Beneficios de la implementación

Philippe Fleury1, Céline Cresson2, Audrey Vincent3141516

Key words: local initiatives, social equity, empowerment, objectives for OF, public policies

Abstract

Organic farming (OF) is more and more regarded as a response to local collective issues: environmental, economic and social ones. In this paper, we are showing how, in the history of OF development, local initiatives and dynamics are becoming increasingly important. Then, based on a detailed analysis of six local actions, we analyse the diversity and the complexity of these dynamics in terms of objectives, involved stakeholders and forms of governance. The discussion handle, in an operational perspective, the difficulties, the success factors and the challenges for Organic 3.0 of such projects.

Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge financial support from the French Agriculture Ministry (2013 call for innovation and partnership projects of CASDAR (rural and farm development special account)), from the French Foundation, from the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation and also from the network for rural development in France.

Introduction

From a local development perspective organic farming is more and more seen as an effective tool to address collective issues, such as environmental, economic and social ones. Stakeholders working for the development of OF are very frequently called upon by local communities and other local actors to solve various issues through OF development: environmental problems namely water pollution or biodiversity losses, organic food supply for school catering, food education, etc.

We are going to see how, in the history of OF development, the issue of local development and dynamics is becoming increasingly relevant and, in an operational perspective, which are the difficulties and the key success factors of such experiences. Even more, local initiatives appear increasingly as a central issue for organic 3.0.

Material and methods

To progress in the understanding of place-based initiatives towards OF development, we implemented a research and development project based on the analysis of six local initiatives, located throughout France. For each project, we analysed the documents relating to them and we interviewed 10 to 12 stakeholders: farmers, citizens, local elected officials, policy makers, agricultural advisors and local facilitators. We documented: objectives, key moments in the dynamics, stakeholder strategies, difficulties, initiated actions, place and role of OF, results in terms of OF growth and local development. The analysis crosses sociological and geographical concepts: stakeholder analysis, local development and collaborative resource management. We have also

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ISARA-Lyon, Social Sciences Department, Laboratoire d’Etudes Rurales, Agrapole, 23, rue Jean Baldassini, F 69364 Lyon Cedex 07. e-mail : [email protected]

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ITAB, 149 rue de Bercy – F 75595 PARIS cedex 12. e-mail : [email protected]

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ISARA-Lyon, Social Sciences Department, Laboratoire d’Etudes Rurales, Agrapole, 23, rue Jean Baldassini, F 69364 Lyon Cedex 07. e-mail : [email protected]

Scientific Track “Innovative Research for Organic Agriculture 3.0” 19th Organic World Congress, New Delhi, India, November 9-11, 2017 Organized by ISOFAR, NCOF and TIPI

analysed the international scientific literature concerning the relationships between OF and local development.

Results

Organic farming and local development

The analysis of the international scientific literature concerning OF development highlights that research is mainly focused on 2 topics: farmers’ motivation to change for OF (Lamine & Bellon, 2009) and institutional dynamics of the OF sector. Regarding this second point Michelsen and al. (2001) proposed, from a comparative analysis in different European countries, a six steps model to characterize the development path of organic movements. The first steps refer to the setting of the OF sector: organic movement birth, political recognition and then economic support from public policies. The next three steps which lead to the institutionalization of OF cover the capacity of OF organizations to be recognized and to win three fields: conventional agricultural organizations, food market and institutions. Today the institutionalization of OF debate is focused on its “conventionalisation” (Darnhofer et al., _2009).

Scientific publications dealing with OF local development dynamics are less numerous. However, several studies show that OF does not increase homogenously in all areas. Some spatial aggregations phenomena of OF conversions at regional or local scale are mentioned by several authors (Allaire et al_{., 2013; Bichler} et al_{., 2005; Gabriel} et al._{, 2009; Ilbery} et al_{., 1999). At the}

local level, some recent papers analyse OF development dynamics. This research emphasises the analysis of actors' networks and the governance models of these dynamics (Duffaud-Prevost, 2015 ; Lamine et al._{, 2011 ; Cardona, 2012 ; Vincent et Fleury, 2014).}

A major transformation is taking place now in OF development driving forces. The territorial dimension is becoming increasingly important. It implies a rethinking of OF development strategies by focusing more on collective actions and by involving new stakeholders (economic partners of supply chains, local and regional authorities, etc.). The challenge is to establish new relationships between them, and finally to connect OF development and local development. From a research perspective, this leads to revisit the theoretical models of OF development and to enrich them with a local or territorial dimension.

Diversity of local initiatives

The analysis of six OF local dynamics provides a detailed overview of the diversity of OF local development initiatives (Table 1). This analysis is based on four themes:

• Objectives addressed to OF; • Projects initiators and leaders; • Supportive public policies;

• Technical and organisational innovations.

The objectives of these projects are rarely limited to OF itself with a view focusing on conversion or growth in organic production. OF, its products, its practices but alsoits values are seen in a wider perspective including environment preservation, job creation, development of exchanges and mutual learning between organic and conventional farmers, food education, food sovereignty, social equity and health of socially disadvantaged groups, disabled workers inclusion, etc. These are both OF local development projects and local developments projects in which OF plays a major role.

