KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION, MULTIFUNCTIONALITY OF AGRICULTURE AND PUBLIC DECISIONS: CRITICAL ISSUES OF CONTEMPORARY CONTROVERSIES

Various theoretical models of public policy analysis are used to treat situations ofdecision-making in which public deciders have to take into account themultifunctionality of agriculture. For some, science-society relations are not reallyproblematical. Others acknowledge the current attempts of these policy-makers to findadequate scientific knowledge, and the difficulties they encounter. These difficultiesstem partly from the very content of knowledge produced by research. Could othermodes of production be more efficient? The status of the knowledge produced by theseapproaches is a subject of debate. Bridging the divide between science and policy moreeffectively is not only a question of knowledge brokerage. Accessibility and reliabilityof the existing evidences are also problems to be addressed. The debates aroundevidence-based practices may provide some landmarks in this new situation althoughthey also emphasize the limits of the tools that can be built for this purpose.