Inter-institutional articulation as a strategy for family livestock farming

Abstract

The development of the Uruguayan family farming production, and specifically of the livestock sector, has been raised as a priority in public policies, reconciling economic and social objectives. Livestock breeding continues to be one of the most important activities within the agriculture sector, but its productivity still shows an important gap in relation to potential, as a result of the combination of a complexity of factors, being low application of basic management technologies one of them. This is more evident in the case of family producers. In this context, the project "Improving the sustainability of family livestock farming in Uruguay", UFFIP for its acronym in English, set as a general objective to contribute to improve the profitability and viability of family farms without affecting natural resources, applying a co-innovation approach. In this context, 20 focus farms were selected from two of the main livestock regions of the country: Basaltic and East Hills. For each focus farm, a farm business plan was developed and agreed between facilitator and the producer and his/her family, which allowed sharing and validating new management and management practices, with a comprehensive approach; preserving natural resources, family goals, the production system and the local context. The UFFIP represented an umbrella that facilitate to achieve an effective articulation between the participating institutions (i.e. farmers, research, extension and government) landing a successful working methodology, through a shared agenda, agreed objectives and proposals with the common goal of promoting changes in the livestock family farming sector.