"We don't see things as they are, we see things as we are"
Anais neem
We already knew that how you look at a problem is an important part of the problem. We already knew, too, that we cannot solve new problems with old concepts. We were also aware of the numerous mistakes associated with the so-called modernization of the traditional rural.
That said, it might be worth starting by recalling some of the misunderstandings that resurface whenever we talk about tradition and innovation. For the most part, the Mediterranean Diet, for now a simple epiphenomenon, may be at the origin of some of these misunderstandings. This writing serves as a warning to navigation.
I. The complex relationship between tradition and innovation
In the brief trip we made to the future of the traditional Algarve countryside, under the pretext of the Mediterranean Diet, the emergence of the 2nd rurality is not as simple as we assumed. There are some misconceptions that are recurrent. Otherwise let's see:
– There is no “time arrow” that tells us that tradition is what is left behind and innovation is what comes from the future;
– There is no “relation of necessity” between tradition and innovation as if one were the cause and the other the effect;
– There is no “dichotomous relationship or declared opposition” between tradition and innovation as if we were facing two antagonistic interest groups;
– There is no “linearity relationship” between tradition and innovation, on the contrary, it is the circularity that will mark the future of this relationship;
– Tradition is an essential value, it is the substance of time, innovation has an instrumental value;
– The best way to have innovation is to have diversity and plurality in the rural world, that is, the more tradition, the more innovation.
I end this topic with a reference to the Brazilian theologian Leonardo Boff when he says, quite appropriately: “water before it falls from the sky is cultivated down here, in Mother Nature, in the way we take care of the soil, the shrub cover, the trees , the diversity of agricultures and watercourses”.
It's true, in nature nothing is created, nothing is lost, everything is transformed, that is, tradition is the raw material with which innovation is made.
II. The "markers of the innovation process" in the traditional rural Algarve
Rural space is less and less a space for production and more and more a space for consumption. The rural space is less and less an agricultural rural and more and more a conservationist, playful, recreational and leisure rural space, a therapeutic and celebration space in infinite modalities and manifestations.
In other words, the “markers of the innovation process” in rural areas come in many ways, at different time points and played by very different actors.
In a more systematic or analytical way, the innovation processes underway in the traditional rural Algarve are as follows:
1. Agrarian and ecological modernization, especially through easy access to technology,
2. The touristification of natural amenities, through the various forms of tourism in rural areas,
3. The patrimonialization of resources, through care and attention, and also through more and better historical-cultural research,
4. The territorialization of policies, through the encouragement of new modes of territorial governance where municipalities and local development associations have played an important role,
5. The virtualization of relationships, with the arrival of the “factor (i)”, through special care with immaterial and intangible factors and the technological support of digital platforms.
These processes of modernization/innovation, either concrete or diffuse, are arriving from the future in very different ways, at very different speeds and with protagonists with very different inspirations.
The modernization/innovation of the traditional Algarve countryside is not a one-way street and, as we have said, the peaceful coexistence between tradition and innovation will be the secret of this change.
What worries me most at the moment is, however, that we are not talking about a “desired territory” and a territorial strategy with an “accredited regulator” who has the legitimacy to regulate the five innovation processes mentioned above.
Casuistry reigns, the imponderable can happen at any time, touristification is by far the hegemonic process and generating serious internal imbalances, regional political regulation does not exist.
III. The typology of agriculture in the traditional Algarve countryside
We said at the beginning that, in rural areas, there is less and less space for production and more and more space for consumption. In other words, we have before us a very varied and colorful mixture of ways of occupying the countryside and of doing agriculture. Here is a first exploratory approach to this variety of agricultures:
1. Agriculture on new farms: more cosmopolitan, creative, ecological, an agriculture of fusion of activities, led by neo-rurals from the most varied origins, with variable residentialization, niche agriculture, products and services good gourmet food and the most diverse cosmopolitan events;
2. Agriculture accompanied by the community: a social and community agriculture of proximity made from clubs, associations, cooperatives, local networks supported by technological and collaborative platforms in line with the sharing and sharing economy. institutional food;
3. Verticalized conventional agriculture: an industrialized and technological agriculture that contracts with medium and large commercial surfaces, with standards of quality imposed/contracted by the distribution chains; it is an extroverted model of agriculture, little regionalized and almost foreign to the traditional rural Algarve;
4. Regionalized conventional agriculture: micro and small scale agriculture integrated into the traditional rural Algarve, with links to local markets, producer organizations (PO), local cooperatives, intermediaries and local fundraisers;
5. Author agricultures: agricultures with an alternative design, linked to forms of radical ecology, with playful, creative and cultural activities of personal and artistic inspiration in very different formats and manifestations.
IV. The risks involved in innovation processes
“Being in fashion” always involves some risks, especially if there is no political regulation and adequate prevention of these risks. The risk is greater if there is a great asymmetry in the way we occupy the territory. Here are some of these risks:
1. A modernization that is the result of chance or opportunism,
2. A new wave of real estate speculation, urban and rustic, and an unusual pressure on the owners,
3. A movement for the gentrification of the elderly population in the most sought after urban and rural areas,
4. Excessive touristification, with overheating of natural resources and an increase in the cost of living,
5. A growing loss of identity and degradation of symbolic capital in the traditional rural Algarve,
6. A Mediterranean Diet as a mere decorative element of a “cosmopolitan mass tourism”,
7. A regional public administration totally unadapted to the new situation, without the authority or legitimacy to be an accredited political regulator,
8. The risk of a regional “tourist uberization” with worsening job precariousness and internal conflicts between clientele and operators.
Final grade
Once here, the Mediterranean Diet, UNESCO's intangible heritage, is an excellent pretext to trigger an open and profound reflection on the processes of modernization/innovation of the Algarve's traditional countryside.
It is, however, necessary to emphasize that this reflection takes place at a very special moment, since the touristification of the current situation can be used for the best and worst reasons.
In the first case, to calmly debate the harmonious restructuring of the Algarve's traditional countryside, in the second case, to “surf the wave” and take advantage of the commercial opportunism that will cross the Algarve in all directions.
The asymmetric shock in the Algarve economy caused by excessive touristification and the resulting “accelerated uberization” are not part of the “Unesco cultural universe” and the “doctrine of preservation and enhancement” contained in its declarations of intangible heritage. Nor the innovation processes of territorial collective intelligence.
We hope, therefore, that common sense prevails and that the Mediterranean Diet is a unique opportunity to modernize, in the right direction, the traditional Algarve countryside. We'll get back to the subject.
Author António Covas is a full professor at the University of Algarve and a PhD in European Affairs from the Free University of Brussels
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