The multitask functioning of the rural world: technological change and sustainability

The rural world offers a heterogeneous picture caused by a rich past and varied responses to a diversity of socio-economic, demographic and political challenges. The present paper aims to trace new opportunities for rurality in the context of a metamorphosis of current production and consumption systems. Addressing issues like diversification, local competition or networking, rural firms are adapting to new conditions by segmenting and moving towards less concentrated forms, in an attempt to integrate the marketing of non-market commodities as the most adequate strategies for consumers. Such strategies that presuppose skills based on a specific know-how and technological improvements also oblige locals to enhance their knowledge basis and learning capacities, thereby facilitating a more environmentally sustainable production model that simultaneously stimulates balanced development. The case of biotechnology in the region of Andalusia (Spain) was used as an illustration to map out the above complex force field. The rural world suggests a new paradigm in which social participation is more needed and local and regional actors are encouraged to find meaningful compromises for the sustainable governance of natural resources and the advancement of social learning