Emilie Coudel

Diverse approaches to learning in rural and development studies: review of the literature from the perspective of action learning

In loosely structured environments such as rural areas, the objectives and methods to encourage knowledge creation and learning are still much debated, leading to a wide diversity of learning systems. Using action-learning theory as a standpoint from which to understand this diversity, a review of the literature was conducted and five specific approaches were identified: (1) extension, (2) community learning, (3) organizational capacity building, (4) empowerment, and (5) social learning. Extension systems and organizational capacity building represent an operational perspective mainly focused on acquiring knowledge and changing practices, through single-loop learning processes. Community learning and empowerment were developed as alternative systems, focusing on changes in values, which can be achieved through double-loop learning. Social learning provides insight into the capacity to influence a wider environment through triple-loop learning, although methods are still rarely formalized. The action-learning perspective enables an understanding of the complementarities between approaches, and thus provides insight into how to devise better learning systems.

Which competencies and learning facilitate the involvement of local actors in territorial governance? The example of a Farmer University in Brazil

Implementing decentralisation of public policies requires adequate governance devices, but local actors also need new competencies to get involved in the new devices. What are the competencies required, and how can they be built? This paper analyses a Farmer University in Brazil to see how the actors trained have been able to mobilise their newly acquired knowledge for territorial development. We formalised the learning process as the construction of human, social and institutional capital, which, when combined, enable local actors to play an active role in governance. Our evaluation analyses how the students have become involved individually in different organisations, and how the collective involvement of these actors in territorial governance has been possible through the creation of a student association. Although the learning process helped in building the actors capital, several limits were identified, especially the difficulty in developing legitimate relations with other institutions in the territory.

Reconsidering innovation to address sustainable development

The world is being confronted by a multi-faceted systemic crisis. In addition to structural and ongoing changes such as climate change, increased pressure on renewable resources and population growth (still strong in Africa), the world must now contend with a severe economic crisis of unpredictable consequences, deepening poverty, shrinking export markets, tighter credit and cutbacks in development funding. In such a context, agriculture faces an uncertain future, particularly in some of the world’s regions, with the emergence of differentiated development models that have led to an increasingly fragile family agriculture and the simultaneous rise of a capitalist agriculture. Nevertheless, this systemic crisis may also provide new opportunities over the long term. It is leading to a break from the past and calling into question paradigms until now taken for granted. It has brought to the fore the vulnerability of agricultural and agrifood systems and highlighted the need for innovation to take advantage of new development models. At a time of great uncertainty, with shifting values and standards, our societies should show themselves to be creative by reinventing modes of production, processing and distribution of agricultural products with a long-term perspective that takes into account the territories and their peoples, putting the concept of sustainability at centre stage.

Les observatoires territoriaux. Des outils de la société de la connaissance

Le developpement territorial a pour ambition de renouveler l’action publique et de repondre aux grands enjeux societaux. Mobilisant les nouvelles technologies de l’information et de la communication, les observatoires territoriaux sont aussi des dispositifs de cooperation favorisant des processus d’apprentissage collectif. Leur mise en œuvre est difficile car il s’agit de construire simultanement une organisation, un projet et un systeme d’information dans un processus de validation mutuelle. CoObs, methode de conception collaborative d’observatoires territoriaux, est basee sur l’elaboration de trois modelesxa0: le modele des dynamiques territoriales, le modele de l’action et le modele de l’observation. L’article introduit et presente cette methode. A partir de l’analyse de deux experiences, aux Antilles et dans le Bassin de Thau, les auteurs demontrent que les observatoires territoriaux contribuent a la societe de la connaissance en permettant aux savoirs citoyens d’eclairer les choix societaux et en reintroduisant le debat politique dans des processus de democratie deliberative. Au-dela de la prise en compte des objectifs des acteurs, la mise en œuvre d’un observatoire territorial demande du temps (le processus se deroule sur plusieurs annees), une animation technique de qualite, et un portage politique ou institutionnel garantissant des moyens. Un autre facteur de succes est l’efficience du dispositif technique, evalue par la qualite des reponses aux besoins et demandes des acteurs.