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A collaborative and multidisciplinary approach to knowledge-based rural development: 25 years of the PSDR program in France
Abstract
The uneven rural development and the investigation of the place of rural areas in the modern knowledge-based economy raise an important question. How can we foster knowledge emergence and dissemination in peripheral areas that are often considered less innovative due to their remoteness and weak technological creativity? This paper aims to present the contributions of the French PSDR program to rural knowledge creation and dissemi- nation in France based on a comprehensive and synthetic analysis of its participatory research projects. We identify five key components of the knowledge-related PSDR approaches which have significantly contributed to rural innovation in France linked to (1) the governance of agricultural lands, (2) the territorial attractiveness and well-being, (3) the agroecological transition in the territories, (4) the territorialized food systems, as well as (5) the bioeconomy and circular economy. We emphasize the need to combine technological, organizational, and territorial innovation and involve local partners in the design and elaboration of research programs. Rural areas can thus produce new knowledge beneficial to local communities and transferable to other sectors or territories. Finally, we suggest a comprehensive territorial vision for knowledge-based rural development and discuss the importance of a national multidisciplinary and participatory research program.
... Specifically, case study protocols were designed and discussed by all the researchers involved, supporting the coordination of both field and desk activities (Yin, 2012;Baškarada, 2014). Hence, both public and private stakeholders, operating at different institutional levels (local, national, international), were actively involved for the co-production of shared and plural knowledge (Torre et al., 2023), combining scientific findings with local and practical know-how. ...
... Significantly, the innovative nature and relevance of the profile are grounded in the capacity building approach and PAR methodology embraced by the SUS-TER project. Indeed, the possibility to activate, in Garfagnana as well as in the other seven analyzed territories, contextualized and collective processes of investigation and mutual understanding -involving academy, research institutions, and territorial actorssupported: i. the recognition of the knowledge and know-how systems already present locally, and of the role of the local actors that sustain them (Torre et al., 2023); ii. the testing of the validity of these systems to support major changes in territorial contexts and the surrounding environment (Lehébel-Péron et al., 2016); iii. their enhancement, by creating connections with new knowledge and practices, both scientific and practical, with reference to new technologies and market trends. ...
... Rural areas are vital to sustainable development, yet challenges like climate change increase vulnerability and costs, complicating inclusive rural transformation [1,2]. Hence, rural socio-economic development has been a topic of extensive research due to the ambiguity surrounding the contribution of rural areas to national socio-economic development in various countries, including Senegal [3], which needs interdisciplinary research. Several countries, including Senegal, have introduced measures to address rural socio-economic disparities by implementing decentralization policies. ...
Since proclaiming independence in 1960, Senegal has faced economic and demographic imbalances across its regions. To address these disparities, the government launched decentralization policies in three major phases, aiming to stimulate socio-economic growth at the local level. This study examines the impact of these policies on urban–rural development using socio-economic data between 2000 and 2020, and a multiple linear regression model in the entirety of Senegal. The findings reveal significant correlations between rural population growth, access to electricity, fertilizer availability, and per capita cultivated land, all positively associated with agricultural productivity. Additionally, rapid urbanization (47.3%) and weak land tenure (88.6%) adversely affect ecological systems and contribute to the proliferation of slums. A notable lack of health facilities per capita highlights a severe gap in healthcare accessibility. The study suggests increasing agricultural income, creating jobs, and promoting policies that support rural collective entrepreneurship as critical steps. It also recommends adopting a “one ecological zone, one economic activity” strategy to reduce economic disparities and encourage sustainable development in rural Senegal.
... Evidence suggests that countries' self-interests and investments in the Centers could an enable the development of local capacity in research, innovation, and management (Cho et al., 2023), allowing them to address specific national priorities (e.g., establishment of the Nitrate Directive) and implement more effective solutions (e.g., reshaping of nitrate-vulnerable zones) (Ondrasek et al., 2021). Additionally, investing in regional centers has been shown to facilitate transregional/national collaboration, knowledge sharing (Cho et al., 2023;Torre et al., 2023), pooling of resources, and protection of water resources from pollution/overuse (Ondrasek et al., 2021;Cho et al., 2023). Studies also indicate that countries investing in the Centers demonstrate their commitment to SDGs related to water security, climate resilience and environmental sustainability (e.g., Carvalho and Spataru, 2023;Cho et al., 2023) (Table 1). ...
Global food security (GFS) is challenged by increasing food demand due to population growth and climate change. International trade and globalization have underpinned GFS until the most recent public health, geopolitical and economic crises, when virtually overnight, the focus of governments has shifted towards domestically and locally produced foods. However, the agri-food sector has limited flexibility, and relatively long periods are needed for fundamental/sustainable changes. One of the crucial factors enabling GFS is the efficient water management, but the required knowledge and capabilities are often lacking regionally/locally. We propose the Centers for Optimizing Water Management in Agroecosystems as a long-term solution. The Centers would be the specialized hubs for promotion of research, innovation and technology transfer, raising the knowledge of stakeholders (farmers, extension and government officials, scholars, students, policymakers and other professionals) and their capacities in water management. These Centers would operate as research/education/technology demonstration entities tailored to the specifics of a particular country/region, aiming to address the most important and pertinent goals and outcomes with a high-spatial-resolution outreach. Finally, the Centers will improve farmers’ livelihoods, contribute to sustainable and efficient use of agro-environmental resources, and increase productivity and food quality, ultimately supporting GFS.
... At the basis of this is the objective process of deagrarizing the rural economy, manifested by the decreasing demand for labor in agriculture itself [20]. In order not to lead to rural depopulation, it is necessary to create non-agricultural workplaces and to provide new knowledge and skills, especially in peripheral areas [21]. ...
The purpose of this paper was to examine the differences in using agricultural entrepreneurship support and how it relates to characteristics such as the agrarian structure, socioeconomic development level, and land use across the Polish territory. The analyses were carried out at the district (poviat) level which is an intermediate administrative unit. This study found that the decisions on co-financing the measures dedicated to non-agricultural economic activity heavily depended on the agrarian structure. The highest levels of activity were witnessed in districts where the agrarian structure was particularly fragmented.
... Rural areas are complex natural, socio-economic objects that serve as the core of the natural environment for human habitation. Their role, especially for industrialized countries, is crucial in terms of preserving biodiversity, natural and recreational areas, local culture and traditions (Torre et al., 2023). ...
One of the key elements of well-being of rural residents is the development of rural social infrastructure. Measures for the development of rural areas often do not take into account the opinion of rural residents themselves, which leads to their dissatisfaction. The level of cohesion and collectivism of the rural community plays an important role in identifying problems and finding solutions, including the use of common resources of the territory. This article makes an attempt to apply Elinor Ostrom’s theoretical considerations to the investigation of rural communities in Russia. The experimental part of the study was carried out in small settlements of Stavropol Krai and Krasnodar Krai in South Russia. The hypothesis about the possibility of forming self-governing rural communities, independent in determining the rules for the use of common resources and participating in the implementation of development policies for their territory, was tested. The surveyed residents very rationally selected directions for the social and everyday development of their settlements that allow them to obtain maximum benefit from their implementation. Continuing such research will make it possible to clarify true preferences of rural residents regarding social standards and make timely adjustments to the state policy of rural development.
... The Green Deal models aim to find alternative agricultural systems and social structures to balance agricultural development, environment, climate, and intelligent rural areas. The program aims to contribute effectively to regional and territorial development by providing information, methods, and tools for decision-making and actions of local actors, especially within the framework of regional policy priorities [42]. ...
... For example, in the United Kingdom, rural areas are divided into seven categories: urban areas, peripheral comfort areas, pure rural areas, retired areas, temporary rural areas, constantly changing rural areas, and relatively stable commuting areas. In the United States, urban and rural spaces are divided into five categories: communities, developed areas, transition areas, rural areas, and protected areas (Torre et al., 2023). In their research on strategies for improving village development and construction, foreign scholars have addressed the issue of urban population expansion. ...
Rural revitalization is a strategy proposed by China to address the imbalance and insufficiency of urban and rural development. The purpose of village system reconstruction is to optimize the rural spatial structure and realize the efficient allocation of resource elements, which is of great significance to the overall revitalization of rural areas. This research adopts the analytic hierarchy process (AHP), the multi-index comprehensive evaluation method, and the GIS spatial analysis, taking Zhiyang Town as a case, reconstructing the index selection of the village-level system, putting forward a set of complete classification systems through the selecting village scale, resource conditions, social economic development level, industry, and other related data index, and building a village-level evaluation system. The 25 villages in Zhiyang Town were divided into four classes. Different development paths are proposed for different levels of villages. The evaluation of the village development level and reconstruction path of the village hierarchy system has certain practical guiding values for rural construction, which are of great significance for realizing rural revitalization.
... Faced with this global challenge, research has been developed that explores and explains the management and evaluation of agroecosystems with the use of quantitative and qualitative approach methodologies and participatory and cooperative processes, which attempt to measure the agroecological resilience of social-ecological systems through sustainable agricultural practices. The aim is to improve the efficiency of agroecosystems and the well-being of communities (Torre et al., 2023;Puech & Stark, 2023;Davis, Huggins & Reganold, 2023;Rice, Einbinder & Calderón, 2023;Benabderrazik et al., 2022;Little & Sylvester, 2022;Mudombi-Rusinamhodzi & Rusinamhodzi, 2022;Bartl, 2020). ...
