Introduction

The recent explosion of interest in non-governmental organizations, or NGOs, seems set to continue, as they become the new darlings of donor agencies. Social scientists, faced with the crisis of their former models of social development, have latched on to the work of NGOs for theoretical inspiration and political hope. The interest in NGOs’ potential contribution to rural and agricultural development stems from the growing concern for new strategies of agricultural development. The interest in NGOs is also inspired by more instrumentalist concerns. This chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on the process through which new visions of the institutional organization of agricultural development have emerged. It analyzes the technical changes in Latin American agriculture that have generated criticisms of orthodox Green Revolution models, and led to the elaboration of a new technological agenda for agricultural development.