Desarrollo territorial rural y ciudades intermedias

Abstract

En la última década, desde diversos ámbitos vinculados a las problemáticas del desarrollo rural, se asiste a una convergencia de propuestas orientadas a abordar dicha problemática con un enfoque territorial. En la primera parte de este trabajo se intenta examinar las razones que dieron lugar a dicha convergencia en el modo de proceder; en la segunda parte se delinean los elementos básicos del enfoque territorial así como los fundamentos o antecedentes teóricos que contribuyeron a su formulación para, finalmente en la tercera parte, presentar algunos antecedentes sobre las dinámicas territoriales y sobre el papel de las ciudades intermedias en dichas dinámicas.

Territorial Approach and Rural Development Challenges: Governance, State and Territorial Markets

“…One of the milestones was the creation of the territorial division of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 1994, and the release of the World Bank report "The New Vision of Rural Development" in 1996 [11]. In 2002, the World Bank prioritized rural development strategies that overcame the sectoral approach, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) elaborated on the concept of a territorial approach to rural development [12]). Then, in a period when Latin American economies were increasingly adopting a neoliberal agenda while experiencing a democratic transition, new issues entered the rural development agenda including changes in the role of the State, demands for decentralization, the expansion of transnational value chains, increasing criticism of the Green Revolution, the prominence of the environmental concerns, and the persistence of rural poverty [10][11][12][13].…”

“…In 2002, the World Bank prioritized rural development strategies that overcame the sectoral approach, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) elaborated on the concept of a territorial approach to rural development [12]). Then, in a period when Latin American economies were increasingly adopting a neoliberal agenda while experiencing a democratic transition, new issues entered the rural development agenda including changes in the role of the State, demands for decentralization, the expansion of transnational value chains, increasing criticism of the Green Revolution, the prominence of the environmental concerns, and the persistence of rural poverty [10][11][12][13]. These reflections, among others, culminated in the search for new approaches to rural development, broadening its scope and differentiating it from the traditional sectoral conception of agricultural and agrarian development [12,[14][15][16].…”

“…In developed countries, the new approaches sought to overcome the productivist agricultural model (based on the logic of the Green Revolution) and trade conflicts between Europe and the United States, resulting in the recognition of new roles for agriculture and the rural realm in contemporary society (multifunctionality) [11]. Latin America required new approaches that could contemplate issues such as the persistence of poverty and its multidimensionality; the strengthening of family farming and small non-agricultural enterprises; the recognition of the multifunctional character of agriculture and of rural families' pluriactivity; the growing importance of relations between rural and urban contexts; and the incorporation of the specifics of each location [12,16,17]. Territorial approaches then turned towards: (i) eradicating rural poverty [18]; (ii) promoting the protagonism of the territory's social actors [7,13,18]; (iii) positioning the territory as a reference unit [19]; (iv) seeking environmental sustainability [17]; (v) promoting agricultural and non-agricultural jobs [16,17]; (vi) emphasizing intersectoral (agricultural, industrial, and service) and multidimensional (productive, institutional, and socio-environmental) relations [16,17]; (vii) valuing rural-urban bonds [16,17]; and (viii) recognizing the importance of institutional arrangements rooted in territories [12,[19][20][21].…”

“…In a 2004 paper, Schjetman and Berdegué deemed territorial development as the productive and institutional transformation of a rural space aimed at ending rural poverty [12]. Leite et al recognize this potential, but also highlight its capacity to energize the territorial economy through strategies to strengthen family farming and territorial markets [17].…”

Presentación

“…En este sentido, el análisis del medio rural es relevante en el contexto actual, en que, a pesar de la creciente urbanización, numerosas familias viven en él, la producción de estos espacios, la creciente demanda de alimentos, la protección de la biodiversidad, el uso sostenible de los recursos, la necesidad de conservación del paisaje, el rol que ocupan estos espacios en las iniciativas de mitigación y adaptación ante el calentamiento global. Schejtman y Berdegué (2003), Sepúlveda et al (2003), indican, que la reconstrucción del concepto de lo rural en la región latinoamericana debe identificar en estas áreas, el paso de una economía agrícola a una economía territorial y la caracterización de los espacios rurales como ámbitos geográficos con una historia propia, cuya base común de recursos naturales, propicia otra serie de relaciones; socioculturales, técnico-económicas y político-institucionales. Destaca en esta nueva construcción del espacio rural como territorio; sobresale la importancia de las actividades económicas no agrícolas, las cuales contribuyen a la generación de empleos e ingresos.…”