This research examines the socioecological practices of rural communities as an epistemological foundation to configure community resilience strategies and face socio-environmental conflicts due to limited access to water, loss of biodiversity and ancestral knowledge. To meet this objective, a qualitative approach was used with a non-experimental transectional research design of exploratory type with a case study method in the Association of Producers for Community Development of the Cienaga del Bajo Sinú-Asprocig, Colombia. As a main result, it is argued that the rural communities of the lower Sinú organized in associations carry out self-management models that promote the articulation of social and ecological systems, socio-environmental sustainability and make an adequate management of use and access to ecosystem services.
... Considering the empowerment of the resident population and according to the principles of sustainability, cohesion, and competitiveness regarding proximity territories, some projects have recently emerged focused on cultural mapping concerned with communities, such as the European case of Mappa Malta and the international case of Jamaica's Interactive Community Mapping. Community mapping with interactive proposals allows the creation of new products, gives skills to the community, and inspires other initiatives in the region (Mohanty, Mishra & Mohanty, 2019;Pinto, Inácio, Bogdzevič, Kalinauskas, Gomes & Pereira, 2023;Torre, Wallet & Huang, 2023). ...
The tourism sector has faced many challenges in recent years, and technology, more specifically through digital approaches, is becoming a valuable ally. This paper aims to understand how the use of digital tools in rural territories may empower local communities in activities such as cultural mapping with the aid of open-access platforms and in close connection with current trends in e-tourism. The research conducted and presented debates the challenge of drawing a collaborative and participative framework to engage and promote the tourism supply and demand ecosystem in these rural territories. Fontoura, situated in the Minho region of the Northwest of Portugal, is studied to understand how its historical, traditional, and cultural patrimony may promote the territory as a tourist destination. The research presented, which is still underway, resorts to a participative and collaborative design approach involving the rural community and is further supported by an extensive literature review. This comparative study includes the analysis of a small sample of similar projects conducted with rural communities, quantitative and qualitative data collection, and the development of participative and collaborative activities with the local community. Results achieved so far indicate that enabling the community members to participate in the process – through surveys (for tourists, visitors, and residents), interviews and focus groups (with the senior segment) – contributed to the building of a sense of community, unity, and a sense of belonging. These feelings drive the community members to provide the project with content for Fontoura’s cultural mapping and the other project’s expected results, such as the proposal of a framework for promoting collaborative design with a concern with InfoVis approaches when dealing with georeferenced tangible and intangible heritage and other tourism-related resources. Results also suggest that the proposed framework may contribute to similar actions in other rural territories seeking to discover and fuel their potential as tourism destinations. The work presented is in tune with current debates regarding the design of guidelines and recommendations suitable for rural communities in their quest for sustainability, digital transformation, and cultural and natural mapping.
... The construction of environmental facilities is an essential aspect of rural ecological management. The critical role of forestry in increasing biodiversity and combating climate change is raised in the EU Rural Development Regulation [41]. The rate of greenery, waste transfer stations, and the number of toilets are the basis of rural environmental construction. ...
In promoting high-quality economic development, environmental protection has become an essential responsibility for the sustainable development of listed companies. This research constructs and measures the level of rural ecological environment in China based on panel data on the rural ecological environment in Chinese inland provinces. Further, the impact of the size of green M&A listed companies on the rural ecological environment and its moderating effect is analyzed. This study uses the entropy method to measure the Rural Ecosystem Index (REI) and STATA software to conduct OLS, 2SLS, IV-GMM regressions, and regressions on moderating variables. This research aims to analyze the impact of listed companies on the environment and explore the role of the digitalization level’s moderating effect. The results show that the size of green M&A listed companies has a negative effect on the development of the rural ecological environment, and the digitalization level positively moderates the relationship between them. The following conclusions are drawn: (1) The average value of the rural ecological index for the 22 provinces in China ranged from 17.32 to 65.17. The index value is higher in the southeastern coastal region, with the highest values in Jiangsu, Guangdong, Zhejiang, and Fujian provinces. (2) From 2010–2020, green M&A listed companies were divided into 14 sectors. The industries with the most extensive green M&A are the raw chemical, non-metallic, rubber, and plastic industries. (3) During 2010–2016, the quantity of green M&A listed companies in China showed an upward trend with prominent regional non-equilibrium characteristics, then gradually declined in 2017–2020. It shows that the number is higher in the eastern coastal areas and lower in the inland regions. (4) The size of green M&A listed companies has a negative impact on the rural ecological environment. This negative impact has prominent heterogeneous characteristics, and the higher the index of the rural ecological environment is, the more significant its negative impact is. (5) The digitalization level positively moderates the size of green M&A listed companies and the rural ecological environment. The positive influence of the size of green M&A listed companies on the development level of the rural ecological environment is more significant in the regions with a higher degree of rural digitalization. In other words, the increase in the level of rural digitalization can improve the negative effect of the size of green M&A listed companies on the ecological environment. Based on the above findings, this paper puts forward corresponding countermeasure suggestions.
Rural areas play an important role in ensuring the strategic development of Russia. On the one hand, they act as a spatial basis for the development of agriculture; on the other hand, they contribute to the preservation of the local mentality, natural areas, and living conditions for people. The relevance of this research is due to the presence of a number of socio-economic problems characteristic of rural areas and affecting the quality of life of the rural population. The effectiveness of state rural development programs largely depends on the completeness, reliability, and quality of the information that is the basis for their development. The purpose of the study is to develop and test an approach to the assessment of rural development potential using the example of Stavropol Krai. The approach is based on the understanding of rural areas as a complex natural and socio-economic system, which formed the basis for structuring data for the calculation of the integral indicator of potential. The assessment conducted allows us to compare the municipalities of the region and rural areas with each other. At the same time, the comparison can be carried out both in the context of development opportunities and constraints and by subsystems of rural areas: economic, social, and natural ones. Through an integrated assessment of the development potential of rural areas in Stavropol Krai, a ranking of districts identified leaders and laggards in terms of rural development. The data is valuable for creating specialized rural development programs, such as targeted support for underdeveloped municipalities and incentives for highly developed rural areas. Such studies can serve as a starting point for further research in the field of assessing the development potential of the rural areas.
The dynamics of contemporary rural depopulation have been explained and addressed mainly as a result of structural transformations brought about by economic globalization. The influence of cultural/relational aspects has been less present in the scientific literature, where much of the analysis has been concerned with questions such as the effect of bond and attachment to the local. In connection with this matter, our paper explores how the interactions between social capital and community resilience dynamics affect decisions to leave or stay. The paper finds that the link between social capital and local resilience strategies is mediated by interdependent pattern. To understand how these connections are shaped and operate, we propose the notion of eco‐esteem , understanding it as a pattern of linkages with the socio‐ecosystem, determined by relationships and practices, which conditions people's attitudes, behaviors, expectations and, ultimately, their decisions to stay in or leave the rural world. To demonstrate the usefulness of this theoretical‐methodological perspective, we present a qualitative ethnographic case study in two municipalities in Extremadura (Spain), which are similar in their socio‐demographic characteristics, but which experience significantly different depopulation dynamics.
Rural development is a multifaceted concept encompassing economic, social, cultural, and environmental dimensions. This paper explores the various factors involved in promoting rural development, with a focus on the outcome produced by the interplay between agriculture, infrastructure development, non-farm activities, social and cultural relations, education, environmental sustainability and government interventions. Drawing from scholarly literature and empirical evidence, it examines the role of each of these components in enhancing the well-being of rural communities. Agriculture remains a cornerstone of rural economies, but diversification into non-farm activities and the development of infrastructure are equally important. Infrastructure investments improve market access, reduce transaction costs, and stimulate economic activity, while non-farm activities contribute to job creation and income generation. Moreover, promoting entrepreneurship and innovation can drive economic growth and create opportunities for rural businesses. Social and cultural relations play a vital role in rural development, fostering community cohesion and resilience. Education emerges as a key enabler of rural development, empowering individuals with the skills and knowledge needed to participate in economic and social life effectively. Environmental sustainability is integral to rural development, as it ensures the long-term viability of rural ecosystems and livelihoods. Overall, rural development requires coordinated efforts across multiple fronts, involving various stakeholders and sectors. By addressing economic, social, cultural and environmental challenges in an integrated manner, policymakers can foster inclusive and sustainable rural development, thereby improving the well-being of rural communities and contributing to overall national development goals.
У статті досліджено проблематику формування стратегічних напрямів сільського розвитку в умовах становлення «Agriculture 4.0» та його трансформації в «Agriculture 5.0» Акцентовано увагу на недостатній спрямованості «Agriculture 4.0» («Industry 4.0») на розв'язання екологічних та соціальних проблем у контексті реалізації Цілей сталого розвитку. Відповідно до особливостей аграрного бізнесу в Україні доведено необхідність обґрунтування стратегії розвитку фермерських господарств як основи продовольчої безпеки та селозберігаючої моделі господарювання. Акцентовано увагу на тому, що малі агропідприємства здебільшого не мають довгострокової стратегії, що не сприяє довгостроковим інвестиціям, і відповідно, формування інноваційно-інвестиційного потенціалу є проблемним для них. Доведено, що перспективними стратегічними напрямами розвитку фермерських господарств є співпраця з дорадчими службами, формування та реалізація цифрової стратегії та використання переваг кооперації.
