Facilitating agricultural activity in territories: At the crossroad between agricultural and territorial development

Abstract

This paper provides a framework for analysing the undergoing changes in agricultural and rural development. As a result of these changes, agricultural extension is faced with the challenge of standing at the crossroads between sectorial development and territorial development, which is the issue analysed herein. This paper contributes to a new conceptualization of agricultural activity, reaching beyond its technical, economic, and productive aspects so as to include cultural and political factors, as well as the spatial and time dimensions related to local and daily life activities. This leads to the establishment of a new approach to agricultural changes and their facilitation and of public policy guidelines, which places collective actions, together with their situated dimensions, purposes, and knowledge, at the heart of the analysis. The subsequent conceptual framework has been tested in a number of French studies, initial results of which can be synthesized as showing three major trends : territorial factors are progressively being integrated into agricultural advice, including traditional farming sectors; the public and the objects of agricultural extension are diversifying; extension agents need to cooperate with the development agents of non-agricultural sectors. All in all, the skills of the extension agents, and their ability to facilitate collective actions, are the most sensitive issues brought about by these new challenges.