The purposes of this course are to review the major reforms being considered internationally that aim to change the policy and institutional structure and operations of public sector agricultural extension systems, and to examine the advantages and disadvantages of each of these reforms as illustrated by the selected case studies. Aside from the introductory chapter, the course is organized into nine modules, which are conceived as part of a larger framework.
A growing variety of public and private agricultural advisory services are available today, leading to increasingly ‘pluralistic service systems’ (PSS) where advisory services are provided by different actors and funded from different sources. This is generally regarded as an important step forward, as it steers away from relying on purely state-led or privatised service systems. PSS hold the potential to overcome constraints related to funding, staffing and expertise, and to make advisory services more demand-driven.
A growing variety of public and private rural advisory services are available today, leading to increasingly pluralistic service systems (PSS) – in which advisory services are provided by different actors and funded from different sources. PSS have emerged in many countries as a response to a decline in public sector extension and the increasing demand for tailored, diverse and market-oriented services. Private companies, non-governmental organizations and producer organizations, today play more active roles alongside traditional public sector providers.
Du fait de leur transversalité et de leur objet, l'évaluation des politiques de développement territorial ne peut pas s'appuyer sur les outils utilisés pour évaluer les politiques sectorielles. Les questions procédurales sont très largement dominantes, les dispositifs portant essentiellement sur la gouvernance et la coordination. Pour évaluer une démarche procédurale, il convient de préciser le référentiel d’évaluation à la fois en termes du quoi et du comment évaluer.
Le développement territorial durable requiert des innovations aussi bien techniques, que sociales et institutionnelles. Favoriser ces innovations est l'objectif des récentes démarches d'ingénierie territoriale qui adaptent les processus d'innovation développés en entreprise. Dans cet article, la pertinence de cette orientation est discutée en s'appuyant sur les enseignements d'une recherche-action, menée dans un territoire « fragilisé » : l' « Alto Sertão du Piauí et du Pernambouco », dans le Nordeste brésilien.