China has achieved a comprehensive victory in poverty alleviation in 2021, with all districts (counties) across the country successfully lifted out of poverty, thereby providing a valuable model for rural poverty reduction worldwide. Understanding China's experience in rural development holds significant implications for promoting poverty reduction efforts in other countries globally. This paper constructs a theoretical framework to analyze rural resilience based on the distinctive concept of production-living-ecology that characterizes rural construction in China. Furthermore, it examines 26 mountainous counties within Chinese provinces exhibiting minimal disparities between urban and rural wealth as case studies. The vertical and horizontal Scatter Degree method is employed to assess the level of rural resilience within these counties, while spatial autocorrelation and obstacle degree models are utilized to identify spatial heterogeneity and key influencing factors affecting their resilience. The findings are as follows: firstly, the overall resilience level of the villages in the case area is higher. Secondly, there exists a spatial differentiation pattern of "higher in the northern region and lower in the southern region" regarding rural resilience among 26 counties in the case area, with a significant spatial agglomeration effect. Thirdly, the main obstacles influencing rural resilience level in the case area include proportion of non-agricultural employment, scale of agricultural land, mobile phone penetration rate, and residents' living standards.
Achieving sustainable rural development is challenging. However, revitalizing the rural economy is one of the most suitable strategies to overcome sustainable development problems. The rural revitalization strategy aims to create an idealized sustainable development model for rural areas which can avoid the current crisis and utilize institutional advantages to overcome the survival challenges of mostly small-scale peasant economies. The logic of the rural revitalization strategy lies in its essential value implication and practical orientation for consolidating the foundation in rural areas, including its characteristics and its ability to realize long-term sustainable development. There is growing interest in research on rural revitalization and sustainable development, but the current status, trends, and progress are unknown. This study examines the most recent advancements in research patterns for rural revitalization and the promotion of sustainable development from 1995 to 2023. It accomplishes this by thoroughly evaluating and analyzing published scholarly material. We performed a bibliometric analysis of the literature obtained from the Scopus database using VOS Viewer software version 1.6.15. We examined a total of 403 articles and evaluated them, focusing on the precise terms "Rural Revitalization" and "Sustainable Development". We found that post-2018, there has been a notable surge in the popularity and acceptance of research related to these topics. China ranks first in terms of publishing the greatest number of research articles. The journal Sustainability has published the most articles on sustainable development and rural revitalization, followed by Land and the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. The Journal of Rural Studies published the most cited document. Exciting research areas include the conservation of natural resources, ecosystem cities, and rural revitalization strategies. The research findings thoroughly evaluate academic output and propose thematic areas for further investigation.
Despite the growing global interest in promoting rural development as a strategy to guarantee food security, in developing countries there are large gaps to achieve a sustainable countryside, mainly in rural areas. This research work delves into a methodological approach definition to establish the baseline for the public policy implementation and prioritize the intervention needs in the different items considered in an integral rural development public policy. The proposed methodology combines a qualitative characterization of needs and goals, a social cartography, a quantitative characterization of indicators and the use of multicriteria classification for prioritizing development policies. Eight localities with sixteen small rural settlements are taken as a research unit, to apply the proposed methodology and determine the implementation level of a public policy. The results show that a set of priority policies that both meet the authorities’ objectives and the population’s needs can be defined. Moreover, a vector of priority is proposed to define the weakest items, as a guide to local government administrations to focus efforts on interventions to achieve greater impacts on the rural community development under study. Finally, via a double field validity assessment, those strategic lines are hierarchized and analyzed regarding their potential relationships, as a social system.
Tackling rural development challenges is essential for achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The quadruple helix approach, encompassing academia, the government, industry, and the community, is crucial for promoting neo-endogenous rural development and sustainability through effective interventions. This paper utilizes a case study methodology and qualitative approaches, such as observation, discussions, and semi-structured interviews, to provide an overview of a quadruple helix rural revitalization program focused on sustainable rural development. The findings showed the following: (1) the quadruple helix collaborations initiated among the stakeholders are essential for promoting collaborative research, enhancing relevance, and stimulating neo-endogenous growth; (2) the program’s focus on agricultural science and technology, entrepreneurship, and tourism offers a holistic approach to sustainable rural development, representing a departure from a sectoral focus on agriculture and the move towards a comprehensive understanding of rural innovation, where agricultural production is incorporated as one activity among many; (3) the multidisciplinary approach of the program has facilitated the advancement of a total of 11 out of the 17 SDGs. The study suggests implications for practice, emphasizing the importance of context-specific and multidisciplinary approaches to address sustainability challenges that are not bounded by discipline.
We analyze the contribution of the PSDR (For and About Regional
Development, in French) program in the construction and diffusion of agricultural
and rural development models. PSDR is the largest French research program focused
on analysis of rural and peri-urban dynamics. It is designed as a process both for
producing scientific knowledge and for building methods and tools for decision and
action in territories within French administrative regions. We also analyze unique
characteristics of PSDR research instruments and their integration in regional
arrangements for research and action for regional development. We show what
kind of knowledge is produced, how it raises questions about agricultural practices
and rural development policies of administrative regions, and how these processes
influence structuring networks and cognitive communities at local and interregional
levels. In this way, we assess the innovative role of the PSDR program and draw
conclusions about its influence on diffusion of organization standards and the
transition process. The data used to perform our analysis consist of detailed knowledge
of the PSDR program from our experience of managing it and documents
produced by projects and action teams in each of the ten French administrative
regions involved in the program.
Our contribution aims at pointing out how the food issue challenges metropolitan areas while at the same time identifying potential for sustainable urban planning. To that end, we investigate to what extent taking into account agricultural and food-related issues enables to rethink urban planning which is usually qualified as sustainable. Our analysis will be based upon the two French urban regions of Grenoble and Caen where participatory research was conducted through collective and prospective walks. These urban explorations, which provide insights on metropolitan spaces and the interrelations that underlie them, underly the disconnections of contemporary urban planning with the inhabitants, their vital needs and, more generally, the soil, while highlight working paths for a more nourishing, meaningful and rooted urban planning. By considering urban planning through the scope of agri-food stakes, we contribute then to the renewal of urban concepts and thus highlight three workshops aiming at further developing sustainable urban planning issues and tools.
In this paper we link contemporary thinking on craft and craftsmanship to concepts in community development. Craft is contrasted with popular development dogmas such as innovation, planning and the knowledge economy. Our aim is to reimagine craft as a form of production linked to traditions of trade-craft and blue-collar work, yet open to blending with the creative economy and innovation agendas. While emphasising tradition, craft can be forward-looking, experimental, adaptive and a driving force in the creation of successful places. We illustrate the local development potential of craft in a series of short research vignettes involving vineyards, community forests and market gardens. Ultimately, this paper challenges an increasingly narrow and homogenous range of one-size-fits-all development discourses and governance practices. Our aim is to create space for a wider array of valuing and strategising about rural community development, supporting robust and secure relationships between local endeavours and participation within wider economic geographies.
This paper explores home gardening geography in metropolitan outskirts, seen as a major asset and challenge of the alternative suburban city model. Studies that estimate the domestic production of backyard gardens are scarce, but they all confirm the persistence of an ancient and “ordinary” phenomenon still firmly rooted in the food landscape of the globalised North cities. To fill a gap in European alternative urban and food systems studies, we focus on the case of two subsectors of the extended suburban belt of greater Paris agglomeration. We designed and performed a spatial analysis protocol that differentiates vegetable garden types to test spatial relationships between environmental and intrinsic factors and assess clustering patterns. We had to overcome several methodological barriers by building an original vegetable gardens database and applying distinct qualitative and quantitative methods. Our results show spatial home gardening patterns differentiation at three intertwined levels: At the micro-level of domestic space (according to the size and share of vegetable plots); at the house block level (according to their socio-economic and built environment profile); and at the level of the housing estates or urban agglomeration (according to the geography of social specialisation).
This paper explores the range of expansion/development/growth pathways (or scaling) that might occur with social innovations, with reference to social innovation in rural areas. It explores the lack of a clear conceptualization of both social innovation as a phenomenon and the possible growth and expansion pathways that might arise. Based on a survey of the diverse literature on the expansion/development/growth pathways of social innovations, and illustrated primarily by European examples, the paper develops a typology built around an attempted synthesis of the extant typologies found in published literature. Different theories of rural development are employed to help explain the divergent development pathways that might be anticipated in rural areas.