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Table 1: OF local development projects diversity

Objectives Project leaders Supportive public policies

Technical and organisational innovations 1 Local and organic

vegetables supply. Landscape and patrimonial enhancement of a green space within the city

Metropolis and local authorities, Chamber of agriculture.

Farmers are not aware about OF

Urban development. Land planning. Flood prevention. Preservation of agricultural land Association of global issues at metropolis level and action at municipal level

2 Access to organic food for low-_{income families} Social equity and food education

Organic farmers group and local authorities

Urban and social policies (local level).

Environment and health policies (region)

Conviviality: cooking, diet and farming learning. Links between social and agricultural services 3 Organic wine to solve economic crisis. Organic values promoted: environment and energy saving, food quality Mayor of the commune. President of the wine cooperative From local to European levels: CAP, Agenda 21, environment, land planning, education Winemaking, horse-drawn works. Local marketing, Participatory governance, 4 Development of a supply chain _{of organic herbs and medicinal}

plants Limitation of land abandonment Agricultural secondary school. Chamber of agriculture,

enterprises and then farmers. Agricultural education, agriculture Ministry, local authorities Production and processing methods. Marketing. Network from farmers to consumers 5 Developing OF. Enabling _{exchanges between farmers (OF}

and non-OF).

Water quality and soil fertility

Organic farmers group and conventional farmers, agro-forestry association and local cooperatives

Agriculture and environment : local authorities, water agency, FEADER

Soil tillage and plant cover. Organisational: forums, farm- type descriptions, discussion group 6 Providing catering

with local organic products. Job creation for disabled workers. Reducing fossil energy use

Organic farmers group. NGO of rehabilitation for disabled workers. Local level: agricultural, social and school food policies Vegetable processing platform. Links between food supply, education and social inclusion

Scientific Track “Innovative Research for Organic Agriculture 3.0” 19th Organic World Congress, New Delhi, India, November 9-11, 2017 Organized by ISOFAR, NCOF and TIPI

Discussion

These local dynamics reflect a new generation of projects: increasingly complex, leading new issues and innovations. Indeed, the partners are increasing (farmers, consumers, NGO’s, food chains operators, training, health and social public institutions …) and the projects have multiple objectives. Even more, the very local levelscales-up and if the projectsstart at a very local level, a certain number of them are growing to concern a larger area. Those enlargements take different forms: (i) the local « spillover » spread, where the project leader try to reach the upper land level (from local to regional). (ii) The replication with several similar actions in one or several regions. (iii) And finally scaling-up of supply chains to increase the diversity and the quantity of sold products and the targeted markets. In all these cases, the projects deal with some difficulties, uncertainties and, if these extension strategies are quite new, they are real.

OF local development projects address challenges of Organic 3.0 by positioning organic farming as a modern and innovative alternative in local societies and communities. They contribute to put in reality key features: holistic empowerment from the farmers to the consumers, inclusion of wider sustainability objectives relevant both for agriculture and local development, promotion of education and values, etc. There is both a need to strengthen such dynamics by relevant public policies and to develop participative research to progress in their efficient implementation.

References

Allaire, G., Cahuzac E., Poméon T., Simioni M., 2014. Approche spatiale de la conversion à l'agriculture biologique: les dynamiques régionales en France. Economie rurale 339-340, 9-31.

Bichler, B., Häring A.-M., Dabbert S., Lippert ., 2005. Determinants of spatial distribution of organic farming in Germany. In Researching sustainable systems. Adelaide: ISOFAR, P. 304-307.

Cardona, A. 2012. L’agriculture à l’épreuve de l’écologisation. Eléments pour une sociologie des transitions. Thèse de doctorat en Sociologie, EHESS, Paris, 429p.

Darnhofer, I., Lindenthal T., Bartel-Kratochvil R., Zollitsch W., 2010. Conventionalisation of organic farming practices : from structural criteria towards an assessment based on organic principles. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 30(1), 67-81.

Duffaud-Prevost, M-L. 2015. L'ancrage territorial par une géographie multilocale. Le cas des entreprises de la filière plantes à parfum, aromatiques et médicinales dans la vallée de la Drôme. Thèse, Pradel: Université Paul Valery, Montpellier III, 448p.

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Ilbery, B., Holloway L., Arber R.,. 1999. The geography of organic farming in England and Wales in the 1990s. Tijdschrift voor economische en sociale geografie 90(3), 285-95.

Lamine, C., Bellon S., 2009. Conversion to organic farming: a multidimensional research object at the crossroads of agricultural and social sciences. A review. Agronomy for Sustainable Development 29(1), 97-112. Michelsen, J., Lynggaard K., Padel S., Foster C., 2001. Organic Farming Development and Agricultural

Institutions in Europe: A Study of Six Countries."Organic Farming in Europe: Economics and Policy 9, 1- 179.

Vincent, A., Fleury, P. 2014. Development of organic farming for the protection of water quality: local projects in France and their policy implications. Land Use Policy 43, 197–206.

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