Global Markets, Local Issues: The Hegemonic Process of Agri-Food Construction to Present Challenges

The social construction of the agri-food market has undergone revolutionary changes throughout history since the Anthropocene. This conceptual paper discusses the embeddedness of institutions in this market construction. To do so, this work analyses the geographical indication (GI) of agri-food market formation through the lens of critical theory. Through dialectics, it analyzes the historical process of agrarian systems’ shape according to their complexity, and the origins and effects of hegemonic interests in the construction of agri-food markets. Furthermore, this work shows how the market has evolved from different trade types as the capitalist system also evolved, changing the mechanics of trade and functions of food production. The results indicate that as agrarian systems evolved, food became more homogeneous and standardized in order to meet the demands of urban masses in capitalist economies. Regions where less complex systems predominate tend to hinder the creation, maintenance, and perpetuation of products such as GI, which may compromise their existence in the long run. Moreover, nations reproduce ideologically oriented interests according to the formation of dominant groups in each place, as also expressed in the agri-food market. This paper aims to provide new conceptual and theoretical insights into the institutional mechanisms and historical processes of agri-food market construction in terms of power interests.

El cultivo tradicional del almendro en el Mediterráneo: Baleares en el contexto español (ca. 1770-2017)

The process of arboreal diversification that was initiated in Spain in the final stage of the Old Regime propitiated the emergence of new areas of production and crops. Some Mediterranean regions, and in particular the Balearic Islands, stood out for the early dry farming cultivation of almond trees. Its development has been related above all to the evolution of the commercial value of almonds, often ignoring other uses of the tree: fertilizer, fodder for livestock, firewood, etc. But in traditional agrarian systems, as with other crops, their multifunctionality was extremely important for the reinitiation of productive cycles on many farms; especially for peasant units. In the Balearic Islands, the moderate yields of almond plantations and the competition exercised by other national and international areas of production, in particular from the second half of the 20th century on, did not discourage cultivation of them. As in other regions, development was favoured by successive improvement plans financed from the 1960s on by different government institutions: first by the government of Spain, and more recently by the European Community. However, over recent years, a highly destructive bacteria (Xylella fastidiosa) has not only discouraged cultivation, but threatens the survival of one of the most characteristic trees of the agricultural landscape of the islands.

DINÂMICA AGRÁRIA E ESTRATÉGIAS DE DESENVOLVIMENTO DA AGRICULTURA: UMA ANÁLISE EM TERMOS DE SISTEMAS AGRÁRIOS NO MUNICÍPIO DE PINHEIRINHO DO VALE – RS/Agrarian dynamics and agricultural development strategies: an analysis in terms of agrarian systems in the town Pinheirinho do Vale – RS

Este estudo analisa as condições e formas de produção, no contexto das transformações agrárias do município de Pinheirinho do Vale, no Médio Alto Uruguai do Rio Grande do Sul, com vistas à proposição de estratégias de desenvolvimento para agricultura local. O estudo tomou como referência a teoria e o método de Sistemas Agrários. As análises realizadas permitiram evidenciar os principais condicionantes da evolução e diferenciação agrária local, bem como o perfil e potencial de geração de valor e renda dos sistemas básicos de produção atualmente praticados face à necessidade de reprodução socioeconômica dos diferentes tipos de agricultores locais. A partir dos resultados destas análises foi possível identificar três situações típicas em termos de desenvolvimento, considerando a diversidade de condições e necessidade de reprodução social dos agricultores. De acordo com as especificidades de cada situação, foram elaboradas proposições de projetos e ações estratégicas visando o desenvolvimento da agricultura do município. Este estudo ratifica a importância da análise sistemática das realidades agrárias como um requisito fundamental a proposições de projetos estratégicos e ações voltadas ao desenvolvimento da agricultura e do meio rural, assim como a pertinência da teoria de Sistema Agrário para a efetividade de tais análises.

