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The highly concentrated formal agri‐food sector holds enormous power in the governance of the food system in South Africa. Yet the concept of food democracy holds that all people should have an equal opportunity to participate in (re)shaping their food system. To contribute to decision making, however, stakeholders not only need access to knowledge about the food system, but should also be able to inform what is considered relevant knowledge. Communities of practice—groups of people who share a common interest or concern and who deepen their knowledge and expertise in this area by interacting on an ongoing basis—provide novel spaces for stakeholder involvement in food governance. This article sets out the process of establishing and maintaining a community of (food) practice in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Through participant observation, analysis of unpublished documents, as well as in depth interviews, the core elements of the community of practice are charted over its 3 yr history. The article demonstrates the informal and evolving nature of communities of practice as social learning structures that can gain credibility and potentially develop into more formal democratic institutions over.

Communities of Practice are sites of social learning for the co-production of knowledge. Building on recent literature on Transdisciplinary Communities of Practice, this article reflects on the experiences of an emergent ‘Food Governance Community of Practice’ in South Africa that brings together multiple stakeholders to co-produce knowledge to inform local food policy and governance. Our results show the following lessons for managers and participants engaged in establishing similar ‘third spaces’ for knowledge co-production: 1) make inevitable power asymmetries explicit; 2) the identity of the group should not be built on a particular normative position but emerge from discursive processes and 3) create a balance between supporting peripheral learning and maintaining the specialist cutting edge discussions needed for co-production. Furthermore, the most beneficial legacy of a Community of Practice may not be the outputs in terms of the co-produced knowledge but the development of a cohesive group of stakeholders with a new shared way of knowing.

Sub-Saharan Africa has a long history of internal and international migratory movements. Migration patterns and dynamics from, to and between rural areas are profoundly differentiated across regions, and flows have considerably evolved over time. Yet, more recently, rural migration takes place in the unique situation of a major rural and urban demographic increase, which results in critical socio-economic and environmental challenges. In this context, intertwined migration drivers emerge and call for a better understanding of on-going dynamics. This working paper draws on a combination of literature review and data analysis, building on the results of the Atlas "Rural Africa in motion. Dynamics and drivers of migration South of the Sahara". This mixed approach is used to propose a conceptual framework based on past, current and future drivers of migration, then to examine observed patterns of rural migration and finally to discuss drivers' characteristics and dynamics from case studies and existing datasets.

In many countries, spatial inequalities are becoming so significant that they might compromise the prosperity, stability and security of entire regions trapped in poverty. Currently, in sub-Saharan Africa they result from unequal population, urban networks which reflect inherited colonial patterns and weak or uneven past development policies, with big cities rapidly developing and concentrating infrastructure and public goods. Intermediary cities and small towns have been forgotten, receiving little support from central governments. Territorial approaches to development barely exist, which means the multiple dimensions of inequalities cannot be addressed.

The international debate on structural change remains focused on sector–based approaches. The discussion on rural transformation is most often limited by the same long-standing bias. In order to answer the major challenges of their demographic and economic transition, many developing countries need to address their new rural-urban dynamics and to adopt territorial-based development strategies.

Against the backdrop of globalisation with tensions running high, white our planet struggles against climate change and the depletion of non-renewable resources, Africa is faced with the challenge of inventing original development models. These models need to address the considerable requirements generated by improvements in the standard of living, population growth and economic diversification, without reproducing traditional growth models that are no longer sustainable. This challenge is central to the African Union's Agenda 2063 for the structural transformation of the continent. It implies mobilising ail territorial resources available, in both urban and rural areas, in order to make full use of the range of existing spatial dynamics.

The International Year of Family Farming has focused world attention on the economic and social role played by this type of agriculture, as well as on its potential for meeting global challenges. It has also identified weaknesses and the need for decisive, far-reaching public action to overcome these. However, policy making and implementation require a clear-cut statistical definition of family farming at the global level, as well as a detailed picture of the various forms this agriculture may take at the national level. Hence the proposal to characterise family farming by the conjunction between the domestic unit and the production unit, and to determine criteria for fine-tuning this definition in each country.

