Greening the agri-environmental policy by territorial and participative implementation processes? Evidence from two French regions

Muck, brass and smoke: Policy post-exceptionalism in the agri-food sector

“…Examining the processes of governance and policymaking is critical in understanding relationships between the state and other stakeholders in the agri-food industry. It has been shown how conceding disproportionate power to certain interest groups can lower the effectiveness of policies, not least because those policies may ignore the embeddedness of markets in wider social structures and so omit broader societal interests such as concern for the environment or animal welfare ( Foord, 2017 ; Benoit and Patsias, 2017 ; Richardson, 2018 ). In recent years, scrutiny has been directed towards a range of issues within agri-food, including relationships between industry and the state; environmental degradation; the position of more vulnerable groups; and the capacity and sustainability of the system overall ( Barling et al, 2002 ; Angus et al, 2009 ; Clapp and Fuchs, 2009 ; Hinrichs, 2014 ; Bui et al, 2016 ; Kirwan et al, 2017 ; Lang, 2020 ).…”

“…In recent years there has been evidence of a transition away from traditional agricultural exceptionalism: food processors and retail corporations increasingly assume a privileged position at a global level as they integrate food systems and occupy political and economic leadership roles ( Lang et al, 2001 ; Clapp and Fuchs, 2009 ), and the idea of agriculture as ‘multifunctional’ – not just about food production – has become a central research and policy focus ( Marsden and Sonnino, 2008 ; Renting et al, 2009 ). There has also been a broad “participative turn” in Western public policies ( Benoit and Patsias, 2017 , p. 2), whereby community involvement and participatory approaches to decision-making have been encouraged ( Prager et al, 2015 ; Benoit and Patsias, 2017 ). This shift has been reflected in the CAP, which, under ongoing pressure from the World Trade Organisation, moved away from legislating protectionist tariffs and price supports towards offering farmers support via less market-distorting measures ( Harvey, 2015 ).…”

“… Benoit and Patsias (2017) , Tosun (2017) and McCarthy et al (2018) highlight how actors who were formerly marginalized within agri-food politics, including processors, suppliers, retailers, NGOs and consumers/consumer organizations, have begun to play an increasingly active role in the policy area. Similarly, Lawrence et al (2015) argue that increased financialization and corporatization of the agriculture industry have brought various upstream (e.g.…”

Multi-level Governance, Climate Change Adaptation and Agrienvironmental Stewardship in Small States : Micro-level Behaviour of Actors and Macro-level Policy Results

“…The European Commission's recent communication on the Future of Food and Farming draws attention to the need for subsidiarity and flexibility (Mottershead et al, 2018). This reflects an ongoing participative paradigmatic shift in public policy, which posits that by including a range of stakeholders from different interest groups and localities, these schemes would overcome resistance to change, increase their legitimacy, and meet the needs of diverse agricultural spaces (Newig and Fritsch, 2009;Brackenbury and Jones, 2015;Benoit and Patsias, 2017).…”

“…Despite the shifting paradigm, the existing literature shows that established actors are grappling to retain power in multi-level and participative governance processes (Armitage et al, 2007;Trouvé et al, 2007;Emery and Franks, 2012;Uthes and Matzdorf, 2013;Benoit and Patsias, 2017;Westerink et al, 2017). From Trouvé and colleagues (2007) to Benoit and Patsias (2017), they demonstrate how agricultural administrations and associations have retained powerful positions in CAP policy processes. On the flip side, Stephenson (2013) asserts, the instability of multi-level governance has provided actors with new opportunities to "increase their institutional and negotiating capacity" at various levels.…”