Agricultural Extension Education in Indonesia in the Colonial Period 1900-1941

This paper examines agricultural extension education during the colonial period in Indonesia and used historical research to investigate it. The agricultural extension was formed in 1911. Agricultural experts in Indonesia at that time were agricultural engineers who graduated from Agricultural College in Wageningen, the Netherlands. They did not understand much about indigenous cultures, languages, and agrarian systems. The task of the agricultural extension was to improve the economy of rural peasant communities. Agricultural education in Indonesia began with the Middlebare Landbouw School for higher education. For lower-level education or the first secondary school, Cultuur School was established. This school prepared graduates to work as forestry officials, agricultural supervisors, and agricultural extension workers. The number of graduates was minimal, so it can not reach the vast territory of Indonesia. For this reason, graduates of agricultural schools who worked in extension offices (Landbouwvoorlichtingsdienst) gave agricultural courses to village school teachers (Vervolksschool). The teachers then taught agriculture to grade five elementary school students, and peasant groups formed in the villages. These peasant groups were led by peasants who have succeeded in the village, which were then used as movers in village economic growth.Tulisan ini membahas pendidikan penyuluhan pertanian selama periode kolonial di Indonesia dan menggunakan menggunakan metode sejarah untuk menelitinya. Penyuluhan pertanian dibentuk pada tahun 1911. Ahli pertanian di Indonesia pada waktu itu adalah insinyur pertanian yang lulus dari Sekolah Tinggi Pertanian di Wageningen, Belanda. Mereka tidak mengerti banyak tentang budaya, bahasa, dan sistem agraria lokal. Tugas penyuluhan pertanian adalah untuk meningkatkan ekonomi masyarakat petani pedesaan. Pendidikan pertanian di Indonesia dimulai dengan Middlebare Landbouw School untuk pendidikan tinggi. Untuk pendidikan tingkat rendah atau sekolah menengah pertama, Cultuur School didirikan. Sekolah ini mempersiapkan lulusan untuk bekerja sebagai pejabat kehutanan, pengawas pertanian, dan penyuluh pertanian. Jumlah lulusannya sangat minim, sehingga tidak bisa menjangkau wilayah Indonesia yang luas. Untuk alasan ini, lulusan sekolah pertanian yang bekerja di kantor penyuluhan (Landbouw voorlichtings dienst) memberikan kursus pertanian kepada guru sekolah desa (Vervolksschool). Para guru kemudian mengajar pertanian ke kelas lima siswa sekolah dasar, dan kelompok tani terbentuk di desa-desa. Kelompok tani ini dipimpin oleh petani yang telah berhasil di desa, yang kemudian digunakan sebagai penggerak dalam pertumbuhan ekonomi desa.

RRI’s Commitment to Care and Vulnerability of Agrarian Systems: The ‘Problem’ of Rice Straw Burning in India

This paper employs RRI’s mandate of ‘commitment to care’ to understand the ‘problem’ of rice straw burning in India and the possible ways of engaging with it. Straw burning is often framed as a linear technology or policy deficit ‘problem’ in need of an immediate and quick fix. Interventions and solutions emerging from such framings have so far remained ineffective. The ‘commitment to care’ approach enables us to situate the current practices of straw burning in a complex web of relationalities, dependencies, vulnerabilities, and affect. By doing so, the ‘problem’ of straw burning is rearticulated and redefined as a cumulative effect of multiple interventions, transformations, and contradictions that led to the shaping of modern agricultural systems in India. This re-articulation demands for a rethinking of engagement, remedies and responsibilities in ways that move beyond the individualization of blame and action.

EVOLUÇÃO E DIFERENCIAÇÃO DOS SISTEMAS AGRÁRIOS NA SERRA DOS TAPES, RIO GRANDE DO SUL / EVOLUTION AND DIFFERENTIATION OF AGRARIAN SYSTEMS IN SERRA DOS TAPES, RIO GRANDE DO SUL

Este artigo tem como objetivo reconstituir a evolução e diferenciação dos sistemas agrários identificados na Serra dos Tapes, Rio Grande do Sul. Para tanto, apoia-se no referencial teórico e metodológico de sistemas agrários, o qual proporcionou as ferramentas adequadas para compreender as transformações históricas e geográficas nas formas de ocupação e exploração agrícola no recorte espacial estudado, desde os seus primeiros habitantes até o contexto atual. Os procedimentos metodológicos da presente pesquisa consistiram em trabalhos de campo realizados na Serra dos Tapes, entrevistas com os moradores antigos e revisões bibliográficas sobre a referida região. Foram identificados, em totalidade, cincos sistemas agrários: Sistema Agrário Indígena (até 1780); Sistema Agrário Quilombola (1780 – 1858); Sistema Agrário Colonial (1858 – 1900); Sistema Agrário Contemporâneo I (1900 – 1960) e Sistema Agrário Contemporâneo II (1960 – até os dias atuais). Entre os eventos que marcaram a transição entre um sistema agrário e outro, destacam-se a ingerência portuguesa sobre a região sul do estado, durante os séculos XVIII e XIX, os processos de urbanização e industrialização dos municípios de Pelotas e Rio Grande, assim como processo de modernização da agricultura, marcada pela Revolução Verde.ABSTRACT:This paper aims to reconstitute the evolution and differentiation of the agrarian systems identified in Serra dos Tapes, Rio Grande do Sul. Therefore, laid on the theoretical and methodological reference of agrarian systems, which provided the adequate tools to grasping the historical and the geographical transformations in the forms of occupation and agricultural exploitation in the studied area, since its first inhabitants until the current time. The present research methodological procedures consist of field works executed in Serra dos Tapes, interviews with ancient residents and bibliographical review about mentioned region. Were identified five agrarian systems: Indigenous Agrarian System (until 1780); Quilombola Agrarian System (1780-1858); Colonial Agrarian System (1858 - 1900); Contemporary Agrarian System I (1900 - 1960) and Contemporary Agrarian System II (1960 - until nowadays). Among the events that defined the transition between one agrarian system and another, highlights the portuguese interference on state's south region, during XVIII and XIX centuries, Pelotas and Rio Grande's urbanization and industrialization processes, as well as agriculture modernization process, highlited by Green Revolution.Keywords: Serra dos Tapes; Agrarian Systems Theory; Evolution and Differentiation of Agrarian Systems.