Low-Carbon Agriculture put in practice in Brazilian Savannas

We transfer technology through an extension agents network plus a technological reference units network. In order to form these networks, we promote a continuous training based on: Reference Networks (Miranda and Doliveira, 2005) and Training & Visit (Benor and Harrisson, 1977; Domit et al., 2007) methodologies. Once trained, extension agents should transfer knowledge to growers. Thus we can expand the impact and the capillarity of our work. The technologies proposed by us are aligned to the National Policy on Climate Change, aiming the recovery of degraded pastures and the reduction of anthropic pressure on native vegetation areas, implementation of crop-livestock-forest systems, no-tillage production, and biological nitrogen fixation. We carry out (i) the continuous training of extension agents and growers, through technical meetings, where they participate in the discussion of managements and technologies in the low-carbon agricultural context (ii) implementation of technological reference units (iii) the diffusion of these technologies through field days, lectures, technical tours and (iv) the demands induction for the adoption of this technologies by the productive sector. Each extension agent undertakes to implement the technologies in (at least one) farm, with our remotely support 14 hours a day. We do not provide financial support, we only provide knowledge and technical support. The learning process takes place around the technological reference units, which function as real learning environments, where extension agents and growers put the acquired knowledge into practice. We are 8 researchers (agronomists and animal scientists). Our actions use around US$ 10000.00 a year and are monitored by software that assesses the impacts of these technologies adoption.