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In 2019, the Canadian government deployed the Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP). The program provides a pathway to permanent residency for skilled immigrant workers. It aims to address key challenges associated with labour market shortages that are a result of increasing retirement populations, declining birthrates, and the “exodus” of youth to urban cities (Bousmah and Grenier 2022). Unlike other programs, the RNIP aims to attract newcomers through a “community economic development-driven model” where local employers and community partners aid newcomers in securing suitable employment and providing services and mentorships to encourage inclusion and long-term settlement (IRCC 2022a). Although pathways to permanent residency provided through pilot programs can be attractive, their effectiveness in retaining skilled workers within underpopulated rural regions remains understudied. Using content analysis, this paper examines the implementation of the RNIP in Ontario (specifically North Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, Sudbury, Thunder Bay, and Timmins). Using federal and region-specific websites and community reports, we employ a case study approach to compare strategies and community initiatives relative to the needs of each region. We analyze how these regions are implementing this “community economic development-driven model” and question whether these measures are successful in creating feelings of belonging and inclusion among immigrants – factors we argue are essential for longterm settlement. Without addressing reasons for why long-term settlement may be unattractive and difficult for locals within these communities, newcomers that aim to settle in these regions may experience challenges that remain unrecognized. Overall, we consider whether community membership and long-term settlement can be adequately addressed through the implementation of such pilot programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural Canadian towns with resource-dependent economies face several challenges that adversely affect economic stability (e.g., boom and bust cycles, low educational attainment rates). Responding to these challenges, the Town of Drayton Valley (DV) introduced a tuition assistance program, Zero Fee Tuition (ZFT), which provides up to $5,000 in grants to residents enrolled in select post-secondary education and training programs. In this community-based participatory research study, we conducted 11 interviews with stakeholders including Town of Drayton Valley staff, elected officials, and other people involved in planning and administering ZFT. We also observed five group stakeholder consultations and reviewed relevant Town documents. Qualitative data were used to identify challenges facing Drayton Valley and responses the Town took to sustain ZFT. Challenges threatening the sustainability of ZFT include the (a) lack of a culture of education, (b) need to demonstrate outcomes, (c) difficulty of attracting post-secondary institutions, and (d) lack of resources. Mitigating these challenges, the Town has (a) established an Education Committee, (b) developed partnerships with our research team and other post-secondary institutions, and (c) supported residents who champion ZFT. This study contributes to a limited body of research on tuition assistance programs in Canada. Findings may have implications for other rural communities interested in using tuition assistance programs as a tool for promoting economic diversification and rural development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Fomento Social is the property of ETEA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Crítica de Ciências Sociais is the property of Centro de Estudos Sociais and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

There are long-standing debates in Canada about how to design effective policies to meet the needs of diverse rural communities. This article takes stock of Canadian rural policies through a comprehensive content analysis of provincial and territorial government strategies, plans, and programs. This analysis reveals that many of the common critiques of rural policy remain pertinent today, including evidence of sectoral silos, a lack of policy integration, and continued treatment of rural areas as sites of extraction detached from investment. It also highlights the importance of policy approaches from Canada's northern territories that demonstrate integrated approaches to rural economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revue d'Économie Régionale & urbaine is the property of Librairie Armand Colin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The purpose of this paper is to examine the efforts of a seven-year partnership project, the Rural Policy Learning Commons (RPLC), to raise the profile of rural development policy in Canada. Substantive and effective rural policy has long been a challenging prospect. Issues of distance and density, which define the rural condition, present barriers to galvanizing policy attention, understanding rural issues, and designing appropriate interventions. The RPLC project experienced several policy impact successes related to specific policy windows. The project also experienced capacity challenges--at all levels of the rural policy process--and offers insights related to complex systems and the challenges associated with seeking to elevate the role of evidence within policy processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Bitácora Urbano/Territorial is the property of Bitacora Urbano/Territorial and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Over the past 30 years, the responsibilities, mandates, and activities of local governments in Ontario have undergone substantial