Massive recent withdrawal by the State (privatization, deregulation and finance policies of restricted public spending) initially fuelled a large-scale reduction in public institutions’ intervention capacity and, in rural development terms, triggered a contraction in the public institutions which had been furnishing agricultural services, the down-scaling or abolishment of subsidies and the privatization of certain agricultural support services. Rural development institutions, therefore, are engaged in a restructuring process of equally massive proportions. Decentralization and the transfer of operational functions and certain support services to intermediate and local government levels, producer organizations and civil institutions, form a key facet of these developments. State withdrawal has created a window of opportunity for other rural development agents to undertake action.
The present report commences by presenting a study carried out by FAO on the risks associated with processes of decentralization. An account is then provided of the valuable knowledge-base and experience which FAO has built up, which places it in a position to propose appropriate ways of responding to such risks. Identification of the latter and of FAO’s valuable advantages makes it possible, finally, to put forward a decentralization model based on a methodology of regionalization and differentiation and three associated policies: information, training and organization.
