# Innovations in Sustainable Agriculture: Case Study of Lis Valley Irrigation District, Portugal
## 4 Results and Discussion
### The Operational Groups in Portugal
The different typologies defined by the RDP are identical to the OECD [21]--namely, the innovation product, i.e., the introduction of new products in the market; the innovation process, consisting of the implantation of a new or significantly improved production process; marketing innovation, through a new approach to the marketing mix in the supply of agricultural or forestry products, and to create differentiated positioning among consumers in previously identified markets. The application of the Q criterion, as well as the concept of innovation in agriculture, the link to thematic domains, and the priorities defined by Portuguese RDP, are complex. The OECD [34] mentions that agricultural innovation covers all research on the promotion of agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and foodstuffs, including research on the impact of agricultural and forestry activities on the environment, as well as research on the development of rural areas, improvement on agricultural water supply, and research on energy. This definition does not mention product innovation or process innovation, as defined by OECD and Eurostat [4; 5; 6; 7; 8; 9; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14; 15; 16; 17; 18; 19; 20; 21] and by RDP to score project innovation in the Portuguese OG program (Q1 parameters). This is an issue of many agricultural research proposals in which the innovation product, process, marketing, and even organizational aspects have to measure and evaluate in order to foster sustainable development. This is particularly problematic because some advances in innovation cannot be assessed as they do not have a direct and prompt impact that can be evaluated in monetary or any other quantitative terms. In processes innovation, the impacts are generally felt in the medium- or long-term, making it difficult to evaluate their performance through the usual indicators of market and economic income. The consequent changes in organization or productive modes have environmental and socioeconomic implications that enhance the capacity for resilience and sustainability, making those innovations only measurable in a wider evaluative framework. Some agricultural research is often not targeted at producing neither new products nor new processes. In what concerns agricultural and forestry products, sometimes it is difficult to identify what a new product or new process is. One fine example is research on organic farming and on the production of organic products. Therefore, it is of utmost relevance to define what is considered as new products and new processes. The reintroduction of traditional varieties and their production can be considered as new products or new production processes, when the aim is to introduce as little changes as possible in the production system aiming at the maintenance of their autochthonous characteristics to satisfy a market niche. Can we speak of a new marketing system or innovation in marketing, when what is proposed is the development a shorter supply food chain or a shorter circuit promoting direct sales from the producer to consumer, i.e., on the production site, appealing to traditional markets and to market proximity? [PERSON] and [PERSON] [35] exploited knowledge and innovation in organic farming versus conventional agriculture, and set the distinction at standardized or codified knowledge and tactic or local knowledge: \"which emerges in a rather unplanned and unforeseeable fashion, as bounded actors evolve ways of doing things in local situations which are context-dependent\". The same authors emphasize the fact that \"the conventional production process has moved into crisis, [resulting in] the fragility of farmers... \"; however, one important piece of this fragility is their reliance and ability to explore new agricultural practices through applying old knowledge, which is sometimes an old memory reborn out of need and which ultimately becomes innovation. For [PERSON] and [PERSON] [36], innovation is crucial to mitigating the effects of climate change and improving the competitiveness and sustainability of agricultural ecosystems.