ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF AGRICULTURAL TECNOLOGICAL INNOVATION IN THE INSTITUTIONAL CONTEXT OF P&D

Abstract

Methods for impact assessment of technology innovations at the farmstead level appropriate for the institutional context are lacking. The environmental impact assessment system (Ambitec-Agro) presented in this paper deals only with the environmental dimension and is composed by a set of four aspects of the impacts caused by an agricultural technology innovation onto the environment: the magnitude, efficiency, and contribution towards environmental conservation and restoration. The system integrates eight indicators comprised by thirty-six components into weighing matrices constructed in an electronic spreadsheet. Each component is evaluated in the field in an interview/survey conducted by the system user to the farmer/manager regarding his/her knowledge of the environmental performance of the activity modified by the technology under evaluation. The farmer/manager specifies the activity's 'component change coefficient' due to technology innovation, at the farmstead level. This coefficient is then weighed according to its particular spatial scale of occurrence and importance toward composition of the environmental impact indicator. The results of these weighing procedures are expressed graphically in spreadsheets and the indicator evaluations are composed into an Environmental Impact Index for the agricultural technology innovation.