Social innovation is perceived as a collaborative response from civic society actors to societal challenges, and as such is increasingly being recognised as a drive to advance sustainable development. Social innovation promotes civic values, particularly in marginalised rural areas that are often struggling with biophysical and market limits, as well as shortages of public funding. In order to identify diverging development paths (DDPs) for social innovation, in this paper we use two large sets of empirical material from the SIMRA research project. Firstly, for meta‐analyses of social innovation in diverse situations and contexts we use 211 validated social innovation examples. Secondly, we rely on 11 in‐depth cases to reflect on the contexts and dimensions of social innovation. The elaboration of conceptualisation and deductive analyses result in the creation of a typology of social innovation DDPs, with four DDPs identified and explained. The paper provides an improved understanding of how social innovation emerges and develops, and how to capture processes and resulting changes in marginalised rural areas in order to turn such areas’ diversity into strengths. An important conclusion is that social innovation involves both local and external actors, yet cannot develop without specific internal local activity and local knowledge.
The transport of weaned calves from cow-calf producers to fatteners is a general concern for the young bull industry due to its documented negative impact on the welfare, health and performance of the animals. These transfers are often managed by intermediaries who transport weaned calves to sorting centres, where they are grouped into batches before being sent to fattening units. In this study, we present an algorithm to limiting these transfer distances by appropriately selecting the sorting centre through which they must go. We tested the effectiveness of this algorithm on historical data from a French beef producer organization managing 136,892 transfers using 13 sorting centres. The results show a decrease in the transfer distances compared to the historical record, especially for the calves travelling over long distances (− 76 km, i.e. 18% on average for the 33% longest transfers). Moreover, the distribution of calves between the sorting centres proposed by the algorithm reveals differences in their efficiency in minimizing transfer distances. In addition to its usefulness as a management tool for the daily transport of cattle, this algorithm provides prospects for improving the management of the sorting centres themselves.
Biogas is a process for producing renewable energy, which has recently gained interest in contributing to a territorial strategy for the deployment of the circular economy. The projects, which are collective in nature, bring together multiple actors or local stakeholders from a wide variety of backgrounds. The article proposes to analyze the territorial governance of this type of project by studying the relations of synergy and cooperation between stakeholders in the case study of the Syndicat Mixte du Point Fort (SMPF) of Cavigny (France). The results of the analysis of interaction and coordination networks show that local stakeholders develop dense relational networks that vary throughout the project. This high density is indicative of the importance of group cohesion in interactions, which is necessary to create a framework of trust and consultation that favors the success of territorial renewable energy projects. The measure of centrality of the interacting actors shows that the project leader (SMPF) plays the role of assembler and facilitator of the interaction networks facilitating the sharing of flows, knowledge, and collective learning.
Combining cattle and sheep on the same farm can be a promising way for farmers to face uncertainties and produce in an agroecological manner. Previous studies showed benefits of mixed-species grazing on animal health and pasture use. However, few studies have examined how farmers truly manage the two species on their farms and why. The purpose of this study was to explore this issue by surveying 37 farmers who combined meat sheep and beef or dairy cattle on their farms. We chose a systemic and comprehensive approach to the functioning of mixed-species livestock farming systems (MSLF) by considering all dimensions of the system influenced by mixing species (i.e., system configuration, grazing, marketing of products, work and adaptive capacity) and by considering the farmers' viewpoints. The benefits of mixing species that farmers mentioned concerned economic stability and optimal use of grassland resources. Although farmers usually mentioned workload as a disadvantage, the facts are not so clear, and mixing species also benefits work. Farmers cited the pleasure of varied work and the flexibility of work organization. We identified four types of combining cattle and sheep on pasture that express a gradient of the interaction between the two species (from no to high interaction) and are influenced by field configuration (grouped or scattered) and cattle production (dairy or beef). Regarding work organization, ways to combine the two species concern distribution of work required for each species among workers (versatility or specialization) and over the year. Three modes of temporal organization of the work required for each species, which corresponded to different strategies for organizing animal-production cycles, the availability of labor and the willingness to use resources, were identified. To adapt their farm to climatic, economic and workforce-related hazards, farmers used mechanisms related to the combination of the two species: modifying the ewe/cow ratio, breeding periods, worker versatility, grazing management and allocation of resources between species. Our study showed the interest of a systemic and comprehensive approach to MSLF that are promising for the agroecological transition but poorly documented. In particular, it highlighted the need to consider work as part of the system to be configured, managed and adjusted along with the other parts and not simply as a set of constraints.
The purpose of this book, produced in the framework of the TASTE project , is to provide clear answers to two major questions:
a) Is there a possible smart development policy for European rural areas?
b) Which type of smart development solution (agriculture, business/industry, peri-urbanization, tourism/leisure …) should be selected in view of regional specificities?
It also aims to provide recommendations regarding new policies and stakeholder-relevant knowledge on conditions for and factors behind rural development, which can be useful for improving rural and peri-urban development policy at local/regional, national and European levels, be it as part of smart development and smart specialization policies or not.
The book identifies issues of smart specialization and forms of development of rural and peri-urban areas, and their relationships with urban dynamics, given the diversity of local configurations. It also examines the contribution of public policy and governance patterns as a consistent and innovative means of intervention to support smart development of rural areas. The chapters aim to identify the main conditions for a Smart Rural Europe and to shed light on the possible role of rural areas in the regional dynamics of Europe, in view of the orientations defined by the Horizon 2020 strategy, the smart development policies launched by EU and of the profound changes that are taking place in rural areas.
Ponds are important for their ecological value and for the ecosystem services they provide to human societies, but they are strongly affected by human activities. Peri-urban development, currently one of the most pervasive processes of land use change in Europe, exposes ponds to both urban and agricultural contaminants, causing a potential combination of adverse effects. This study, focused on 12 ponds located in a peri-urban area, has two main objectives: (1) to link the physico-chemical characteristics of the waters and the nature of their contaminants, either organic or mineral, with the human activities around ponds, and (2) to estimate the environmental risk caused by these contaminants. The ponds were sampled during two consecutive years in both spring and in autumn. Although the ponds were distributed over a limited geographical area, their contamination profiles were different and more correlated with the agricultural than the urban land use. In terms of aptitude for biology, half of the ponds were classified in degraded states due to their physico-chemical parameters, but without correlation with the endocrine disrupting activities and the levels of organic pollutants as indicators. The main quantified organic pollutants, however, were pesticides with sufficiently high levels in certain cases to induce an environmental risk exceeding the classical thresholds of risk quotient.
Land issues are a major constraint for resource management, whether it relates to urban planning, environmental protection or agricultural development. There is presently a proliferation of initiatives by a diversity of actors, that produce notable changes in terms of land tenure. A few studies have described some of them in France, without analysing the change mechanisms. Moreover, land tenure is often difficult to understand given its complexity and its multiple dimensions. Here, we propose an analysis of land tenure changes with the lens of property-use relationships (PUR), through a social innovation framework. This allows us to analyse the collective action at the heart of change. The analysis rests upon two case studies selected for their multiscale character, and as two different entries to scrutinize land changes: the "Terre de Liens" movement, a new actor stemming from civil society; and the "rural land lease subject to environmental clauses", a recent authorized instrument of tenancy contract. These land tenure changes are important although circumscribed because they involve all actors' spheres and scales and create new frameworks. These changes contribute to express societal demands through new lessor's management right. Where the parties to the PUR share a common reference framework and the same agricultural development objective, the conditions set out in the PUR seem guaranteed. If they do not, a mutual acculturation process seems necessary-beyond the contractual terms-to enable a compromise between the management rationales of a protected area in one hand, and a farm on the other hand.
In a context where anaerobic digestion is a controversial subject, it is not surprising to see that between 20% and 30% of anaerobic digestion projects are abandoned, mainly for reasons of local opposition, problems of coordination between stakeholders and the implementation of real territorial governance capable of facing the challenges encountered during the setting up of the project. We can consequently question the role that local territorial authorities could play to encourage the development of biogas in France. We used semi-structured interviews conducted with anaerobic digestion stakeholders to identify the main functions of territorial intermediation (and their specific elements) that local authorities could have to encourage the deployment and success of these projects. Local authorities play the role of intermediation by (i) ensuring spatial and cognitive proximities between actors, (ii) mobilizing territorial resources and favoring local anchorage (iii) installing trust among the local stakeholders and (iv) having a role of instigator by participating in the supply (inputs) of biogas plants and the purchase of the energy produced (outputs).
The FA composition of our diet affects human health: SFAs and n-6 PUFAs in excess are a risk factor for a number of chronic diseases, while n-3 PUFAs have a protective role. These FAs should be considered together, since an excessively high n-6:n-3 ratio is linked to a strong pro-inflammatory effect. We reconstructed the FA composition of the French diet from the 1960s to the present to identify the main reasons for decreases or increases due to agriculture, food processing or food choices. From the 1960s to the late 1990s, the diet increased in SFA and n-6 PUFA levels and likely decreased in n-3 PUFA level. Consequently, food behaviors did not follow dietary recommendations. For SFAs, this was due to the sharp increase in cheese and, to a smaller extent, palm oil consumption. For n-6 PUFAs, it was due to the sharp increase in oil consumption, especially linoleic sunflower oil. For n-3 PUFAs, this was due mainly to replacement of grass by maize and soybean meal to feed ruminants. This trend has reversed since the 2000s: the SFA level decreased due to decreased consumption of palm oil and genetic improvements in pigs and poultry, n-6 PUFA level decreased due to increased consumption of oleic instead of linoleic sunflower oil, and n-3 PUFA level increased due to increased consumption of rapeseed oil. These changes are consistent with the FA composition observed in breast milk. Despite these improvements, however, the average dietary composition remains far from the recommendations, especially for n-3 PUFAs. We show the potential for improvement by supplementing animal feed with flaxseed and increasing consumption of oleic sunflower and rapeseed oils, at the expense of that of other oils.