La recente crise des prix des matieres premieres agricoles a ete utilisee par certains investisseurs publics ou prives pour justifier la course aux terres en Afrique sub-saharienne. Elle a simultanement relance le debat sur les modeles de developpement agricole et remis en avant l’opposition entre small-scale et large-scale farming. Apres avoir rappele un contexte ou les discussions sont compliquees par les effets d’annonce et l’estimation tres imprecise de l’ampleur de cette course aux terres, l’article propose une clarification du debat sur les enjeux des modeles agricoles. Les agricultures familiales sont la forme d’agriculture dominante dans le monde et leur diversite exprime un « continuum » de situations qui illustre les realites des systemes agraires et des marches. Leur permanence s’explique par leurs atouts face a l’agriculture d’entreprise et l’histoire agricole mondiale a montre leur remarquable capacite d’innovation, largement determinee par les conditions de l’environnement economique et institutionnel. En Afrique, la faiblesse des moyens techniques et financiers des agriculteurs et leur pauvrete constituent de lourds handicaps exacerbes par un environnement peu favorable. Pourtant, contrairement aux mirages de l’agriculture d’entreprise a grande echelle qui pourrait apparaitre comme une solution facile, ce sont les agricultures familiales, qui concernent le plus grand nombre, qui doivent etre soutenues. Ce choix constitue une reponse appropriee a la faible diversification des economies africaines et au poids considerable des emplois agricoles dans leur structure d’activite.

Dans le contexte d'une mondialisation traversée par de fortes tensions, où la planète est confrontée aux enjeux du changement climatique et de l'épuisement des ressources non renouvelables, l'Afrique est face au défi d'inventer des modèles de développement originaux. Ceux-ci devront être à même de répondre aux besoins considérables liés à l'amélioration des conditions de vie de la population, à l'évolution démographique et à la nécessaire diversification économique, sans pour autant reproduire à l'identique des modèles de croissance passés dont la soutenabilité n'est pas assurée. Ce défi est au coeur de /'Agenda 2063 de l'Union Africaine pour la transformation structurelle du continent. Il impose de mobiliser l'ensemble des ressources territoriales disponibles, celles des villes et des campagnes, afin d'utiliser à plein la diversité des dynamiques spatiales existantes.

Les Perspectives economiques en Afrique 2015 analysent le role croissant de l'Afrique dans l'economie mondiale et donnent des perspectives a deux ans pour le continent dans des domaines cruciaux : principaux aggregats macroeconomiques, flux financiers, commerce et integration regionale, developpement humain et gouvernance. Cette 14e edition analyse les defis que doit relever le continent en matiere de developpement regional et d'inclusion spatiale. Une section regroupant 54 notes d'une page --une pour chacun des pays africains couverts-- resume les tendances recentes de l'economie, les previsions de croissance du produit interieur brut pour 2015 et 2016, et met en evidence les principaux defis rencontres par les decideurs economiques. Une annexe statistique permet de comparer les variables economiques, sociales et politiques propres a chaque pays.

The African Economic Outlook 2015 analyses Africa’s growing role in the world economy and predicts the continent’s two-year prospects in crucial areas: macroeconomics, financing, trade policies and regional integration, human development, and governance. This 14th edition analyses regional development and spatial inclusion challenges faced by the continent. A section of one-page notes summarises recent economic growth, forecasts gross domestic product for 2015 and 2016, and highlights the main policy issues facing each of the 54 African countries. A statistical annex compares country-specific economic, social and political variables.

