F., Hernandez, S., & Moustier, E. (2019). Escape from the global field? Local and sustainable initiatives in the urban and peri-urban agri-food field: emergence of an institutional work reframing places Le bonheur est-il dans le champ ? Initiatives locales et soutenables dans l’agri-alimentaire urbain et périurbain : émergence d’un travail institutionnel de redéfinition des espaces. Gestion & Management Public, 7(7(4)), 27–49.
UNEP. (2025). Global Environment Outlook 7: A future we choose – Why investing in Earth now can lead to a trillion-dollar benefit for all. United Nations Environment Programme. https://doi.org/10.59117/20.500.11822/49014
Wendin, K., Mustafa, A., Ortman, T., & Gerhardt, K. (2020). Consumer awareness, attitudes and preferences towards heritage cereals. Foods, 9(6), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9060742
Wilbur, A. (2014). Cultivating back-to-the-landers: Networks of knowledge in rural Northern Italy. Sociologia Ruralis, 54(2), 167–185. https://doi.org/10.1111/soru.12024
Zagata, L., Sutherland, L. A., Hrabák, J., & Lostak, M. (2020). Mobilising the Past: Towards a Conceptualisation of Retro-Innovation. Sociologia Ruralis, 60(3), 639–660. https://doi.org/10.1111/soru.12310
Descargas
Publicado
Cómo citar
Número
Sección
Licencia
Derechos de autor 2026 Isabel Dinis
Esta obra está bajo una Licencia Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 2.5 Argentina.
Los/as autores/as que publican en esta revista están de acuerdo con los siguientes términos:
1. Los/as autores conservan los derechos de autor y garantizan a la revista el derecho de ser la primera publicaci´´ón del trabajo bajo una licecncia Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 2.5 Argentina . Por esto pueden compartir el trabajo con la referencia explícita de la publicación original en esta revista.
2. Saberes y prácticas permite y anima a los autores a difundir la publicación realizada electrónicamente, a través de su enlace y/o de la versión postprint del archivo descargado de forma independiente.
