Debates on the construction of an alternative food system in periurban spaces. The experience of a national consultation table in Argentina

Abstract

This contribution analyses a consultation table instituted in Argentina at the national level, in which actors from different levels of government and areas of concern participated, along with technicians and researchers specialized in the problems of periurban areas affected by the use of agrochemicals linked to an intensive model of agricultural production. It examines the main points in common and the controversies raised, the paradigms in tension and the circumstances of the context, based on the review of secondary information and interviews with key informants. The results indicate the identification, by the participating actors, of the heterogeneity of situations at the territorial level, although with a common point present in all of them, the difficulties of coexistence between different ways of producing; the achievement of a consensus in the vision of proximity agriculture as a response to multiple social demands, which requires comprehensive actions and policies, although “situated”. However, the analysis also highlights the limits of this instance of consultation to address the tensions emerging from export-oriented agriculture in countries adopting this model of development.