FAO has put governance at the core of its interventions: “Governance is more than ever a driving concern in FAO’s work and is critical to achieving FAO’s Strategic Objectives.”
However, as some experts have highlighted, “contrary to popular belief, there is little evidence that success in implementing governance reforms leads to more rapid and inclusive economic and social development. In fact, it may be the other way around” (emphasis added) https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/governance-reform-development-agenda-by-jomo-kwame-sundaram-and-michael-t--clark-2015-06?barrier=accesspaylog
The following quotes are taken from official FAO documents published by different technical units/departments of the Organization, in the last decade.
1. The term “governance” is used extensively and in many contexts, but is difficult to capture in a simple definition. In a natural resource context, governance is used to refer to the body of formal and informal policies, and the arrangements developed between relevant stakeholders, to manage and to make decisions about a particular resource.
2. Governance is the exercise of political, economic and administrative authority in the management of a country’s affairs at all levels. Governance is a neutral concept comprising the complex mechanisms, processes and institutions through which citizens and groups articulate their interests, exercise their legal rights and obligations, and mediate their differences.http://www.fao.org/3/a-ak999e.pdf
3. While there is not a universally accepted definition of “good/democratic governance”, there is a relatively broad agreement on a number of its key components:
- Governance refers to the activity or process of decision-making and implementation;
- It holds a meaning broader than “government”
- It articulates how interests are accommodated and power is exercised in a society;
- It includes formal and informal rules; and
- The quality dimensions of governance include accountability, participation, transparency and the respect for the rule of law. (http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/righttofood/documents/other_documents/2011_good_food_security_gov/FoodSecurityGovernanceWorkshop_backgroundpaper.pdf)
4. Governance at all levels is defined by the processes through which public and private actors articulate their interests; frame and prioritize issues; and make, implement, monitor, and enforce decisions.http://www.fao.org/policy-support/governance/en/
5. Governance in this context refers to the set of laws, regulations and administrative practices that facilitate or inhibit the provision of public goods and services pertaining to agribusiness investment and agro-industrial development. (http://www.fao.org/3/a-i6862e.pdf)
These quotes refer only to the “governance” discussion, without entering into the more ideological one of the “good” governance. Again, as experts have written, “With good-governance reforms now a condition for international aid, developing-country governments often end up mimicking donor expectations, instead of addressing the issues that are most pressing for their own citizens.”
Anyway, narrowing our post to the different “governance” concepts promoted by different FAO units, it is interesting to note the tendency by several of them to forgot the informal players and, even more important, power dynamics and how power is exercised. Only one of them is clearly mentioning it, whilst others (from more neoliberal groups with FAO) tend to frame a narrow technical concept, minimizing the variety of stakeholders to be involved in these processes, the existence of informal rules and avoiding any discussion on the forbidden question of power dynamics.
This post is particularly directed to my former colleagues struggling with “governance” and “territorial” issues in their daily life. I do want to encourage them to push more in order to finally opening up these critical and structural dimensions too often forgotten.
Gracias Paolo... un po di ciccia per sta sera
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