Urban centrality in a territorial system of agricultural innovation

Abstract

Agricultural production is distributed across a large portion of Brazilian territory, and the frontier continues to increase. Nevertheless, the same does not occur with the mechanisms involved in the production of scientific knowledge. The aim of this paper is to discuss how the discontinuities between agricultural production and the networks of scientific knowledge lead to a particular type of urban centrality. Therefore, the work is supported by the conceptual basis of a territorial system of agricultural innovation (STIA) in order to situate the urban phenomenon within the innovation process of agriculture in an ensemble of political, economic and social relations. Using data from components of the STIA, the aim is to create an index that indicates the most representative cities in creating and adapting agricultural knowledge. Based on the results obtained, a research agenda is proposed surrounding the urban and regional processes associated with innovation in Brazilian agriculture.