**3. Case study and shortcomings or levels of competence**

The participation of the National University of La Plata, Argentina, in the research involved a small group of part-time teachers, as well as a group of students in the upper years, who were studying courses that are part of the rural development department of the Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, including: rural extension, introduction to management, introduction to agricultural and forestry sciences, socioeconomics and curriculum integration workshops I and II.

Through an open call addressed to all students who were part of these courses, they were offered the opportunity to participate in a research experience that would allow contact with rural stakeholders, as well as the opportunity to establish this research as a basis for their future final degree dissertation. Of the 190 students who took part in these courses, a total of 23 students voluntarily registered to participate in this research experience.

The process of selecting students was conducted based on the activities developed in the framework of the applied research project: "A development strategy in rural villages: application in the Town of Punta del Indio," which was approved and funded by the National University of La Plata, Argentina.

The departmental board made the final selection of students to be enrolled, based on academic merit, knowledge of certain tools to work in the rural-social sector and interest in the Developing Competencies for Rural Development Project Management through Local Action Groups... http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/67046 157

Farming Census [24], Obschatko [25, 26] created a new segment of producers, which considers "small producers" as those who directly carry out production tasks in farming operations without using salaried employees. As a result, family farming began to gather strength as a way of describing those producers in the country who are grouped in a different way to those from traditional farming and who promote other values such as: resource conservation, organization of producers, family production as a way of life and as a cultural matter. Finally, the definition indicates that the concept of family farming includes farming, livestock or cattle, fishing, forestry, agribusiness and traditional production, as well as the traditions of harvesting and rural tourism [27–29]. Toward the end of 2004, the National Federation of Family Farming (FoNAF) was created by the family farming commission, as part of the Ministry's remit and supported by the Argentine Agrarian Federation (FAA) and as a result of the proposals that emerged from the "National and Latin American Congress on Land Usage and Ownership", in which delegates from over 150 family farming organizations and indigenous communities participated. In March 2006, the Secretary of Agriculture, Livestock Farming & Fishing in Argentina officially formalized the FoNAF's remit as an area for debate and agreement of public policies for family farming. In May 2006, the FoNAF's 1st National Plenary Session took place in the city of Mendoza. This led to the creation of the FoNAF's 1st Document, known as "Mendoza Document" or "agreed diagnosis for the family farming sector." In December 2015, all of these innovative actions in the field of rural development culminated in the approval by the Argentine Congress of the family farming law known as

the "Historical repair of family farming to build new rural life in Argentina."

The participation of the National University of La Plata, Argentina, in the research involved a small group of part-time teachers, as well as a group of students in the upper years, who were studying courses that are part of the rural development department of the Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, including: rural extension, introduction to management, introduction to agricultural and forestry sciences, socioeconomics and curriculum integration

Through an open call addressed to all students who were part of these courses, they were offered the opportunity to participate in a research experience that would allow contact with rural stakeholders, as well as the opportunity to establish this research as a basis for their future final degree dissertation. Of the 190 students who took part in these courses, a total of

The process of selecting students was conducted based on the activities developed in the framework of the applied research project: "A development strategy in rural villages: application in the Town of Punta del Indio," which was approved and funded by the National

The departmental board made the final selection of students to be enrolled, based on academic merit, knowledge of certain tools to work in the rural-social sector and interest in the

**3. Case study and shortcomings or levels of competence**

23 students voluntarily registered to participate in this research experience.

workshops I and II.

156 International Development

University of La Plata, Argentina.

**Figure 1.** Location map. Punta Indio. Source: Google maps and http://heraldicaargentina.com.ar/1-BA-PuntaIndiomapa. jpg.

topics addressed. Of the 23 students enrolled, four principal members and four substitutes were selected.

The research project was carried out in the region of Punta Indio (administrative area) in a small town of the same name and with a population of 600 people. This region is located to the northeast of Buenos Aires province on the banks of River Plate in Samborombón Bay (**Figure 1**). The main town is Verónica, which along with Pipinas, Punta del Indio, Álvarez Jonte, Las Tahonas, Luján del Río, La Viruta, Monte Veloz and Punta Piedras are the main populated areas. The total area of land in the Department (Partido) of Punta Indio is 1550 km2 and the total population is 10,660 people.

