Multistakeholder Working Groups as an Intervention Strategy to Address the Complexities of Agricultural Areas in Southern Greater Buenos Aires

Abstract

The Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area is a complex and dynamic territory where rural, peri-urban, and urban areas coexist. Within these spaces, family farmers live and subsist. Here, urban sprawl generates coexistence tensions between gated communities and productive establishments, particularly those dedicated to livestock production. Starting in 2014, members from four institutions—the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at the University of Lomas de Zamora, SENASA, the National Ministry of Agro-industry, and INTA—began meeting to address agricultural issues in the Almirante Brown district. This led to the creation of a participatory multistakeholder space, with municipal involvement, known as the Almirante Brown Rural Development Council. This initial initiative was later joined by the districts of San Vicente, Esteban Echeverría, and Presidente Perón. Multistakeholder working groups constitute a strategy to address these long-standing problems. This paper reports on the implementation of these "development councils" from the perspective of four participating actors. In this regard, it includes information on their constitution, historical background, objectives, current functioning, the districts where they were established, the topics they address, and their membership.