transformations. Influenced by New Public Management, policy changes are characterized by marketization and managerialism resulting in downloading of responsibilities to local governments. This research examines the ebbs and flows of policy changes among different provincial governments since 1990 and the impacts of these policies on rural local governments in Ontario. Interviews were conducted with elected officials and senior staff in eight local governments to understand their realities. The findings demonstrate the continual policy changes led to the "do more, with less" approach currently faced by rural local governments—increased regulatory requirements, limited human and financial capacities, and small tax bases to support their activities. This experience, combined with limited fiscal levers, hinders the ability of rural local governments to address both new demands for infrastructure and existing infrastructure deficits, housing stock and affordability, and economic and workforce development strategies. The reality has necessitated local governments to seek alternative strategies to deliver programs and services through partnerships and collaboration. Key Messages: Local government policy changes in rural Ontario have created new responsibilities with limited financial and human resources, resulting in a "do more, with less" approach.New Public Management approaches continue to impact the ability of local governments in rural Ontario.The policy landscape has created, perhaps necessitated, opportunities for local governments to seek alternative strategies to deliver programs and services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Boletin de Antropologia is the property of Universidad de Antioquia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista Internacional de los Estudios Vascos is the property of Sociedad de Estudios Vascos and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Large scale agricultural projects driven by a high modernist ideology have been closely interlinked with the process of state building at the Ethiopian lowland frontier since the second half of the twentieth century. This paper provides a diachronic analysis of the political economy of agricultural development and the associated frontier effect in the western and north-eastern lowlands of the country across three different political regimes. A comparative assessment of these patterns suggests that the high modernist paradigm should be applied with some qualification to the agenda of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), the coalition that ruled Ethiopia from 1994 to 2019. The EPRDF was far more pragmatic than its predecessors; the oscillation between different degrees of state intervention was based upon past experiences of success and failure in the territorialization of state power in contested borderlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current debate, social innovation is a useful policy tool to strengthen rural development and oppose marginalization in rural areas. In this context, it is necessary to enhance the social function of agriculture as a producer of values that are out of the market and rooted in the territory. The agricultural cooperative can be a vector of social innovation and rural development in marginal areas, as a hybrid organization that, while existing within a market and profit-making context, operates according to a logic of social utility, oriented towards supporting its members and local communities. However, this process is not an automatic one. How and why does agricultural cooperation emerge and endure in a territory? What is the role of trust and past cooperative arrangements (path dependency)? How does the agricultural cooperative innovate and what are its limits? This article aims to answer these questions on the basis of a case study, the cooperative system of shepherds on a rural Mediterranean island. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Anales de Geografía de la Universidad Complutense is the property of Universidad Complutense de Madrid and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Silva Lusitana is the property of Unidade de Investigacao de Silvicultura e Productos Florestais and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

De plus en plus d’initiatives de développement rural au Maghreb affichent une volonté d’adopter des approches participatives. Or, pour les agents de l’administration, la mise en œuvre de ces approches implique souvent un changement de posture et l’acquisition de connaissances et de compétences spécifiques. Comme tous les agents ne peuvent pas être formés à la participation, bon nombre d’initiatives adoptent une stratégie reposant sur une hypothèse de partage de compétences et de posture entre un petit groupe d’agents de l’administration qui sont formés à la participation et leurs collègues. Cet article vise à analyser dans quelle mesure ce partage de compétences et de posture est effectif ou non dans le cas d’une démarche participative mise en œuvre sur un territoire rural en Tunisie. Notre analyse repose sur 12 entretiens individuels réalisés auprès d’agents de l’administration. Notre analyse montre qu’il y a eu un partage partiel entre les facilitateurs de la démarche et les agents de l’administration qui ont été impliqués. Les personnes interrogées ont notamment acquis des compétences sur les outils participatifs et pour l’une d’entre elles au moins un changement de posture est envisagé. On ne peut pas dire pour autant que leur implication dans la démarche, quel que soit son degré, ait changé leur vision sur la participation. Le partage de compétences et de posture pourrait être renforcé par une réflexion plus poussée sur la distribution des rôles et des responsabilités entre agents de l’administration lors de l’ingénierie de la démarche.