This area can be described as a vast plain which forms part of the Salado River Basin (the main water basin in the Province of Buenos Aires). Its characteristics primarily stem from the conditions which characterize this basin: generally flat topography; mild humid climate; limited water network; land with limited drainage and hydromorphic features, with limitations due to high sodium levels; the presence of floodplains which have historically been subject to regular flooding; and seasonal drought cycles [30]. The ground in this area is fairly level and whilst it is not suitable for farming use, it is mainly suitable for livestock farming [31]. As a result, the economic activity in the area is primarily focused on livestock farming, with other sectors still providing a small contribution to overall GDP. This situation has contributed to a stall in population growth and, moreover, an exodus in rural areas, especially among youth and families of producers who move to urban centers in the search of a better future. This, without a doubt, creates a complex social and economic backdrop as well as an uncertain future, as there are no policies or actions aimed at reverting this process of permanent decline.

A general review of the literature regarding development from a territorial perspective shows us that there are many concepts of territory applied in order to facilitate social, economic, cultural, political and institutional analysis within a given geographical area, which also help to form the basis of public policies aimed at resolving the problems identified across these dimensions. Therefore, Cazorla [32] indicates that with territorial analysis, development should not be considered as simply combining a group of resources and methods, but rather as improving the quality of life. As a result, it makes sense to get close to the local population, to learn about their history and customs as well as to plan the development with them, in a bottom-up approach in which a territory's complex history and culture require them to identify those factors that have the greatest impact on development planning.

Within this framework, the rural development management models have provided important changes over time; the emergence of territorialism in the current rural development debates is no coincidence. It is a response to economic and social changes, where the debate promotes a different vision in terms of the territorial problems and directly involves rural populations in the design of new development perspectives [33].

In the EU, the *Leader* program has been able to stimulate the development of local actors' abilities through social capital [34]. Through these programs, innovative horizontal integration has been established with the objective of allowing local agents to develop an organic group of actions thanks to the creation of nonprofit organizations called *local action groups* (LAG) [35]. The importance of these groups lies in the fact that they are public-private associations that promote connections between governments, civil society and economic sectors to train mixed groups. This requires the involvement of local actors in the development process and facilitates improvements in the skills of administrative employees and the population in general [34, 36]. In the long term, the general objective of this local development is to transform the local economic and social system. In turn, this overall objective translates into two objectives in the short term in order to achieve its goal: the promotion of business activity and the coordination of all activities and programs which have a local impact. The promotion of business activity relates to the local business owners in their dynamic role as well as economic and social growth [37]. When setting out the need for change, local development plays a role that includes the promotion of endogenous growth and internal investment which facilitates the creation of new SMEs, cooperatives, community businesses, innovative companies and in particular social economy entities.

In this context, it makes sense to carry out activities aimed at strengthening the development group leaders' abilities and to become the focal point for management processes and project implementations in the rural area [5]. The project management institute (PMI), in line with other authors [38], describes project management as "The application of knowledge, skills, tools and techniques to meet the project requirements" [6]. According to Meghnagi [39], each person builds their own competencies and knowledge at the heart of a process that is not just limited to straightforward contact with the actual or symbolic situation, but equally takes place through social intervention, favored by the most competent individuals or their peers. In contrast, Morris [40] criticizes these definitions for being too focused on the execution tools and processes and advocates a wider definition of project management with an emphasis on the importance of a wider business and strategic context as well as a focus on people leadership. Blackburn [41] reinforces the first concept, supporting the idea that, in order to work in the rural development field, individuals require competencies and abilities in order to manage projects in a more efficient and sustainable way. Other authors [42–44] also agree that the project management is a complex process with multiple results in terms of focusing on competencies and which requires a variety of skills and knowledge to be acquired. One of the most interesting aspects of competency-based project management is the significant change in the focus that is placed on people's work. Rather than simply concentrating on determining what people do, or what people should be doing at a given time in their professional duties, the key is to create an intermediate step that determines the support that is expected from people in order to achieve the strategic objectives expected by the organization [5]. All of the organizational actors are important in the identification of competency-based management processes. Each one should contribute their experience and creativity to the project management process [45]. In order to develop competencies in rural development project management, it is necessary to incorporate a number of factors aimed at achieving development objectives. Therefore, the competencies of the groups or people themselves should be included in the analysis and should be positioned on three main axes which together form the focus for any activity: (1) what it wants to be, (2) what it is and what it knows to do and (3) what it is capable of doing. This creates a strategy which includes wishes, goals, resources and capabilities which facilitate development, with some authors defining this as sustainable competitive advantage [5].