40% of the world population is concerned with the questions related to the liberalization of agriculture. In spite of this outstanding importance, the current intense international debate on liberalization is biased by five major problems: the overestimation of price effects; the underestimation of structure effects; the minimization of confrontation effects between different types of agriculture; the carelessness about questions related to economic transition and finally; the lack of historical perspective. These biases prevent to pay attention to the existing risks of transition dead-ends for many developing countries, particularly the least developed countries and many of the low income countries where agriculture is still a strategic economic sector. The concrete answers that will be given to this transition challenge will impact the future of the world's geopolitics. (Resume d'auteur)

The objective of this paper is to discuss Africa's structural transformation, its food and employment challenges, in light of renewed dynamics, more particularly China's involvement in the continent's agricultural sector. Data is scarce and often very contradictory, but what becomes evident is that China's role in agriculture in Africa, and particularly related to the land grab phenomenon, is not as significant as initially put to the fore. China promotes an uncertain “aid, business, and trade” model where the “business and trade” components seem to increasingly take the lead and which are often disconnected from the characteristics of the African context. As such, the paper, besides highlighting the lasting importance of the rural sector for food security and poverty alleviation in a context of Africa's limited economic diversification, it suggests possible stronger Chinese contribution to the policy debate through experience sharing and dialogue within Africa and at the global level. (Resume d'auteur)

Chapter 2 shows that the wide diversity of agricultural forms stems from the political and social structures rooted in historical trajectories, where representations have been forged by power relations and the dissemination of technical progress. This diversity and its reasons invite us to make an effort, necessarily reductive, to define, characterize and measure family farming models, and to clarify what makes them a political and analytical category. To name the production units of the agricultural sector, several categories are mobilized by actors, all of which pertain to different professional spheres but do so in interaction with each other.

International audience; The diversity of agriculture in the world reflects the immense variety of societies and natural environments on the planet. Indeed, agricultural systems range from various types of shifting slash-and-burn practices – sometimes very similar to those of the first sedentary human groups – to quasi-automated agricultures in some regions of the world. These systems present huge gaps in terms of modes of exploitation of natural resources, levels of capital use, productivity and market integration. They reflect various stages of transformation of agriculture depending on their technical level, their integration into globalized markets and the structural changes of national economies around the world. They also echo the transition from agrarian societies – organized around the relationships between rural communities and with their natural environment –, to predominantly urban ones characterized by a high degree of division of labor, where agricultural production is increasingly implemented through processes of artificialization of cultivated areas and the industrialization of the food chain. And yet, in absolute terms, there have never been as many farmers globally as there are today.

L’agriculture africaine fait face a une situation inedite liee au processus de mondialisation, mais aussi a la forte croissance relative de sa population agricole durant le dernier quart du xxe siecle, contrairement a d’autres continents (ou pays continents). Paradoxalement, alors que l’Afrique se trouve marginalisee dans les echanges commerciaux, sur lesquels se focalise le debat international en matiere agricole, l’agriculture africaine et le developpement rural restent des domaines strategiques pour les politiques publiques qui doivent prendre en compte la configuration demographique et economique specifique du continent. La question du type d’agriculture qui accompagnera la necessaire transition economique et agricole africaine est en debat. Alors que certains operateurs et decideurs soutiennent le developpement d’une agriculture d’entreprise, les organisations paysannes font massivement le choix de defendre l’agriculture familiale comme axe privilegie de developpement, car elle fournit emplois et revenus pour le plus grand nombre. Cependant, les organisations doivent faire face a un rapport de force inegal avec les autres acteurs prives issus du processus de liberation. Renforcer leurs capacites de proposition et de negociation apparait des lors comme une condition permettant d’envisager une refondation des politiques publiques sur la base d’une reelle contribution des ruraux.

The predominance of family farms in agrarian structures in various regions of the world (Chap. 3) and the size of their territorial extent (Chap. 7) ensures that their share in the production of food and agricultural commodities is substantial. Their dominance is also reflected in their contributions to international markets, which are largely supplied by family farms. However, there exist significant differences depending on food and non-food types of products: staples (cereals, tubers and plantains, legumes, oilseeds, sugar plants), animal products, fruits and vegetables, stimulants (coffee, cocoa, tea), textile fibers and rubber.

