Abstract  In Brazil, studies based on the notion of instruments of public action are recent and inspired by French sociology. This study looks at the instrumentation of public action towards agroecology from the perspective of the transformation of agroecological ideas into instruments for agroecology research. The aim is to examine the calls for proposals for research into agroecology published by the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq) and to outline the profile of this public incentive for scientific research. The CNPq calls for proposals to promote research into agroecology were analyzed using documentary analysis and a literature review. Among the results, the characterization of the calls for proposals into typologies allowed for interpretations of their devices and mechanisms, highlighted the intentions of the funders, revealed conceptions of science and expectations regarding the nature of their results, and exposed an instrumentation of public action conceived under the logic of generating technology as a process and a product.

Keywords:
agroecology; public policy; PNAPO; CNPq's research calls; Brazil