Learning in Agriculture: Rural Development Agents in France Caught between a Job Identity and a Professional Identity

Abstract

This paper is an interpretation by researchers of oral and written accounts of ten development agents who have participated in various seminars and discussions since 2001, organized by researchers of INRA and of the University of Toulouse. According to the transcripts of lectures, discussions and articles written by development agents, it seems that the ten development agents analysed dealt with three major themes, all of which concern the new skills required by rural development actors. The first of these concerns social learning in general and, in particular, the complex interactions between public policies, as they are applied through decrees, and new local initiatives. The second theme concerns learning processes at work in rural development professions and new skills required by development agents. Finally, the third theme deals with the sensitive relationship between learning by development agents and learning by local communities or by organizations with which, or for whom, these agents work.

Beyond fragmentation and disconnect: Networks for knowledge exchange in the English land management advisory system

“…In order to develop new knowledge for tackling complex problems, there appears less 'thick' trust in the networks of practice that form (which is typical for bridging social capital as opposed to bonding social capital - Njuki et al, 2008), and hence the validity and legitimacy of the knowledge of the different sorts of advisors involved is sometimes questioned and more work needs to be done to reach convergence. While issues such as the need to portray oneself as an independently working expert (as found by Höckert et al, 2010) and pressures to stay within an area of expertise or a prescribed role to conform to the epistemology of the profession an advisor belongs to (as found by Albaladejo et al, 2007;Taminiau et al, 2009) did not strongly manifest, there were nevertheless challenges within cross-professional networks as NoPs in terms of accepting each other's expertise and ways of working.…”

“…scientific knowledge, experiential knowledge) are legitimised (Heusinkveld and Benders, 2005;Cerf et al, 2011). Firms might also expect advisors to stay within their area of expertise or a prescribed role (Albaladejo et al, 2007;Höckert et al, 2010;Taminiau et al, 2009). Moreover, the established identities of advisors as independently working experts may hinder knowledge exchange as advisors feel that collaboration harms this image (Höckert et al, 2010).…”

“…They must creatively apply the tools of their trade and develop new production routines" (Wolf, 2008: 205). In the case of advisory professions, such new production routines might include obtaining knowledge to offer adequate advisory services for the different types of queries clients have and developing new advisory services which meet the emerging needs of clients due to changing circumstances (Albaladejo et al, 2007;Cerf et al, 2011). There is a parallel here with knowledge intensive business service firms (KIBS), which have been defined as private companies or organisations relying heavily on professional knowledge (i.e.…”

“…set of norms, values and practices that binds the community together (Albaladejo et al, 2007;Wolf, 2008). In relation to the focus of this article, professions can be viewed as 'knowledge management organisations', constituted by "workers operating in uncertain and contingent settings who must solve new problems in the course of production.…”

“…In some places, such brokers are already operational (Klerkx and Leeuwis, 2008;Klerkx and Jansen, 2010). However, as regards the challenge for the advisors to obtain the knowledge to offer adequate advisory services, there has been far less attention to how the different advisory professions within the land management advisory system might do this themselves (notable exceptions include Albaladejo et al, 2007;Höckert et al, 2010;Cerf et al, 2011, who studied identity development, learning and collaboration of advisors). Indeed, it has been indicated that more research is needed (Ingram and Morris, 2007).…”