At the global level, family farming is the primary source of employment and the main supplier of food products (Chaps. 3 and 8). It is also, paradoxically, the sector which harbors the largest number of poor people, mainly due to its central place in the economies of many developing countries (IFAD 2011). There are many reasons for this paradox and they must be sought in the heterogeneity of agricultural performance. This heterogeneity results from radical differences between technical systems (Chap. 6) and the economic and institutional environments that result from power relationships built over time within each country’s particular context. These varied histories have led to very different statuses and room for maneuver for family farming systems at the economic, social and political levels.

La Cote d’Ivoire occupe une place privilegiee dans le monde du cacao puisqu’elle a conquis le premier rang mondial sur le Ghana en 1977. Ce leadership s’est surtout accompagne d’une croissance exceptionnelle de la production qui atteint entre 40 et 45 % de l’offre mondiale depuis le milieu de la decennie 90 (de l’ordre de 1,2 million de tonnes) et presque 50 % des echanges. Cette situation assez exceptionnelle parmi les marches des soft commodities explique que la Cote d’Ivoire soit l’objet d’une grande attention de la part des differents acteurs du marche. Ainsi le processus de liberalisation de la filiere cacao au cours des annees 90 et le demantelement de la toute puissante caisse de stabilisation (la CSSPPA, appelee couramment la « Caisse » ou « Caistab ») en 1999, tout comme la volonte du gouvernement ivoirien de remettre en place aujourd’hui (juillet 2001) un mecanisme de stabilisation sont a l’origine d’abondants commentaires de la presse specialisee et d’autant de reactions des differents protagonistes du monde du cacao. Ces changements ont eu en effet, ou auront, d’importantes consequences sur les conditions d’ecoulement de la production, sur les conditions de l’acces a l’offre ivoirienne ainsi que sur la dynamique du marche international et l’evolution des prix. Simultanement, la place et le poids du secteur cacaoyer dans l’economie politique ivoirienne (a la fois dans les grands agregats economiques et dans les positions de pouvoir des interets prives locaux) en ont fait un enjeu central des recompositions economiques et politiques de la derniere decennie. La grave crise politique de l’annee 2000, qui a fait suite au premier coup d’Etat de l’histoire du pays (decembre 1999), n’est pas sans liens avec la liberalisation imposee de l’exterieur par les bailleurs de fonds multilateraux [1, 2]. Et l’evolution de la filiere cacao reste aujourd’hui un point central des negociations entre le gouvernement et les agences d’aide. Cette liberalisation de la filiere ivoirienne, qui correspond a un ajustement tardif aux nouvelles modalites de fonctionnement de l’economie mondiale, s’est accompagnee d’une perte progressive de controle des acteurs publics et prives locaux et d’une perte d’influence sur le marche. Cette evolution est en apparence paradoxale du fait de la place occupee par le pays dans l’offre mondiale, mais aussi a cause de l’evolution structurelle de la filiere qui a ete caracterisee par le developpement rapide des capacites industrielles de broyage (presque triplees depuis 1995). Avec un potentiel de 300 000 tonnes (et bientot 350 000), la Cote d’Ivoire est en effet devenue le principal « broyeur a l’origine » du marche, c’est-a-dire un pays producteur assurant une premiere transformation de ses feves alors que la plupart des autres pays ont du limiter leurs ambitions industrielles du fait des handicaps du broyage sur les lieux de production. Ces differents phenomenes emboites - croissance de l’offre, croissance des broyages, liberalisation - ont bien evidemment fortement influence la physionomie de la filiere : arrivee de nouveaux agents, developpement de nouvelles fonctions, apparition de nouveaux modes de coordination. La comprehension de ces changements, en regard des evolutions globales du marche et de ses acteurs, necessite d’adopter une lecture historique permettant de replacer dans leur contexte les strategies mises en œuvre par les differents agents publics et prives, nationaux, etrangers et internationaux; elle necessite aussi de mobiliser des registres explicatifs qui relevent aussi bien des enjeux internes propres a la Cote d’Ivoire que de ceux du marche mondial du cacao. Notre propos s’articulera en trois points. Nous rappellerons tout d’abord les conditions du developpement de la filiere ivoirienne, les raisons de sa forte croissance et les limites de son pouvoir de marche. Nous nous attacherons ensuite a l’analyse des strategies mises en œuvre par les firmes nationales et etrangeres a l’occasion de la liberalisation et plus particulierement aux motifs et aux modalites des alliances nouees entre les differents types d’operateurs, notamment en ce qui concerne le broyage. Nous examinerons enfin les nouvelles caracteristiques de la coordination entre les differents agents de la filiere et leurs consequences sur les conditions de l’approvisionnement en quantite et en qualite.