Copyright of Revista de Fomento Social is the property of ETEA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article presents les Ateliers des savoirs partagés (Shared Knowledges Workshops), an intervention in rural settings based on collaborative exchanges between researchers and local practitioners which took place in three Quebec rural communities from 2018 to 2021. Its objectives were to strengthen collective action, to contribute to the development of the local social environment and to foster dynamic communities by stimulating social innovation. After having presented the modalities the workshops took in each locality, this text summarises the main similarities and differences between them and suggests some of the lessons that can be drawn from them. This experiment suggests that there are three basic conditions for the emergence and sustainability of social innovations in rural areas: connectivity, anchoring in local realities and the production of a positive identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revue d'Économie Régionale & urbaine is the property of Librairie Armand Colin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

How can government policy and decision-makers obtain a more nuanced understanding of rural and small-town community conditions and capacities in order to support decision-making and deliver targeted programs and services? How can community differences be captured in the day-to-day work of governments at all levels? This is an inherent challenge facing government decision makers. The range of definitions of rurality can be imperfect for policy purposes and small area data can face numerous challenges, reducing its robustness and utility. In response to these issues, many jurisdictions have adopted composite indicators for rural development, to provide a snapshot of community conditions and changes over time. This study presents a comparative analysis of composite indicators (CI) for rural development, local economic development, community resilience, and community well-being in five countries: Canada, New Zealand, Poland, Slovakia, and Spain. It explores leading practices and offers recommendations for robust rural CI development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 global pandemic has disrupted economies around the world, and rural Canada is no exception. In this paper, we explore the economic development impacts of the pandemic on rural communities across Canada. We seek to provide a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of how rural communities have responded to this crisis and the extent to which they are able to build long-term rural resilience through their responses and plans for recovery. To do so, we draw upon novel data derived from a survey of rural economic development practitioners from across Canada. Our findings are structured around three main themes: economic development and business impacts, economic development responses, and resources needed for recovery. The study highlights the geographic unevenness of impacts, responses, and resource needs to address the challenges introduced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall, our research underscores the importance of capacity and context as rural economic development practitioners and other rural leaders have responded to these challenges. Finally, this research provides important insights into the tools and strategies that could build long-term rural resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of VertigO is the property of La Revue Electronique en Sciences de l'Environnement VertigO and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Notwithstanding the reinsertion of the extension service into the Brazilian national political agenda at the beginning of the 21st century, the acquisition of scientific and technological innovations, knowledge and the inclusion in public policies has been limited in the country. In this sense, we analyze, in this article, a set of data in the 2006 and 2017 Agricultural Censuses regarding access to rural extension service by agricultural establishments of family farmers and patronal agriculture. The territory analyzed in this research included Brazil, the state of Goiás and its five Geographical Mesoregions. Based on an interpretation and examination of the census data, we found that there are still profound socio-spatial inequalities in obtaining this service in the Brazilian and Goiás countryside, in addition to an increase in the number of agricultural establishments that use pesticides and a decrease in those that practice organic agriculture and / or organic livestock production. In the context of the imposition of neoliberal economic reforms and the rise of a neo-fascist government, the Brazilian State is increasingly absent and omitted in promoting rural extension services to family farming, which accentuates the difficulties faced by this segment and deepens their vulnerabilities, intensifying their dependence and subordination to large companies and private rural extension organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cet article analyse la pertinence d'un nouveau métier, celui de facilitateur territorial. Les facilitateurs territoriaux ont généralement pour mission de faciliter le dialogue entre différents types d'acteurs (agriculteurs, élus, administration ...) en vue du développement d'un territoire. Cet article décrit un dispositif pilote qui a formé et accompagné des agents de l'administration agricole tunisienne, chargés d'appui au développement rural, dans l'apprentissage et la mise en œuvre de leur nouveau métier en vue d'une planification territoriale concertée dans 6 zones rurales tunisiennes. Le métier de facilitateur territorial repose sur l'acquisition de trois types de compétences : des savoirs théoriques (les connaissances accessibles), des savoir-faire (l'expérience et la pratique) et un savoir-être (la posture et les valeurs). Ceci implique donc de dépasser les savoirs techniques standards et conventionnels de ces agents pour construire une expertise composite. L'article décrit les compétences acquises par les facilitateurs tunisiens à partir de leur témoignage. Ceux-ci font état de l'évolution de leur posture, plus bienveillante, à l'égard des populations rurales et d'une capacité de compréhension, d'analyse et d'adaptabilité à différentes situations d'intervention qui prend en compte les différences de points de vue des participants. Cette expérience conduite dans le cadre du programme PACTE montre l'intérêt de ce métier pour le développement territorial en Tunisie. Les facilitateurs territoriaux ont ainsi animé une série d'ateliers et de réunions comptabilisant au total plus de 4000 participants (soit un sixième de la population des six zones d'intervention). L'article conclut sur les défis à relever pour l'extension de l'expérience à d'autres régions de Tunisie et d'ailleurs.

