Transfer, convergence, and translation of public policies: The experience of the special meeting on family agriculture of Mercosur

Abstract

The article analyzes the work of the Specialized Meeting on Family Agriculture (REAF) as a public forum and collective actor that coordinates a process of construction, transfer, and translation of rural development policies in Mercosur. The goal is to analyze how ideas, policies and instruments of public action for family agriculture are transferred within the framework of REAF, emphasizing the actors involved and their relations in the decision-making process, as well as the way in which policies converge or are translated to national spaces. The data comes from the observation of regionais meetings, documentary research, and interviews with public managers and social leaders of the member countries. The results demonstrate how the REAF forged a space for the voluntary transfer of public policies that, even leading to the convergence of ideas and instruments of public policies for family agriculture with Brazil as the main “exporting” country, allowed flexibility for translation and adaptation policies in local spaces.