Apres quarante annees d'independance dans la stabilite qui avaient contribue a sa bonne reputation, la Cote d'Ivoire a connu, le 24 decembre 1999, son premier coup d'Etat militaire. La crise prolonge celle amorcee depuis le debut des annees quatre-vingt, et revele des recompositions majeures, bien que peu visibles, dans les rapports de force et les jeux d'acteurs entre Etat, firmes nationales et etrangeres. L'article explique comment les choix qui avaient fait le succes de l'economie ivoirienne (la specialisation agro-exportatrice engagee par la metropole des les annees vingt, centree essentiellement sur le bois puis sur le cafe et le cacao ; l'alliance avec les firmes coloniales presentes sur le territoire ; la large ouverture du pays aux capitaux et aux hommes) sont devenus inoperants avec les processus amorces au debut des annees 80, de liberalisation, de desengagement des Etats et de fin de la guerre froide

O ano internacional da agricultura familiar vem destacando o papel economico e social que este tipo de agricultura exerce, bem como seus trunfos para enfrentar os desafios globais. Ele apontou tambem certas fragilidades, indicando a necessidade de conduzir uma acao publica determinada de grande envergadura para supera-las. Ora, elaborar e implementar politicas publicas requer uma definicao precisa e estatistica da agricultura familiar na escala mundial, bem como uma imagem precisa das diversas formas que esta agricultura adota em escala nacional. Esta e a origem de uma proposta de caracterizacao da agricultura familiar como conjuncao entre unidade domestica e unidade de producao e de definicao de criterios para refinar esta definicao em cada pais.