Copyright of Revue d'Économie Régionale & urbaine is the property of Librairie Armand Colin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

De plus en plus d’initiatives de développement rural au Maghreb affichent une volonté d’adopter des approches participatives. Or, pour les agents de l’administration, la mise en oeuvre de ces approches implique souvent un changement de posture et l’acquisition de connaissances et de compétences spécifiques. Comme tous les agents ne peuvent pas être formés à la participation, bon nombre d’initiatives adoptent une stratégie reposant sur une hypothèse de partage de compétences et de posture entre un petit groupe d’agents de l’administration qui sont formés à la participation et leurs collègues. Cet article vise à analyser dans quelle mesure ce partage de compétences et de posture est effectif ou non dans le cas d’une démarche participative mise en oeuvre sur un territoire rural en Tunisie. Notre analyse repose sur 12 entretiens individuels réalisés auprès d’agents de l’administration. Notre analyse montre qu’il y a eu un partage partiel entre les facilitateurs de la démarche et les agents de l’administration qui ont été impliqués. Les personnes interrogées ont notamment acquis des compétences sur les outils participatifs et pour l’une d’entre elles au moins un changement de posture est envisagé. On ne peut pas dire pour autant que leur implication dans la démarche, quel que soit son degré, ait changé leur vision sur la participation. Le partage de compétences et de posture pourrait être renforcé par une réflexion plus poussée sur la distribution des rôles et des responsabilités entre agents de l’administration lors de l’ingénierie de la démarche. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the 1970s, cotton has been a driving force in the transformation of agricultural production systems and a key element in local economies in the savannah areas of West and Central Africa (WCA). However, the sustainability of cotton-based production systems is often debated because of their effects on soils and the negative impacts of chemical pest control on the environment and human health. Through drastic reforms, the WCA cotton sector overcame the crises, showing its resilience. Today, research should be mobilized to help the sector tackle the major challenges: i) economic (price volatility, producers’ incomes), ii) social (inclusion of vulnerable groups, role of women and young people, etc.) and iii) environmental (impact of pesticides, soil degradation, etc.) and linked to climate change. The articles published in this issue present some results and perspectives of research work, which can help improving the sustainability of cotton systems in WCA, open paths towards an agro-ecological transition and address the new challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revue d'Économie Régionale & urbaine is the property of Librairie Armand Colin and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Le développement alternatif n’a pas eu beaucoup de succès en Afghanistan. Compris et mis en œuvre comme des interventions localisées pensées pour réduire la culture de plantes psychotropes, ces projets n’ont pas atteints leurs objectifs dans le courant des années 1990. Après 2001, avec la chute du régime des Talibans, une croissance inédite des niveaux de production de pavot à opium, et une arrivée en quantité non négligeable de programmes d’aide, le développement alternatif en est venu à revêtir des significations différentes en fonction des personnes en Afghanistan. Pour certains, le développement alternatif s’est poursuivi sous la forme d’interventions de court terme prévues pour obtenir des communautés qu’elles acceptent de réduire la production d’opium ou pour récompenser celles qui l’avaient déjà fait. Pour d’autres, cela pouvait être tout programme de développement mis en œuvre dans une zone de culture de pavot avérée ou présumée, sans considération des causes du choix de culture et de la différence en fonction des zones, du genre ou du groupe socio-économique. L’auteur montre ici qu’un manque de cohérence et de clarté de l’approche — et en particulier l’absence d’articulation et de mise en œuvre d’une stratégie de soutien des agriculteurs en transition vers des cultures licites au sein d’un cadre changeant d’aide au développement — ont porté le développement alternatif et les efforts de réduction de la culture du pavot à opium par le biais du développement rural, aux marges de l’Afghanistan. Pour citer les Corinthiens, en tentant de « d’être toutes choses pour tous les humains », le développement alternatif n’a finalement sauvé personne.

