Hacia un modelo europeo de extensión rural agroecológicapraxis participativas para la transición agroecológica. Un estudio de caso en Morata de Tajuña, Madrid

Abstract

The Rural Development dimension for Agroecological Research focuses on generating local society scale­sustainability processes, based on agrarian activity, through an integral and holistic approach. We call these processes: Agroecological Transition. This has been developed in the Latin American context, both theoretically and empirically. In post­industrial societies, such as the European ones, empirical aspects have been developed only in situations of advanced stages of the Agroecological Transition, and there is a lack of empirical research in less advanced situations, which represents the majority in European countryside. To fill the empirical development gap in agroecological research, a Spanish municipality, Morata de Tajuña, launched a three­year field work case study. Morata de Tajuña is 35 km away from Madrid and has a population of 6.700 people. The town is very affected by the socio­economic processes related to this metropolitan area, and farming activity has a very low importance on the local economy and society. The main crops are olive trees, garlic and fresh vegetables, and Agroecology has a very small development on the municipality. Morata de Tajuña´s agricultural features are significant both as a European periurban town and as a rural area in which agrarian activity has lost influence within the local society, which is, in fact, the most common situation in the EU­15 countryside