Structural transformation and rural change revisited challenges for a late developing country in a Globalizing World is an extremely thorough and important contribution to this renewal of structural economics. It significantly improves our understanding of rural economies and structural transformation, and it could not be timelier. With duration of five years (2006-2010), its objective was to analyze the processes of liberalization and economic integration and their impacts on agriculture and the rural sector of developing countries. It also aimed to illustrate the situation of rural economies in terms of income, diversification, and overall transformation. The results obtained make it possible to improve the dialogue between national and international partners and to provide orientations for the agricultural and rural policy debates. Relying on a methodology that articulated micro-data collection with a macro structural perspective, the program conducted extensive fieldwork to investigate livelihood strategies of rural households, and married the results with a thorough understanding of structural change. The book highlights recurring patterns of diversification and specialization along the process of structural transformation. Further, reconnecting with a broader vision, it emphasizes the difficulties faced by late developers, whose economies offer few alternatives for households to diversify. Based on their assessment, the authors draw a series of policy lessons. They rightly point out the importance of states rebuilding their internal capacities to design comprehensive development strategies. These capacities are critical to addressing major constraints, defining priorities, and ensuring adequate sequencing. Above all, they show that for Sub-Saharan Africa, in the coming two decades, a strong reinvestment in agriculture (in addition to seizing opportunities for the development of manufacturing and services) will be the major policy tool for progressively raising income, mitigating risks, and fostering innovation and rural demand, which constitutes the main engine for rural diversification a major step for structural transformation. The authors also stress the role of the state in provisioning public goods, in adequately and carefully designing incentives, and in using the leverage offered by the development of small towns as a critical mechanism for rural change. These are all sensible and useful reminders for the donor community, governments, and local stakeholders, and represent an important contribution to the role of agriculture for development., Dans les régions en développement, les pays les plus pauvres sont confrontés à des défis considérables. Ils doivent affronter simultanément leur transition démographique et leur transition économique dans un monde globalisé tout en tenant compte du changement climatique. S’appuyant sur de nouveaux résultats issus d’enquêtes de terrain (8 000 ménages ruraux dans sept pays d’Afrique et d’Amérique latine), Transformations rurales et développement analyse la situation très particulière de régions encore profondément ancrées dans l’agriculture. L’ouvrage examine la réalité de leur intégration aux marchés globaux et la diversité de leur économie rurale. Il s’intéresse ensuite aux mécanismes de diversification des économies agricoles et aboutit à des recommandations pour faciliter les processus de changement structurel. Les propositions portent sur la nécessité de réinvestir clairement le champ des stratégies de développement, avec des politiques ciblées et des approches régionalisées, sur un appui prioritaire aux agricultures familiales et aux cultures vivrières et, enfin, sur un développement territorial fondé sur la densification des liaisons villes – campagnes grâce à un renforcement des fonctions économiques des petites villes et des bourgs ruraux.

Publication en ligne des actes du colloque; International audience; Agriculture has a key role in development and poverty reduction. But beyond its role in producing food, it should also generate activities, income, and employment to facilitate rural transformation and structural change. This is particularly the case for developing countries facing the challenges of incipient economic transitions and quickly evolving demographic context characterized by growing cohorts of new labor market entrants. While a larger labor force offers countries new opportunities for growth related to the "demographic dividend," it also could pose socio-political risks if investments and public policies are inappropriate to support the processes underway. The paper explores rural transformation and structural change by presenting an in-depth analysis of the socio-economic development of rural, mostly agricultural-based, regions in Africa and Meso-America where the RuralStruc Program collected and analyzed about 8,000 rural household surveys. The results of the Program show that contrary to conventional wisdom, the liberalization of agriculture has not led to a massive agricultural restructuring or to a rapid integration of farmers into the global economy. Neither has it led to the development of the buoyant rural non-farm economy so often discussed in the literature. The investigation also shows a strong relationship between income and the diversification/ specialization of rural households in terms of economic activities. An " inverted U" pattern is observed and can be understood as follows: whereas poorer households diversify to mitigate risks, households that are more well-off can make larger investments and begin to specialize to take advantage of these new assets. In Sub-saharan Africa in particular, high level of risks and limited economic opportunities constrain households' options and hence their economic returns. This situation can generate possible poverty traps for low-income farmers. Considering these socio-economic challenges in light of the dramatic demographic shift underway on the continent, policy orientations should reintegrate structural issues and avoid short-term policy priorities, which have driven most of the agenda over the last 30 years.

Rapports

National audience

While some argue that trade liberalization has raised incomes and led to environmental protection in developing countries, others claim that it generates neither poverty reduction nor sustainability. The detailed case studies in this book demonstrate that neither interpretation is universally correct, given how much depends on specific policies and institutions that determine ‘on-the-ground’ outcomes. Drawing on research from six countries around the developing world, the book also presents the unique perspectives of researchers at both the world’s largest development organization (The World Bank) and the world’s largest conservation organization (World Wildlife Fund) on the debate over trade liberalization and its effects on poverty and the environment.