Agricultural training, weakened by prejudices, weakened by agrarian policies, serviced by the profile of candidates who have joined agricultural training establishments, has finally seen its reputation somewhat distorted. These different situations have had negative effects, except for the drastic drop in demand for training; the dismantling of its school infrastructure and the lack of supply of work places. These embarrassing circumstances in more ways than one could overcome the niche of agricultural training, because some men believed in its place in the agricultural environment and in its role in the development of the agricultural sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research aims to analyze the pedagogical and socioeconomic contributions of the six Family Agricultural Schools (Escolas Família Agrícola - EFAs) that exist in Amapá, using as a parallel, the methodology of the alternation pedagogy and understanding its results in the local development and social education. The pedagogy of the alternation is understood as an important tool for the qualification of the students who deal directly with the rural environment, interconnecting the theoretical with the practical reality, improving their knowledge in an holistic conception and critical formation. Field interviews were carried out, as well as a bibliographic review and statistical data from a quali/quantitative approach. As a conclusion, resulting from the several problems encountered, it is observed that the "EFAs" contribute to the students' qualification, and although they are an important pedagogical tool for the rural education, they depend on political interests and on the community involved, along with investment and understanding of the reality, in order to target better professional qualification and to promote social advances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional cooperation is a context-dependent process that is better understood using a geographical approach; this is, accounting for the region as part of the explanation for and not only as the container in which cooperative agreements operate. The case of the Coffee Cultural Landscape of Colombia, a bottom-up regional cooperation process that resulted in a regional trademark, illustrates what roles are played by a diversity of local actors and how local socio-economic conditions influence cooperation agreements. The case highlights the inadequacy of inflexible jurisdictional boundaries and the limitations of preexisting categories (such as inter-municipal cooperation or metropolitan areas). The empirical evidence includes the analysis of 19 semi-structured interviews. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El olivar es el cultivo más común y la base económica de gran parte de los municipios rurales de Andalucía, a menudo alcanzando la condición de monocultivo, sumando en conjunto una superficie de más de un millón y medio de hectáreas. Para contribuir al mantenimiento y proyección de los territorios donde está presente, la conservación y valorización del paisaje y la cultura del olivar se contempla ahora como un activo de desarrollo sostenible y competitividad regional, lo que ha llevado incluso a plantear su reconocimiento patrimonial al más alto nivel internacional. Más allá de la consideración del olivar como un todo, en nuestro trabajo se pretende demostrar la inmensa diversidad interna que contiene, y cómo esta se plasma en términos paisajísticos. Para ello hemos creado una base de datos espacial en la que se integran variables agrícolas, cronológicas y espaciales. Como resultado final se presentan cuatro grandes categorías de paisajes olivareros: marginales, en áreas protegidas, tradicionales y productivistas. [fr] L’oliveraie est la culture la plus commune et la base économique de la plupart des municipalités rurales de l’Andalousie, atteignant souvent la condition de monocultures. Pour contribuer au maintien et au développement de ces territoires, la conservation et l’amélioration du paysage et de la culture de l’oliveraie est désormais considérée comme un atout pour le développement durable et la compétitivité régionale. L’objectif de notre travail est de montrer la grande diversité interne qu’il contient, et comment cela se traduit en termes de paysage. Nous avons donc créé une base de données spatiale dans laquelle les variables agricoles , chronologiques et spatiales sont intégrées. Comme résultat final quatre grandes catégories de paysages d’oliviers sont présentés: marginal, dans les zones protégées, traditionnel et productivistes.

As organizations that aggregate, market, and distribute locally and regionally sourced food within wholesale, retail, and institutional markets, regional food hubs (RFHs) are increasingly promoted in the United States as rural development tools. Connections between RFHs and rural development, however, remain mostly untested and unclear. Motivated by prolonged declines in rural, agricultural communities and limited investigation to date, this paper adopts the capability approach to comprehensively test for the first time the rural development rhetoric surrounding RFHs. In-depth interviews in a rural, poor setting contribute empirical, noneconomic evidence to assess if, how, how much, and for whom RFHs advance rural opportunities and improve upon highly localized food systems. Though not to the purported degree, RFHs facilitate rural development, and do so in previously unexplored though substantial ways. Contrary to what proponents might anticipate, the study simultaneously highlights negative outcomes and areas that – albeit key to rural development narratives – remain unchanged. Grounding assumptions, highlighting alternative spaces of impact, and uncovering barriers with a novel evaluative approach, this paper draws on community voices to fill gaps between theory and reality and offer insights for those hoping to harness the transformative capacities of food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Lecturas de Economia is the property of Universidad de Antioquia, Facultad de Ciencias Economicas and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Revista de Fomento Social is the property of ETEA and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)