Paradigm Shift or Individual Experiment? A Socio‑analysis of Agricultural Innovation Processes in a Rural Region
Paradigm Shift or Individual Experiment? A Socio‑analysis of Agricultural Innovation Processes in a Rural Region

Summary/Abstract: Relying on a research series started ten years ago, the present study engages in the analysis of the agricultural innovation processes of a rural area (Szeklerland) situated in Romania, which can be described by the following three statements: 1) over a long period of time, small‑scale farming based on family resources used to be a typical feature of the region; 2) the population/ society in the region did not identify itself with a large‑scale farming model and its technological innovations (collective farms), and the family farm structure was restored in the post‑1989 period; 3) the so‑called “new rural development paradigm” had a very significant external impact on this region following 1989, but especially after 2000. The research series running since 2011 is first of all based on fieldwork with personal participation and interviews conducted addressing the target group of micro‑enterprises operating in the rural areas and performing new types of activities compared to the traditional family farming in the region. Through the analysis – conceived within the social context – of the innovative groups’ activities, we endeavour to form a situational picture concerning the process of change of the agricultural segment that has been a determining factor in society to this day.

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