Resumo

The Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) - Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária is a governmental research institution recognized as one of the most efficient and sustainable models of farming, cattle raising and tropical agriculture in the world. However, although information seems to be available, farmers are not always putting the technologies and the generated knowledge into practice. There is a main difference between the average productivity of farmers and crop potential. One of the reasons may be the inadequate technology transfer (TT).

There is a difference between the average productivity obtained from producers and the potential of crops. Although there is technological information available to increase productivity, not all producers have access to it or, in other cases, do not put it into practice. This turns out to be a problem of technology transfer and knowledge exchange. One of the reasons may be due to failures in prospecting demand for technology, a problem that precedes the transfer process itself. Thus, this study aimed to describe and analyze the process of technology transfer in the Embrapa Agrobiology Unit.

The study reviewed the classical and diffusionist model of TT (Rogers, 1962); the TT in Brazilian agriculture (Janis, 2003; Wagner, 2011; Howells, 2006; Heberlê, 2012) and the role of the State in innovation (Mazucatto, 2014).

The case of the Embrapa Agrobiology Unit was described as a documented research and the structured interviews were conducted with four employees of Embrapa, supported by a structured roadmap composed of four categories of analysis: (1) the role of TT; (2) the organizational structure of the area; (3) the TT strategies and; (4) the ways of delivery, methods and tools of TT. By means of a qualitative approach, the results were treated through content analysis (Bardin, 2011).

It was concluded that the area of TT at Embrapa went through a recent restructuring, which included the interchange and collective construction of knowledge (ICC) in its TT process to turn entrepreneurship into a reality.

The company is dedicated to bringing knowledge to the most important people: the farmers. This has been done through a participatory TT model, which has involved the multiplier agents from the research stage to the transfer stage. This study also presented some limitations and suggestions for further studies in TT.

Heberlê, A., Cosenza, B. & Soares, F. B. (2012). Comunicação para o Desenvolvimento (editores). Brasília, DF: Embrapa. Howells, J. (2006). Intermediation and the role of intermediaries in innovation. Research Policy, 35 (5), 715–728. Janis, F. T. (2003). Intermediation and the role of intermediaries in innovation. Research Policy, 35 (5), 715-728. Mazzucato, M. (2014). The Entrepreneurial State. London. Anthem Press. Rogers, E. M. (1962). Diffusion of innovations. New York: Free Press. Wagner, S. A. (2011). Métodos de Comunicação e participação nas atividades de extensão rural. Porto Alegre.