Strongyle infection is an important issue in horse breeding. It impairs horse health and performance, with young horses being the most sensitive. Strongyle control has long relied on the systematic use of chemical treatments. However, expanding anthelmintic resistance among strongyles calls for alternative options. Mixed grazing is assumed to reduce strongyle load on the pasture as the result of a dilution effect. This has been shown in small ruminants grazing with cattle, but the putative benefits of co-grazing between horses and cattle have not yet been evaluated. Here, we conducted field surveys and face-to-face interviews on 44 farms from two contrasted saddle-horse production areas, Normandy and northern Massif Central, to compare equine strongyle management practices between specialized systems and mixed horse-cattle systems. Our goals were (i) to quantify breeders' awareness of the putative benefits associated with the co-grazing of horses and cattle, (ii) to establish whether mixed farming was associated with different strongyle management strategies and (iii) to test whether strongyle egg excretion was reduced in horses grazed with beef cattle. Every breeder relied on systematic calendar treatments, and only 8 out of the 23 mixed breeders were aware that co-grazing of horses with cattle could be used as part of their strongyle control strategy. Management practices were similar across both systems in Normandy. In Massif Central, mixed breeders formed a distinct cluster from their specialized counterparts: deworming was less frequent and stocking density was higher in mixed farms, while specialized breeders seemed more willing to integrate herd and plot management into control strategies. Faecal egg counts measured in horses from Massif Central were significantly reduced when horses were grazed with cattle. This was the result of an increased reliance on macrocyclic lactones in mixed farms (P < 0.01) and a significant dilution effect (P < 0.01). When considering a subsample of horses treated with macrocyclic lactones only, young horses grazed with cattle had 50% fewer strongyle eggs excreted in their faeces than horses grazed in equine-only pastures (P < 0.01). This is the first evidence of the benefits of mixed grazing with cattle as an alternative to control strongyle infection in horses, although this promising alternative remains largely unknown by horse breeders.
Despite the climate emergency, there is still no consensus on renewable energies, which have to confront forms of social opposition that may well affect the success of any project (especially wind energy and biogas). We propose an original analytical framework to go beyond the nimbyist approach, combining the proximity theory and the exit-voice model. This enables us to examine the thinking adopted by biogas production stakeholders and the ensuing associations in order to identify and understand the obstacles to the development of joint biogas production projects. Taking further other theories that highlight the importance of place attachment and place identity, we show that the challenges linked to a project's territorial governance can explain conflicts that may lead the project initiators to abandon a biogas plant's construction. We show that considering the local residents' interests and including them in the participative procedures are not the only factors that count, but also, more generally, coordination between all of the stakeholders. Our paper also highlights the need for an intermediary actor to play the role of facilitator in organising different types of proximity.
Grazing management has an important impact on dairy ruminants’ performance. References on the intake and milk yield of dairy goats under strip-grazing systems in temperate regions are scarce. In order to study the effect of pasture allowance on pasture intake ( PI ), milk yield and grazing behaviour, a trial was carried out in spring with 36 Alpine goats in mid-lactation. Three daily pasture allowances ( PA =1.7, 2.6 and 3.5 kg dry matter (DM)/day, namely Low, Medium and High, respectively) were compared in a 3 × 3 Latin square design replicated six times during three successive 14-day periods. Goats individually received 268 g DM of concentrate twice daily at each milking and had access 11 h/day to pasture (from 0830 to 1600 h and from 1730 to 2100 h). Pasture intake increased with PA, and more so between Low and Medium than between Medium and High (+216 v. +101 g DM/kg DM of PA). Milk yield was lower on Low than on Medium and High (2.79 v. 3.13 kg/day), as were milk fat and protein yields. Grazing time averaged 476 min/day and was lowest on Low and greatest on Medium. Pasture intake rate was 30 g DM/h lower on Low and Medium than on High. It is concluded that under temperate conditions, when goats are supplemented with 536 g DM of concentrate and have enough access time to pasture (11 h/day), a medium pasture allowance close to 2.6 kg DM/day may be sufficient to maximise milk yield.
The concept of ecosystem services (ES) remains underused in supporting practical decisions in conservation/development plans and programs. One of the most important factors explaining this non-consideration is the lack of spatial information describing the nature-society relationship in environmental and economic analyses. In this paper, we developed a novel method to predict, in spatially explicit terms, the recreation attractiveness potential combining supply and demand factors. Our method is based on the combination and transfer of a Lancasterian function of biophysical aspects and a travel cost model based on agents' sociodemographic characteristics. We further validate the usefulness of the proposed recreation model by using it in the evaluation of a regional park charter pursuing two main objectives: recreational attractiveness and habitat quality (modeled with InVEST). The results demonstrate first that the biophysical context plays a large role in the recreational trip choice and thus should not be ignored in travel cost studies. Second, from a policy guidance perspective, we show that providing spatial information appears particularly critical for ES to be a useful lever for action in day-to-day decision-making.
Forest ecosystems are typical examples of socio-ecological systems. However, in terms of modeling, the social aspect has been given far less attention than the ecological aspect. In this study, we modeled the impact of economic and social factors on the occurrence of harvesting. This harvest model was then integrated into an individual-based model of forest growth designed for large-area forecasts. The resulting socio-ecological model was then used to produce volume predictions for two regions of France. Among the economic factors, the annual stumpage prices in interaction with the species proved to be a significant predictor of harvest occurrence. Simulating different stumpage price evolutions made it possible to predict supply curves for the two regions. Projections until 2060 showed that increases in stumpage prices will be detrimental to standing volumes in both regions. Integrating the demand for wood products into such socio-ecological models in forestry would be a major improvement.
Agroecological transition corresponds to a systemic transformation consisting in the ecologisation of agriculture and food. It concerns multiple stakeholders (farmers, supply chains, natural resource managers, etc.) and is characterised by a deliberate political intention to bring about change. This chapter highlights a set of determinants of agroecological transition at play in transforming the techniques and the values underpinning both agricultural production and food consumption choices – both of which can lead to various new agri-food systems. Based on the literature on transition studies, we focus on several considerations that could help stakeholders to better engage in such a process: (i) transition takes place over time intervals that vary, depending on the analysis scale (the farm or the agri-food system as a whole); (ii) transition is complex, systemic and requires changes of the whole sociotechnical regime; (iii) transition implies strong connections between niche-innovations and the dominant sociotechnical regime; and (iv) changes in values and individuals’ abilities are fundamental drivers. Hence, by focusing on the plurality of factors and stakeholders at work, we unpack the complexity of this transition, and in this way help the stakeholders to design and execute it. To conclude, we examine specific issues around the governance of agroecological transition.
This paper seeks to reveal the key territorial components of people’s well-being. To this end, a method that makes it possible to (1) identify the components that potentially constitute well-being within a given territory and (2) determine, on the basis of individuals’ reported preferences, those areas that are most or least likely to meet these individuals’ needs has been developed and used. It reveals that natural amenities, access to health services, and safety are the most important factors for Lyon residents’ well-being. Taking as our starting point the preferred territorial components of Lyon residents, we identify the areas where their well-being would be greatest.
Pollination contributes to both human food security and the reproduction of the majority of wild plant species, but pollinators are facing a rapid decline, a major cause of which is habitat conversion and degradation due to human activities. Urbanization is one of the major types of habitat conversion, but its influence on pollination has been surprisingly mixed, ranging from markedly negative to strongly positive effects. One hypothesis proposed to explain these discrepancies is that pollinator responses to urbanization are highly dependent on the non-urban control habitat, with negative effects when the controls are natural or semi-natural areas but positive when they are intensive agricultural areas. It was also proposed that the pollination response along an agricultural-to-urban gradient is non-linear, with maximum pollination observed at an intermediate level of urbanization due to increased environmental heterogeneity. To test these two hypotheses, we selected a group of 38 sites in a peri-urban area near Paris, France, using a semi-stratified sampling strategy that ensured that all three of the urban, agricultural and semi-natural gradients were maximized. We then estimated pollination using two approaches: we evaluated the pollination success of Lotus corniculatus, a strictly entomogamous self-sterile plant species pollinated mainly by bees, and we measured the species richness of entomogamous and non-entomogamous plants, the difference in their response being expected to relate to the pollination service provided by the overall pollinator community. We found that in our study area, pollination success of L. corniculatus responds positively to the agricultural to urban gradient but not to the semi-natural to urban gradient. The diversity of both entomogamous and non-entomogamous plants is highest at sites surrounded by intermediate proportions of urban and agricultural areas. In addition, high proportions of urban areas have a negative effect on the diversity of non-entomogamous but not entomogamous plant species, suggesting that pollinators are able to partially buffer entomogamous plant species against the negative effect of urban development. Our results show the importance of urban areas in pollination conservation plans and demonstrate that the interaction between different anthropogenic land-use is an important factor for understanding pollination.
