The notion of simply transfering agricultural innovation from suppliers to receivers as a strategy to improve agri-food systems globally has been strongly criticized and has raised debates in the field of agricultural technology development and innovation. Previous studies have shown that there is translational work to be done within agricultural innovation systems when technologies travel from one context to another, and they have also increasingly focused on how public research and technology institutions (PRTIs) participate in such efforts. However, previous literature has not sharpened such translation roles played by PRTIs into local innovation systems to interpret and adapt foreign agricultural technologies. This study aims to analyze translation roles played by Embrapa (a pivotal PRTI in Brazil) into the innovation system linked to Brazilian pig production. It analyses how Embrapa took part in the decontextualization and recontextualization of the pyramid model and hybrid pigs in the Brazilian setting. This study applies a qualitative research approach based on a case study method. Its primary data sources are 21 in-depth interviews with key actors involved with Brazilian pig production. Furthermore, interviewee's content was triangulated with secondary data and interpreted using our conceptual understanding as an analytical lens. Our findings add to theory on agricultural technology development and innovation systems in threefold way: 1) we show that PRTIs get involved in what we dub 'translation ecosystems’ when helping to interpret and adapt imported innovations; 2) we uncover that PRTIs may present a ‘translation flexibility’ and perform more than a single translation role simultaneously within translation ecosystems; and 3) we propose more fine-grained translation roles (orchestrator and supporter) by observing how Embrapa contributed to translation ecosystems functioning. This study enhances previous knowledge on how PRTIs can better deal with global flows of knowledge and traveling of innovation. It also evidences that PRTIs should be highly regarded in terms of how to approach imported innovations in terms of scaling readiness as they can perform pivotal functions to assist actors who may become marginalized by innovations from abroad, by providing options that suit local contexts.

中文翻译：

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农业创新的拆包与重新包装：Embrapa在巴西引进金字塔模型和杂交猪中的翻译角色和立场

将农业创新从供应商简单地转移到接收者作为改善全球农业食品系统的战略的概念受到了强烈批评，并在农业技术开发和创新领域引发了争论。先前的研究表明，当技术从一种环境传播到另一种环境时，农业创新系统内需要完成转化工作，并且他们也越来越关注公共研究和技术机构（PRTI）如何参与此类努力。然而，之前的文献并没有将 PRTI 发挥的翻译作用强化到当地创新系统中，以解释和适应外国农业技术。本研究旨在分析 Embrapa（巴西的关键 PRTI）在与巴西生猪生产相关的创新体系中发挥的转化作用。它分析了 Embrapa 如何参与巴西环境中金字塔模型和杂交猪的去情境化和再情境化。本研究采用基于案例研究方法的定性研究方法。其主要数据来源是对巴西生猪生产主要参与者的 21 次深度访谈。此外，受访者的内容与二手数据进行了三角测量，并使用我们的概念理解作为分析镜头进行解释。我们的研究结果从三个方面补充了农业技术开发和创新系统的理论：1）我们表明，PRTI 在帮助解释和适应进口创新时参与了我们所说的“翻译生态系统”； 2) 我们发现 PRTI 可能具有“翻译灵活性”，并且在翻译生态系统中同时执行多个翻译角色； 3) 通过观察 Embrapa 如何为翻译生态系统的运作做出贡献，我们提出了更细粒度的翻译角色（协调者和支持者）。这项研究增强了之前关于 PRTI 如何更好地应对全球知识流动和创新旅行的知识。它还证明，PRTI 在如何处理进口创新方面应受到高度重视，因为它们可以发挥关键职能，通过提供适合当地情况的选择来帮助可能因国外创新而边缘化的参与者。