The RIO approach: Design and anchoring of sustainable animal husbandry systems

Abstract

a b s t r a c tThis paper discusses an approach to develop new 'integrally sustainable' animal production systems and stimulate their uptake in practice. It consists of a design approach called RIO, and a set of 'anchoring' activities to stimulate their uptake in niches and in the regime. In the period 2001-2015 we have applied the approach in various animal production sectors, and adapted and improved it while doing. The general aim of the paper is to assess the applicability of the RIO/anchoring approach to induce sustainability transitions. We conclude that RIO is especially suited for areas characterized by a 'heterogeneous' set of sustainability challenges (in our case, environmental burden, animal welfare, public acceptance, profitability). A RIO approach can then render 'integrally sustainable' alternatives that generate wide interest in the regime. Anchoring activities can successfully stimulate a variety of initial changes. This does not suffice, however, and a conducive institutional environment is key to facilitate the initial uptake of the novel systems. With relatively simple and cheap financial instruments, governments can help to create such a conducive environment.

Coexistence of Cooperative Models as Structural Answer to Lock-Ins in Diversification Pathways: The Case of the Walloon Dairy Sector

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Towards locally adapted livestock production in the Galápagos islands : Characterizing & defining potential redesign strategies for the local poultry and pig production systems of Santa Cruz - Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

“…It is at the level of multi-stakeholder interaction, social learning and redesign of animal husbandry systems that our reflective interactive design (RIO) approach has been effectively applied Elzen & Bos, 2016). Within the RIO approach scientific knowledge is integrated with other types of informal knowledge (e.g., this one of livestock producers or policy makers) and it is engaged in practice to, in this way, articulate multi-stakeholder networks, to form knowledge-practice interfaces (Puente-Rodríguez, Giebels, & De Jonge, 2015).…”