I reflect on the progress of policy analysis for sustainable rural development over my professional lifetime, and the implications for the future. In so doing, I emphasise the distinction between policy analysis and policy evaluation, and the importance of enabling and facilitating transformation to improve resilience in a time of climate crisis; both of which highlight the need for more inclusive analytical tools, concepts and approaches. The central focus is on the development of a conceptual framework which is dynamic, interactive and holistically systemic, elucidated through, especially, comparative case studies and social-ecological concepts. Recognition of the diversity of contexts and the heterogeneity of individual characters embedded in institutional cultures, which are of our own making, leads to a much richer and more resilient conceptual framework for analysis and effective diagnosis than the abstract and severely reductive textbook economic tradition. Future research priorities for agricultural economists are suggested: in new rural governance, mapping food systems, and enhanced performance assessment for farming businesses. In that context, a call is made for increased labour and skills in future UK farming.
In peri-urban areas, agricultural land loss is a prominent issue. At the same time, the demand for local food provision is growing. As a response, local authorities are engaging in farmland preservation procedures to protect and revalorize agricultural land in order to encourage local food production. However, little is known on the impacts of farmland preservation on other development policies such as housing or employment. Therefore, we studied the impacts of a French farmland preservation procedure in two peri-urban municipalities. We conducted field interviews with the stakeholders participating to this procedure. Our results show how land preservation procedures for food systems can constrain the ambition for a sustainable territorial development, especially when accompanied by long-term land protection.
This paper unpacks the relational processes that shape industrial developments in rural settings and offers a springboard for reflecting upon rural clusters as social constructs that result from a complex and dynamic process, which is a subject to constant change. To identify and map different types of social ties as well as analyze their role in different phases of bio-cluster development, the paper proposes an analytical framework that combines the function of social ties (bonding, bridging and linking) with aspects of geographical and organised proximity. A ‘critical case’ design has been employed to operationalize the analytical framework proposed and test its suitability for grasping and explaining real-life phenomena. This ‘critical case’ illustrates the long and winding relational routes collegially taken by local entrepreneurs in bringing together what eventually became a rural cluster.
Innovation in the forest sector is a growing research interest and within this field, there is a growing attention for institutional, policy and societal dimensions and particular when it comes to the question of how to support innovativeness in the sector. This Special Issue therefore focuses on governance aspects, relating to and bridging business and political-institutional-societal levels. This includes social/societal factors, goals and implications that have recently been studied under the label of social innovation. Furthermore, the emergence of bioeconomy as a paradigm and policy goal has become a driver for a variety of innovation processes on company and institutional levels. Our article provides a tentative definition of “innovation governance” and attempts a state-of-art review of innovation governance research in the forest sector. For structuring the research field, we propose to distinguish between organizational/managerial, policy or innovation studies. For the forestry sector, specifically, we suggest to distinguish between studies focusing on (i) innovative governance of forest management and forest goods and services; on (ii) the governance of innovation processes as such, or (iii) on specific (transformational) approaches that may be derived from combined goals such as innovation governance for sustainability, regional development, or a bioeconomy. Studies in the forest sector are picking up new trends from innovation research that increasingly include the role of societal changes and various stakeholders such as civil society organizations and users. They also include public-private partnership models or participatory governance. We finally should not only look in how far research approaches from outside are applied in the sector but we believe that the sector could contribute much more to our general scientific knowledge on ways for a societal transformation to sustainability.
Rural places around the world share common issues related to their positioning outside social, political, and economic centres of power. More than simply tyranny of distance, many issues can be attributed to tyranny at distance: that is, the power of distant decision-makers to direct rural development from afar with little knowledge of rural contexts. In response to the challenge to progress a transformative research agenda for rural sociology, this article theorises a ‘cross-boundary’ approach to research for rural development, to address persisting issues of development ignorance. Cross-boundary knowledge production values the multiple, contextualised knowledges of rural people and brings these into dialogue with academic knowledges across disciplines to inform practical rural solutions. Rural sociologists, with their in-depth understanding of rural community dynamics and larger social structures, are ideally positioned to broker cross-boundary knowledge partnerships that equip rural communities to solve old problems in new ways.
The 2008 fiscal crisis, inflamed by austerity measures, has prompted rural marginalization and societal segmentation across the European Union (EU). The current article investigates how a European rural revival can be materialized, without losing sight of the national and local conditions. Within the contemporary EU governance framework -in which a European institution cannot be categorized as endogenous or exogenous to a sub-state nation- the concept of neo-endogenous rural development seems more topical than ever. The term describes a new perspective of governance that reconciles the endogenous to the exogenous dynamics. Along these lines, the present article dwells on the question of how can the neo-endogenous rural development agenda be disseminated across the EU. By identifying the lack of international comparative research in the field of rural development, the current study explores different European, rural development trajectories and draws meaningful comparisons. A comparative qualitative research was conducted in three rural regions, stratified in terms of economic and governance decentralization: Mühlviertel in Austria, Baixo Alentejo in Portugal, and Phthiotis in Greece. The comparative research indicated the importance of interregional networking and socially innovative governance for the embeddedness of a neo-endogenous rural development agenda.
The global food system currently requires a transformation in terms of both social and technological norms in order to be environmentally sustainable and productive enough to feed a growing global population. This paper suggests that China has the innovation regime that is the most capable of offering this transformation due the unique dynamic occurring between its top-down policy and bottom-up initiatives. Indeed, it is often the resulting spin-off developments, as a result of these two forces colliding, which creates interesting innovative trajectories that have a transformative potential. This paper identifies land consolidation as the policy most emblematic top-down agricultural process, food safety initiatives as the significant bottom-up equivilent and suggests that the rise of Taobao villages and rural e-commerce are the unintended innovative responses resulting from these forces. The dynamic of this innovation, I argue, can be tentatively mapped out to offer a grounded speculation of where, and how, the most intriguing, and perhaps most likely, developmental trajectories will occur regarding China's agricultural development. As such, this paper argues that Alternative Food Networks are one such evolving example and that the rise of ‘enterprise-based recreational agriculture parks’ - like Beijing's Xiedao Green Resort - points towards how particular innovative trajectories, through unique forms of scalar practices, could develop and shape, agricultural spaces in China.
This paper critically analyses and discusses the research gap regarding the current lack of reflection on the importance and potential of applied agricultural research policy for the broader aspects of rural resilience. The basis of the paper is the evaluation and critical reflection of the relevance of applied agricultural research policy to the needs of agricultural practice at the national level, on the one hand, and to general trends in agricultural research needs at the EU level, on the other hand. Special attention is paid to the case of the Czech Republic and international comparison of the situation in neighbouring countries in Central Europe. The results show a certain closedness of the national system of agricultural research in terms of supporting traditional themes related to creating innovations and strengthening the environmental dimension of conventional agriculture. On the contrary, the perception of some key trends at the EU level is weak, i.e. the role of digitisation, Agriculture 4.0 and wider rural aspects. The biggest challenge for applied agricultural research will be to develop the role of agriculture in the context of rural resilience.
On 14 November 2016 an earthquake struck the rural districts of Kaikōura and Hurunui on New Zealand’s South Island. The region – characterized by small dispersed communities, a local economy based on tourism and agriculture, and limited transportation connections – was severely impacted. Following the quake, road and rail networks essential to maintaining steady flows of goods, visitors, and services were extensively damaged, leaving agri-food producers with significant logistical challenges, resulting in reduced productivity and problematic market access. Regional tourism destinations also suffered with changes to the number, characteristics, and travel patterns of visitors. As the region recovers, there is renewed interest in the development and promotion of agri-food tourism and trails as a pathway for enhancing rural resilience, and a growing awareness of the importance of local networks. Drawing on empirical evidence and insights from a range of affected stakeholders, including food producers, tourism operators and local government,we explore the significance of emerging agri-food tourism initiatives for fostering diversity, enhancing connectivity, and building resilience in the context of rural recovery. We highlight the motivation to diversify distribution channels for agri-food producers, and strengthen the region’s tourism place identity. Enhancing product offerings and establishing better links between different destinations within the region are seen as essential. While such trends are common in rural regions globally, we suggest that stakeholders’ shared experience with the earthquake and its aftermath has opened up new opportunities for regeneration and reimagination, and has influenced current agri-food tourism trajectories. In particular, additional funding for tourism recovery marketing and product development after the earthquake, and an emphasis on greater connectivity between the residents and communities, through strengthening rural networks and building social capital within and between regions, is enabling more resilient and sustainable futures.
In French metropolitan areas, urban sprawl is tending to increase outside of the conurbation and its close periurban ring, and to expand to peripheral rural municipalities. In the Paris region, even though the major part of land converted for urbanization is concentrated in periurban areas, this land consumption is accelerating much faster in small rural municipalities located on the fringes of the region.
