Geografie policentriche della cooperazione internazionale. Differenze e convergenze fra cooperazione Nord-Sud e Sud-Sud in agricoltura

Abstract

Polycentric geographies and convergences between North-South and South-South international cooperation in agriculture

Since the first Green Revolution, inspired by the logic of agricultural modernization, North-South cooperation exported to the world the model of industrial agriculture, based on monocultures for export with strong socio-ecological impacts. The new Green Revolutions propose discursive practices related to “sustainable intensification” that combine economic growth and environmental protection through a technocratic vision. This approach, which is not without contradictions, underlies convergences between North-South and South-South cooperation. In this respect, the case of China-Africa agricultural cooperation is emblematic. Since 2006, Agriculture Technology Demonstration Center (ATDC) has been the flagship project of China’s foreign agricultural assistance in more than 25 African countries. ATDC are rooted in the logic of modernization with a leading role played by state-owned and private Chinese companies in agricultural technology transfer. ATDCs are representative to reflect on the expansion of the logic of agricultural modernization, despite its failed past, beyond North/South dichotomies.