Présentation (36 diapos); National audience

Présentation (32 diapos); International audience

International audience

A trece años de su ratificación el balance del TLCAN sigue siendo objeto de controversia, en particular en lo que toca al sector agropecuario. Las evoluciones macroeconómicas positivas (crecimiento de los intercambios comerciales, de las inversiones directas, de la productividad) son cuestionadas por el aumento de las desigualdades en la distribución de la riqueza, tanto entre sectores sociales como entre las grandes regiones del país, así como por la incapacidad del sector manufacturero para absorber los empleos perdidos en los ramos poco competitivos de la agricultura. Una consecuencia de esta situación radica en la intensificación de los movimientos migratorios, tanto en el ámbito interno como en la destinación de Estados Unidos. A partir de la descripción de los fenómenos de cambio estructural que han afectado al sector agropecuario en el curso del último decenio, el artículo muestra cómo la intervención pública, en su nueva configuración, ha contribuido a ahondar las diferencias de productividad entre regiones y grupos socioeconómicos, a la vez que permiten controlar los procesos de marginación y pobreza rural. Con todo, las transferencias públicas participan de un proceso generalizado de diversificación de las actividades y los ingresos –entre los cuales las remesas ocupan un lugar central–, en el sentido de una reconfiguración radical de la economía de las familias rurales. El trabajo aborda en conclusión las incidencias de tales cambios en la naturaleza y el sentido de las transiciones en curso, así como los retos, en particular políticos, que éstas plantean.Abstract: After thirteen years of its validation, the TLCAN outcome still is controversial, particularly in reference to the agricultural facet. The positive macroeconomic evolutions (growth of commercial exchange, of direct inversion, of productivity) are questioned due to the inequity regarding the distribution of wealth between social sectors and large portions of the country as well as the inability of the industrial sector to absorb the employments lost in lesser competitive agricultural sectors. One of the consequences is that the intensification of the migratory movements inside the country as well as in the United States of America. Starting from descriptions of the structuralchanged phenomena, which has affected agriculture during the last decade, this paper shows the way in which public intervention, in its new layout, has contributed to deepen the differences in terms of productivity between regions and socio-economical groups. At the same time this allowed to control the generalized process of diversification in activities and income at the heart of which the deliveries take a central roll, in the sense of a radical configuration in the economy of rural families. This paper stresses the consequences of these transformations in the nature and sense of the current transition, as well as the challenges, particularly the political ones.Resumé : Treize ans après sa ratification, le bilan de l’Accord de libre-échange d’Amérique du Nord (ALENA) demeure sujet à controverse, en particulier pour ce qui concerne son volet agricole. Les évolutions macro-économiques positives (croissance des échanges commerciaux, des investissements directs et de la productivité) sont en effet contrebalancées par un accroissement des inégalités dans la distribution de la richesse, tant entre secteurs sociaux qu’entre les grandes régions, ainsi que par la difficulté du secteur industriel à absorber les emplois perdus dans les secteurs peu compétitifs de l’agriculture. L’une des conséquences de cette situation réside dans l’intensification des mouvements migratoires, tant entre les régions du pays qu’en direction des États-unis. À partir d’une description des phénomènes de changements structurels qui ont marqué l’agriculture au cours de la dernière décennie, l’article montre comment l’intervention publique dans sa configuration nouvelle a contribué au creusement des écarts au sein du secteur tout en facilitant la gestion des phénomènes de marginalisation et de pauvreté rurale. Il s’attache enfin à démontrer en quoi les transferts publics ne sont qu’une contribution au processus général de diversification des activités et des revenus – au sein duquel les transferts privés liés à la migration occupent une place centrale –, entraînant une profonde reconfiguration de l’économie des familles rurales. Il aborde en conclusion les conséquences de ces changements sur la nature et le sens des transitions en cours, ainsi que les enjeux, notamment politiques, qui en découlent.

Les défis posés par les transitions économiques et démographiques des pays en développement sont largement sous-estimés. En Afrique subsaharienne en particulier, où les taux de croissance démographique sont les plus élevés au monde, les États doivent faire face à une arrivée massive de jeunes sur le marché de l'emploi. Or le secteur agricole et l'économie informelle sont de moins en moins en mesure d'absorber un tel afflux de main-d'oeuvre. Et les alternatives n'existent pas encore. Dès lors, les migrations offrent une échappatoire qu'il faudra mieux gérer.

