# Innovations in Sustainable Agriculture: Case Study of Lis Valley Irrigation District, Portugal
## 2 Agricultural Research and Innovation in the European Union  
The CAP 2014-2020 reform states the importance of innovation and research development in agriculture. For this purpose, the Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS) is being developed and adapted to the agri-food chain, integrating production to the final consumer. OGs are an example of the EU's commitment to innovation in agriculture through the creation of an instrument linking several national and international partners to develop agricultural projects, with practical application for end-users with the ultimate aim of enabling more competitive and sustainable agriculture. Innovation in the agri-food system, regardless of the type of innovation--be it technological, organizational, product, or marketing [4; 5]--must consider the economic and social evolution of consumption. Innovative research alone is not the basis of the EU strategy; farmers also require access to information and knowledge produced by R&D. Producing R&D is not the only main goal, because innovation with no knowledge transferred to farmers does not enhance agriculture innovation. Innovation is to be fostered by various rural development measures, such as \"knowledge transfer\", \"cooperation\", and \"investments in physical assets\" [6]. Access to knowledge should be facilitated by agricultural policy programs integrating research centers, so that the transfer is effective and applicable to agriculture [7]. The key elements of Farmers' Support: Advisory Services (PRO-AKIS) from CAP program are linked to climate change mitigation and adaptation, environmental challenges, and economic development and training, and are integrated in AKIS. The AKIS concept was introduced in the 1960s as an Agricultural Knowledge System (AKS) related to agriarian extension. With the development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) and through the incorporation of ICTs into the AKS, it has become AKIS. [PERSON] et al. [6; 8] pointed out that the purpose of AKIS is to strengthen communication and knowledge delivery services to people in the rural sector. The actors include national agricultural research organizations, agricultural universities or agriculture colleges, extension services, farmers, people engaged in farm activities, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and entrepreneurs in rural areas. [PERSON] et al. [9] defined the innovation system as a \"network of organizations, enterprises, and individuals that focuses on bringing new products, new processes, and new forms of organization into the economy\"; thus, it is not only a matter of creating knowledge, but also a matter of going beyond the creation of knowledge. The Agricultural Innovation System (AIS) is a response to the need for rural competitiveness so as to allow it to remain competitive in a changing economic and social environment. AIS identifies the importance of technology and highlights that innovation systems are social systems. [PERSON] et al. [9] also emphasizes placing the focus on producing new products, new processes, and new forms of organization and putting them into economic use. A major feature of this new form of AIS in relation to AKIS, which integrates classical knowledge and innovation systems such as universities and research institutes, is that the new AIS integrates a much wider range of actors, i.e., the whole network of public and private stakeholders on which innovation depends [10]. The new AIS is targeted at supporting the innovation process and aiding new agroecological innovations [6]. In addition to these systems, the fact that the National Agricultural Research Systems' (NARS) goal is technology generation and transfer must not be ignored. According to the World Bank's definition, \"NARS comprises all of the entities within a country that are responsible for organizing, coordinating, or executing research that contributes explicitly to the development of its agriculture and the maintenance of its natural resource base\" [11].