Our inquiry is based on a sociological approach to the planning process. Our research explores the design and implementation of local land-use plans in rural areas, with a particular focus on the scheduling of development zones. It draws on an original quantitative analysis of zoning bylaws and on qualitative field research based on a sample of interviews with mayors and local administrative staff.
In this study we assume that the particular characteristics of urban planning in rural areas influence the scheduling of urbanization. Hence, local public decisions concerning future urbanization are likely to be more unstable and the strategic timetable of the projects may be more difficult to maintain in the long run. Furthermore, as national and regional guidelines are focused on the containment of urban sprawl in the periurban ring, more leeway is granted to small rural municipalities on the more remote periphery. The steering of the planning process by local public authorities in rural areas is also more open to co-design with private initiatives from small development and building companies that also have their particularities (as they are specialized in the rural land market).
The multiplication of local-based labelling systems in the forestry sector seems to echo a growing pressure from both globalization and sustainability expectations. Recent prospects in territorial economics invite us to consider not only the way specific resources are activated, but the terms of their valuation as well. We do this through the examination of six case studies in three French mountain ranges: the Alps, the Vosges and the Jura. We analyse the way institutionalized groups of actors shape and use value portfolios and highlight their role in implementing new types of circularities. We show that wood product labels are increasingly built upon territorial values, notably through the activation of various forms of proximities (spatial and relational). Although very recent, these initiatives attempt to legitimize themselves as ‘counter-norms', questioning the dominant production-distribution model.
The challenges to achieve balanced territorial development are often related to the predominance of spatial concentration processes, lack of awareness of local potential and critical mass in remote regions. Despite this large-scale picture, increasingly development problems are observed also in more “centrally-located” regions of Europe necessitating a much finer grained level of spatial analysis. The resulting perception of Inner Peripheries in recent years pose several critical questions for the evaluation and planning of the European regional development policy and practice. This is particularly due to their nature, i.e. peripherality and marginality, which might instigate local population feelings of being treated ‘unfair’ and, at the same time, to the relatively poor attention given by EU policy and scientific frameworks to these remote territories. Recent studies have highlighted the need for reflecting local distinctive challenges and pathways in different types of rural regions. Through adopting an interdisciplinary approach with robust and finer level analyses and multi-stakeholder processes, the Academic studies and policy strategies should pool their strengths towards understanding and devising actions for mitigation of the underlying problems, making use of European and National Funds also for affected Inner Peripheries.
Legumes deliver unique functions that are complementary to those of other groups of species (cereals and oil-rich crops), providing many ecosystem services related to nitrogen. However, the choice of grain legumes according to their ability to provide these ecosystem services remains difficult due to a lack of references for a variety of species. During two legume – wheat successions established between 2014 and 2017, five nitrogen pools were measured, and considered as proxies of nitrogen functions supporting ecosystem services and dis-services. Nitrogen pools were analyzed together with several of their explanatory shoot and root characteristics (i.e. plant traits and properties). For the first time, a wide range of grain legumes could be characterized by their contrasted functional profiles relative to nitrogen. For each species, synergies and trade-offs between the different nitrogen functions were highlighted and related to the explanatory plant characteristics. Shoot and root characteristics explained 76.1% of the variability of nitrogen functions among legumes species. Chickpea, common bean, and soybean had high capacity to take up soil nitrogen during their growth cycles, reducing the risk of nitrogen losses after their harvest. These species were characterized by a high root lateral expansion rate and their capacity to invest a large proportion of belowground biomass in nodules. Conversely, common vetch, faba bean, lentil, pea and Narbonne vetch, were less able to take up soil nitrogen, with higher risks of nitrogen losses, but these species induced high amounts of nitrogen in the following wheat crop and were characterized by high crop residue nitrogen concentration. Larger amounts of nitrogen fixed and exported in seeds were measured for species characterized by high shoot dry matter, high nitrogen harvest index, high seed nitrogen concentration, and large seeds. Hence, this study should facilitate the selection of legume species according to the expected objectives.
The 4 th Industrial Revolution (4IR) is the term given to encompass a range of technological developments that many argue will fundamentally change society, much in the same way that electricity and digital technology did during previous industrial revolutions. This paper argues that current debates around 4IR are centred on the urban core, with rural areas being relegated to the peripherality and the remainder. The paper therefore examines these technologies from a rural perspective and considers what impact they could have in rural areas, both positive and negative. The analysis shows that the impacts of 4IR technologies could be just as important in rural as in urban places. Drawing on extant theories of rural development, the paper examines the physical and cultural barriers facing rural areas when attempting to engage with 4IR. The paper concludes by proposing that rural theorists engage with smart urban theoretical debates. New research should seek to understand the multi-faceted aspects of 4IR in rural regions, and to support the transition to smart rural futures.
The positive effect of grain legume pre-crops on the yield of the subsequent crop has been studied widely, whereas less information is available on the nitrogen (N) processes related to this positive effect, especially for a wide range of grain legume species.
The objective was to quantify and understand the effect of grain legume compared to cereal pre-crops (sown in 2014 and 2016) on grain and shoot N yields and shoot N concentration of wheat (Triticum aestivum) grown the following year (2015 and 2017). Spring legumes (faba bean (Vicia faba), fenugreek (Trigolia foenum-graecum), common vetch (Vicia sativa), lentil (Lens culinaris), lupin (Lupinus albus), and pea (Pisium sativum)) were compared to barley (Hordeum vulgare). Summer legumes (chickpea (Cicer arietinum), common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), soybean (Glycine max) and Narbonne vetch (Vicia narbonensis)) were compared to sorghum (Sorghum bicolor). Inorganic N remaining in the soil at pre-crop harvest (N sparing) was measured. The STICS model which accurately predicted soil humidity and soil inorganic N in the pedoclimatic conditions of the field experiments was used to calculate N mineralisation from pre-crop residues and N leaching between pre-crop harvest and wheat harvest.
Grain and shoot N yields of unfertilised N wheat were respectively 27 and 25 % higher after faba bean and lentil compared to barley pre-crops, and 66 and 51 % higher after summer legumes compared to sorghum pre-crop. In the second experiment, N fertilisation reduced the positive effect of fenugreek, and lentil on wheat yield compared to barley while it did not modify the pre-crop effect of the other legumes. A positive relationship between N mineralisation from pre-crop residues and wheat shoot N yield was established, with higher amounts of N available for the subsequent wheat after legume pre-crops. In 2014, N sparing was higher after spring pre-crops compared to summer pre-crops inducing higher N leaching after spring legume pre-crops, especially in the first experiment which was characterised by heavy rain in summer and autumn. Estimating N availability by taking into account N sparing, N mineralisation from soil and pre-crop residues and N leaching explained 49 % of wheat shoot N yield variability. Unquantified N processes and non-N processes might also have contributed to the positive effects of legumes on the subsequent wheat.
In European temperate forests, whole-tree harvesting increases nutrient exports and could compromise soil fertility in long term, especially when leaves, nutrient-rich compartments (leaves, fine and small wood) are exported. Pre-drying felled trees may allow leaves, twigs and branches to fall down or break during skidding, thereby remaining in the stand. However, the recommended pre-drying time is often based on expert estimates, and currently ranges from two to three months.
In this study, we developed an experimental device to quantify nutrient leaching via rainfall (pH: 6.8 ± 0.4) from fully developed leaves (collected in summer period) of four broadleaf species. We first set up an outdoor experiment under natural rainfall conditions to monitor the kinetics of nutrient leaching over around two and a half months. Second, we set up two controlled experiments under simulated rainfall conditions to investigate the effect of rainfall intensity and frequency on nutrient leaching.
Foliar K was highly leached 60–79%, followed by Mg: 19–50%, P: 22–30% and only small proportions for Ca and N, <16%. Nutrient leaching was positively correlated with rainfall amounts of <30 mm but small rainfall amounts <4 mm were more effective in leaching per unit (mm) than heavier rainfalls. More nutrients were leached out when the same rainfall amount was fractioned into small rainy events over several days.
However, leaf leaching remains unsatisfactory because a large part of nutrients is still exported by foliage. Total nutrient exports by whole-tree harvest including foliage increased nutrient exports by 1.2–1.6 times compared to conventional harvesting. The exports by foliage are of equal importance as fine and small wood exports and thus leaving the foliage on the forest would increase significantly nutrient saving. We therefore recommend harvesting during the leafless period when possible and otherwise, letting all the leaves fall to the ground before skidding not only for nutrient returns but also because easily degradable organic matter is very important for soil biological activity.
Innovation is considered as one of the key drivers for a competitive and sustainable agriculture and the European Commission highlights the importance of tailoring innovation support to farmers’ needs, especially in European Rural Development Policy (reg EU 1305/2013). The scientific literature offers a wide panorama of tools and methods for the analysis of innovation in agriculture but the lack of data on the state of innovation in the farms hampers such studies. A possibility to partially overcome this limit is the use of data collected by the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN). The aim of this study is to propose a method to deduce farms’ innovation needs, related to the macro objectives of European Rural Development Policy, using the economic and financial results of the Italian FADN survey. A list of farm management indicators has been identified connected with the innovation demand. Then, using FADN accounting data, indicators have been calculated for homogeneous groups of farms in terms of territory, economic size, and productive sector. In this way, critical farm issues related to innovation needs have been highlighted Finally, as an example of application, measures of the Rural Development Programs (RDP) have been proposed for each farm critical issue. This method can facilitate policy makers and Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS) organizations in identifying some targeted interventions, thanks to a deep analysis of rural contexts and farm systems. The current FADN does not provide specific information concerning the implementation of innovation by farms; for this purpose, new and suitable variables should be added to the annual survey.