International audience

The process of economic liberalization that began in the late 1980s has had profound repercussions on the situation of agriculture in developing countries. Market instability, aggravated competition and asymmetry between agents linked to the emergence of big transnational companies have led to greater economic risks for farmers and disparities between countries and within every national situation. In such a context, the emergence of a debate in Europe on the multifunctional character of agriculture and on its economic, social and environmental roles may seem a far cry from the concrete situations of the countries of the South, which have no resources to pay for the other functions of their agriculture. Moreover, this difficulty is intensified by the fact that the debate has been placed within the context of the WTO negotiations, which has led to the pro- and anti-multifunctionality groups taking up a more radical stance. Nevertheless, the multifunctional view of agriculture does appear to be a plausible approach. It offers the possibility of going beyond the questions concerning productivity and market competitiveness towards establishing a debate in terms of strategies for sustainable development, in which the place and roles of agriculture can be thought out. Multifunctionality, founded on objectives negotiated at the local level, does seem to present an opportunity for numerous countries of the South to pursue their public policies on a new basis. (Resume d'auteur)

Dans le contexte de développement étatique qu’a connu l’Afrique subsaharienne des indépendances aux années 80, l’émergence du mouvement coopératif s’est réalisée sous contrôle de l’administration et les fonctions économiques officiellement reconnues et « dévolues » aux organisations de producteurs étaient strictement limitées. Parallèlement, les organisations locales prenaient en charge des actions sociales en s’efforçant de pallier la défaillance des pouvoirs publics. Avec la libéralisation économique et politique et le désengagement des États, les organisations de producteurs ont été confrontées brutalement à un nouvel environnement beaucoup plus concurrentiel et instable. Elles doivent cependant relever le défi du transfert de nombreuses fonctions économiques et faire face, dans le même temps, à des demandes sociales croissantes liées à la dégradation de nombreuses situations nationales. Les formes d’organisation de la période actuelle ne font pas référence à un modèle prédéfini, mais dépendent essentiellement des interactions entre les dynamiques propres aux organisations et les changements à l’oeuvre dans leur environnement économique, institutionnel et politique., In the context of developing nationhood that sub-Saharan Africa experienced from the era of independence to the 1980s, the cooperative movement started under the direct control of the state, and officially recognized economic functions “devolved” to producers' organizations were strictly limited. In tandem with this, community organizations that took over the running of social programs sought to correct government failures. With political and economic liberalization and the disengagement of the state, producers' organizations were confronted with a harsh new economic environment that was much more competitive and unstable. They had, however, to meet the challenges posed by the transfer of many economic functions and, at the same time, deal with increasing social demands stemming from deteriorating conditions in a number of countries. The current forms of organizations are not based on pre-defined models but depend essentially on the interaction between the mechanisms intrinsic to these organizations and the changes at work in their economic, institutional and political environment.

Le 19 septembre 2002, une nouvelle tentative de coup d’Etat a plonge la Cote d’Ivoire dans une situation de guerre ouverte. Qui sont ces rebelles qui ont pris le controle de la moitie nord du pays ? La radicalisation ultranationaliste du regime Gbagbo peut-elle faire basculer le pays vers la guerre civile et l’« epuration ethnique » ? Que peuvent faire la France et les pays de la region ? apres avoir rappele combien l’ivoirite, la transition militaire de l’annee 2000 et l’impunite avaient mine l’edifice national, l’article souligne le potentiel de violence de la crise actuelle et insiste sur les risques d’internationalisation d’un conflit qui pourrait embraser toute la sous-region.

Losch Bruno. Coup de cacao en Côte d'Ivoire. In: Critique internationale, vol. 9. 2000. Politiques de la biosphère, sous la direction de Marie-Claude Smouts. pp. 6-14.