Local inter-farm cooperation: A hidden potential for the agroecological transition in northern agricultures

Lucas, Véronique; Gasselin, Pierre; Ploeg, J.D. van der

doi:10.1080/21683565.2018.1509168

Cited by 41 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…The contradictions highlighted between agroecological and territorial logics reveal another reality, that of a large disconnect between the agricultural sector and its territories (Madelrieux et al, 2017;van der Ploeg, 2009). Indeed, during the last decades, in Belgium, in other rich countries and in some other parts of the world, a peculiar form of agriculture has developed, using big machines, input from industrial origin, genetically selected plants and animals, specializing in a few products according to the ecological and economic conditions of each region, abandoning many other regions for lack of competitiveness and employing less and less farmers (Mazoyer and Roudart, 2006).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…through a range of participation forms (voluntary work, financing, codecision), so that the APCs exist with multiple stakeholders. Echoing the insights from Lucas et al (2019), this points towards the importance of building deep and multifaceted relations within the territory for a successful implementation of agroecological initiatives. Our results also tend to confirm the relevance of extending the analytical scope beyond farm-level to embrace the landscape or territorial scale (Wezel et al, 2016).…”

Section: Properties Of the Institutional Logics Engaged By The Case Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cooperation with other actors in the territory may also generate difficulties (van der Wezel et al, 2016). Lucas et al (2019) analyze to what extent inter-farms cooperation, designed to share, manage and/or exchange equipment, labor and/or material resources, favors the development of agroecological practices: it appears that it may be hard for farmers pursuing agroecological objectives to find nearby partners who share common technical references, identity and aims. Hence some sort of isolation of agroecological farmers, which is enhanced by the fact that the formal agricultural research and innovation system pays little attention to agroecological topics (Vanloqueren and Baret, 2008).…”

Section: Understanding Organisational Change Through the Analysis Of Internal Contradictionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Opening the organisational black box to grasp the difficulties of agroecological transition. An empirical analysis of tensions in agroecological production cooperatives

Plateau

Roudart

Hudon

et al. 2021

Ecological Economics

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Whereas many studies adopting a broad perspective on sustainability have highlighted the differences and interactions between alternative and conventional models of agricultural production, very few have investigated the contradictions internal to farm organizations engaged in agroecological transition. In order to understand the difficulties faced by farmers in combining multiple aspirations, we study agroecological production cooperatives (APCs) through the tensions between their different institutional logics. We use a qualitative analysis to address these tensions, and the responses to them, related to their territorial, self-management, and agroecological logics. Various local actors have different conceptions of agroecology, based on diverse levels of knowledge of agricultural practices and on dissimilar interests. This entails various preferences regarding technical choices and farm management. Agroecology's emphasis on diversity, local resources, experimentation, labour intensity and the long run may contradict financial considerations and the quality of working conditions of farmers. Setting up deliberation arenas is key to elaborating agreed compromises regarding the agroecological conception, as well as the governance of farm organizations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Properties Of the Institutional Logics Engaged By The Case Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Understanding Organisational Change Through the Analysis Of Internal Contradictionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Opening the organisational black box to grasp the difficulties of agroecological transition. An empirical analysis of tensions in agroecological production cooperatives

Plateau

Roudart

Hudon

et al. 2021

Ecological Economics

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“…An often used proxy for this is the O/I ratio (output/input), which can be calculated for individual inputs and/or for all inputs or resources together. AE farms have more opportunities to increase their overall resource-use efficiency as a far wider range of growth factors is available within the farm or through local inter-farm cooperation (Lucas et al, 2018). This increases the possibilities to adjust these factors and to fine-tune the whole.…”

Section: Enhancing Va/gvpmentioning

confidence: 99%

The economic potential of agroecology: Empirical evidence from Europe

Ploeg

Barjolle

Bruil³

et al. 2019

Journal of Rural Studies

Self Cite

176

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This article discusses the economic dimensions of agroecological farming systems in Europe. It firstly theoretically elaborates the reasons why, and under what conditions, agroecological farming systems have the potential to produce higher incomes than farms that follow the conventional logic. This theoretical exposition is then followed by a presentation of empirical material from a wide range of European countries that shows the extent to which this potential is being realized. The empirical data draw upon different styles of farming that can be described as 'proto-agroecological': approaches to farming that are agroecological by nature, but which may not necessarily explicitly define themselves as agroecological. The empirical material that we present shows the huge potential and radical opportunities that Europe's, often silent, 'agroecological turn' offers to farmers that could (and should) be the basis for the future transformation of European agricultural policies, since agroecology not only allows for more sustainable production of healthier food but also considerably improves farmers' incomes. It equally carries the promise of re-enlarging productive agricultural (and related) employment and increasing the total income generated by the agricultural sector, at both regional and national levels. While we recognise that agroecology is a worldwide and multidimensional phenomenon we have chosen to limit this analysis to Europe and the economic dimension. This choice is made in order to refute current discourses that represent agroecology as unproductive and unprofitable and an option that would require massive subsidies.

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“…Collaborative work by several farmers is far less documented, although it makes an important contribution to achieving tasks that require large numbers of people and/or machines. Cooperation means that farmers can share equipment, infrastructures and increasing numbers of salaried employees, but it is also a lever to explore collective efforts to achieve agroecological transitions (Lucas et al, 2018). Box 1.…”

Section: Employmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transversal views on work in agriculture

Dedieu

2019

Cah. Agric.

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Agriculture employs 1.3 billion people throughout the world. Changes to working conditions in agriculture are investigated by several disciplines that explore different themes. These themes are summarized here through two areas: one that focuses on the worker (employment, health and skills) and the other on work as a component of farming systems. The analytical frameworks and core research issues are described. This paper is designed to be a general introduction to the special issue of Cahiers Agricultures, entitled “Multifacet realities of work in agriculture”.

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Local inter-farm cooperation: A hidden potential for the agroecological transition in northern agricultures

Cited by 41 publications

References 45 publications

Opening the organisational black box to grasp the difficulties of agroecological transition. An empirical analysis of tensions in agroecological production cooperatives

Opening the organisational black box to grasp the difficulties of agroecological transition. An empirical analysis of tensions in agroecological production cooperatives

The economic potential of agroecology: Empirical evidence from Europe

Transversal views on work in agriculture

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