Rural development policies have existed for decades, especially in OECD countries, and their impact has always been acknowledged by local actors. Our survey puts the emphasis on the diversity of policy instruments and public authorities, but also on the plurality of objectives, supporting and promoting economic activities (including agriculture), land planning, residential attractiveness and maintaining the quality of life of populations, conservation and preservation of local resources. We show that these policies have been subject to many shifts in vision and strategy – shifts which echo the changing perceptions of what rural development means and of what its objectives should be. Both the policies and the concept of rural development have evolved with economic circumstances, been discussed in the same debates, and have undergone the same reversals. They have changed in parallel with the recognition of the multifunctionality of agriculture, or with transitions from centralized decision-making to greater inclusion of the various users of rural areas and even greater consideration for social criteria and ecological and environmental variables. Following a long period in which rural development policies were essentially top-down decisions imposed by state and central governments, the policy-making process has since been decentralized (or “regionalized”) and localized and has in more recent years sought to include the views of the populations
This paper aims to provide a Structured Literature Review (SLR) about the strategic role of Intellectual Capital (IC) for achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It offers an outline of past and present literature and frames a future research agenda. It analyses papers published in journals from 2003 – 2018 with the aim of deriving significant insights about IC's determinants for achieving SDGs. Although empirical and theoretical
studies have shown a positive relationship between IC and sustainability, the research remains an emerging area of growing importance. Although no explicit specialisation in the topic currently exists, findings highlight the “sustainability imperative” and convergence toward the following research areas: IC components for Sustainable
Development in Private Sector, IC for Sustainable Regional Development in the Knowledge Economy, and IC for Sustainable Development in the Public Sector. Discussions indicate that some SDGs are starting to be explored more than others (e.g., quality education, infrastructure, health, cities and communities) and that only recently some studies are specialising specifically in the importance of technology to address the SDGs. Implications for technology policy have been highlighted to frame a future research agenda for academics and practitioners.
The prediction of grasslands plant diversity using satellite image time series is considered in this article. Fifteen months of freely available Sentinel optical and radar data were used to predict taxonomic and functional diversity at the pixel scale (10 m × 10 m) over a large geographical extent (40,000 km2). 415 field measurements were collected in 83 grasslands to train and validate several statistical learning methods. The objective was to link the satellite spectro-temporal data to the plant diversity indices. Among the several diversity indices tested, Simpson and Shannon indices were best predicted with a coefficient of determination around 0.4 using a Random Forest predictor and Sentinel-2 data. The use of Sentinel-1 data was not found to improve significantly the prediction accuracy. Using the Random Forest algorithm and the Sentinel-2 time series, the prediction of the Simpson index was performed. The resulting map highlights the intra-parcel variability and demonstrates the capacity of satellite image time series to monitor grasslands plant taxonomic diversity from an ecological viewpoint.
A growing literature highlights the development of specific innovative patterns in peripheral areas and the need to better understand how and why firms can innovate despite the absence of agglomeration effects. These peripheral areas can, among other things, offer local resources (material and immaterial) for developing environmental innovations. Thus, the aim of this article is to gain a more in-depth understanding of innovation processes in peripheral areas by analyzing the dynamics of utilization of local (i.e. place-based) and extra-local resources for the building and development of eco-innovative projects. We adopt an evolutionary framework inspired by the literature on eco-innovation and geography of innovation, which articulates internal organizational factors and those external to eco-innovative organizations, including place-based factors. We use and enhance a mixed method borrowed from economic sociology that enables us to quantify the external resources utilized throughout the innovation process (nature, means of acquisition and location), through narrative analysis. We analyze five agro-food projects located in rural areas. Based on in-depth interviews, we identify 196 external resources that were utilized for developing these projects. We find that these projects are strongly embedded in their local environment and rely, to a large extent, on local resources and networks, which shows that, even in peripheral areas, the local context can be conducive to innovation. However, these eco-innovation processes are not confined to the local sphere; indeed, their stakeholders are able to tap into specific, more-distantly located resources and market opportunities, and do so increasingly as the projects develop. The results also point to the different roles of institutional and market actors in the acquisition of resources, according to their nature and location, and highlight the importance of institutional actors at the regional level.
The use of cover crops provides agronomic and environmental benefits in crop-livestock systems. They can also constitute alternative forage resources for ruminants, particularly when climatic conditions limit grass supply. However, information on the nutritive value of these crops remains scarce.AimsThe objective of the present study was to assess the fresh forage potential of several plant species (sainfoin, buckwheat, phacelia, berseem clover, crimson clover and vetch) commonly used as cover crops and harvested at two phenological stages, namely, vegetative stage (VS) and flowering stage (FS).Methods
Chemical composition and fermentation parameters after in vitro ruminal incubation of the plant species were measured and compared with those of lucerne.Key resultsChemical composition and in vitro organic-matter digestibility varied both with species (P < 0.001) and stage (P < 0.001). Crude protein concentration (g/kg dry matter) varied at VS from 212 (sainfoin) to 151 (phacelia), and at FS from 187 (vetch) to 88 (phacelia). The in vitro organic-matter digestibility at VS varied from 0.91 (buckwheat) to 0.82 (lucerne), and at FS from 0.81 (vetch) to 0.74 (lucerne). Buckwheat and sainfoin had the greatest concentrations of condensed tannins and total phenolic compounds. The incubation of phacelia, sainfoin and buckwheat resulted in a lower production of volatile fatty acids than did incubation with the other plant species. Methane production was lower at both stages for phacelia (-26%), buckwheat (-12%), sainfoin (-14%) and berseem clover (-13%) than it was for lucerne. Ammonia production expressed as total N proportion was significantly lower for sainfoin and buckwheat than for the other plant species. The reductions in methane and ammonia appeared to be linked to certain phenolic compounds for buckwheat and to condensed tannins for sainfoin.Conclusions
The present study showed that these cover crop species hold nutritive characteristics as good as lucerne, indicating that they could be suitable for ruminant nutrition. Moreover, buckwheat and sainfoin have potential beneficial effects on methane and ammonia production.Implications. These results constitute a first step towards a recommendation to farmers to use cover crops as forage.
Industrial agglomerations are key in explaining the development paths followed by territories, particularly at sub-national levels. This field of research has received increasing attention in the last decades, what has led to the emergence of a variety of models intended to characterize innovation at the regional level. Moulaert and Sekia (Reg Stud 37:289–302, 2003) introduced the concept of ‘Territorial Innovation Models’ (TIMs) as a generic name that embraced these conceptual models of regional innovation in the literature. However, the literature does not help to assess the extent to which convergence or divergence is found across TIMs. In this paper we aim to clarify if there are clear boundaries across TIMs, so each TIM has particular characteristics that make it conceptually different from others, and hence, justify its introduction in the literature. Based on natural language processing methodologies, we extract the key terms of a large volume of academic papers published in peer review journals indexed in the Web of Science for the following TIMS: industrial districts, innovative milieu, learning regions, clusters, regional innovation systems, local production systems and new industrial spaces. We resort to Rapid Automatic Keyword Extraction to identify the associations between the topics extracted from the previous corpus. Finally, a configuration to visualise the results of the methodology followed is also proposed. Our results evidence that the previous models do not have a unique flavour but are rather similar in their taste. We evidence that there is quite little that is truly new in the different TIMs in terms of theory-building and the concepts being used in each model.
Rural decline is an inevitable process as human society transforms from the agrarian to the urban-industrial economy, and further on to the knowledge economy. Through an extensive literature review, this paper aims to interpret why some rural areas decline while some others do not. The findings show that it is by the interactions between rural areas and the external environment that rural communities either grow, decline or even vanish. The paper emphasizes the necessity to improve rural communities’ resilient capacity through adjusting their internal components’ function and structure to survive the external changes. In this process, rural livelihood diversification, the creation of market oriented institutions and strong social capital are considered to enhance rural resilience and build up sustaining rural communities. Finally, three conditions for sustainable rural development in the knowledge economy are discussed: 1) development of new economic activities that can respond to potential urban demand; 2) local entrepreneurship that can establish and expand these new activities; and 3) social capital that can support the entrepreneurship in new activities with access to credits, labor, human capital, external markets and external knowledge for learning and innovation.
Georgescu-Roegen used the term bioeconomy to refer to a radical ecological perspective on economics he developed in the 1970s and 1980s. In recent years, it has also become a buzzword used by public institutions to announce and describe a supposed current economic and ecological transition. We see in this use an attempt of semantic hijacking of the original term. To support this claim we analyze three different interpretations of the term bioeconomy, presenting each of them as narratives combining distinct visions of future economic development, technical trajectories and imaginaries associated with a particular relationship to nature. Finally, we discuss these narratives in relation to the endorsement they receive by different stakeholders.