The Agrarian System Concept

European Commission Workshop on « Systems Approaches for sustainable agriculture – Part I » Brussels, 5-6 December 2016

Systems approaches for sustainable agriculture : the Agrarian System concept

Sophie DEVIENNE UFR Comparave Agriculture and Agricultural Development UMR PRODIG, AgroParisTech, CNRS, EPH, IRD, Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne University, Paris-Diderot University , Paris-Sorbonne University , Paris sophie.devienne@agroparistech.fr

Sophie Devienne 6/12/2016 1 Challenges of sustainable development in agriculture

What producve processes to promote and how to manage to support farmings types in order to :

• Ensure abundant and quality food producon

• Preserve exploited ecosystems and their inhabitants

• Preserve and even create jobs and income

• Contribute to reducing the inequalies

= economic viability, ecological sustainability and social equity Sophie Devienne 6/12/2016 2 Challenges of sustainable development in agriculture

In order to propose eﬀecve and adapted projects or policies to support sustainable agricultural development, it is necessary :

• to understand agricultural realies

• To idenfy the condions (not only at the farmers level) so that the farmers – Have the means to implement sustainable producon systems – Find it worth their while. Sophie Devienne 6/12/2016 3 An agricultural reality

• A complex ecological and economic object

• Ecological, technical, economical and social elements in interacon

• These elements to be apprehended at diﬀerent scales : parcel, unit of producon, territory, region, naon…

• Geographical diversity of forms of agriculture

• In a given agricultural area : diﬀerent categories of farms, of producon systems

• A reality in movement : necessary to understand the reasons for the evoluons and their consequences

Sophie Devienne 6/12/2016 4 The concept of agrarian system (M. Mazoyer) A combinaon of diﬀerent variables :

• The mode of exploitaon of a given environment : – one or several ecosystems – the matching technical qualiﬁcaons (equipment, knowledge, pracves, know-how) – the historically acquired transformaons – the resulng environment arﬁcialisaon method : landscape

• The condions of access to resources and distribuon of value added

• The diﬀerent agricultural producon systems, implemented by the diﬀerent categories of farmers : farm typologies

• The relaons with upstream and downstream industries, and between producers and consumers.

• The economic, social and polical condions, in parcular the relave prices system.

Sophie Devienne 6/12/2016 5 The concept of agrarian system An intellectual tool that enables :

• to apprehend the complexity of an agricultural reality : organizaon and funconing – Relaons of causality or interdependency between the various elements – stages of evoluon of the agrarian system

• To apprehend the problem of sustainability : condions of balance and reproducbility of : – The culvated ecosystem : reproducon of ferlity – The social producon system. Sophie Devienne 6/12/2016 6 What scale of analysis?

• A concept that can be used at diﬀerent scales of analysis : from agricultural district to country level

• Micro-regional approach, at the agricultural district level : – Based on ﬁeld work

– In-depth understanding of mechanisms and processes : relaons pracces/ecosystem; diﬀerenciaon of systems of producon

– Agro-ecology : systems adapted to pedoclimac and socioeconomic condions

– Studies of diﬀerent cases judiciously choosed : possibility to adress the issues at the regional or naonal level

Sophie Devienne 6/12/2016 7 Analysis of the organisaon and funconing of an agrarian system : combinaon of scales of analysis,

At the regional level : agrarian system Culvated ecosystem : landscape analysis

Sophie Devienne 6/12/2016 8 Analysis of the organisaon and funconing of an agrarian system : combinaon of scales of analysis,

At the farm level : producon system = a group of farms : - Same range of resources : surface and localisaon, level of equipment, size of workteam - Comparable socioeconomic condions - Similar combinaon of producons

Sophie Devienne 6/12/2016 9 Analysis of the organisaon and funconing of an agrarian system : combinaon of scales of analysis,

Each producon system : a characterisc combinaon of : - At the plot level : cropping system - At the herd level : livestock system

Sophie Devienne 6/12/2016 10 Diagnosis of agrarian system : the steps

• Reading the landscape : – principal components and their combinaon – elements of persistance and elements of change – Diﬀerent parts of the culvated ecosystems

• Understanding the landscape evoluon : – the ways and the reasons why the farmers used to exploit the diﬀerent parts of ecosystem – why it has changed : cause-and-eﬀect relaonships between the variables (technical changes,market opportunies, prices, public policies…)

• Understanding the diﬀerenciaon of agricultural producon systems : idenfying and explaining the diversity of producon systems = typology of producon systems – Diﬀerent kind of resources – General movement / « alternave » systems Sophie Devienne 6/12/2016 11 Diagnosis of agrarian system : the steps

• Idenfy the producon systems before characterizing and modelling their funconing; idenfy and priorize the diﬃcules they have to face.

• Economy of agricultural producon applied at the producon system level : measuring the performances of producon systems – Gross product and physical labour producvity – Value added and economical labour producvity – Agricultural income

• Compare the economic performances of the diﬀerent producon systems : assumpons on their future evoluon.

• Idenfy the challenges for the agricultural development.

• Under which condions the diﬀerent types of farmers may change their pracces in a more sustainable way?

Sophie Devienne 6/12/2016 12 The Bocage vendéen : an agricultural district in the western part of France specialized in cale producon

Source : Garambois, 2011 Sophie Devienne 6/12/2016 13 Since the 1950’s, a signiﬁcant increase of physical labour producvity in dairy producon

Hand milking Milk buckets Milking Parlour 2x4 Milking Parlour 2x5

Feed Temporary grassland, silage Maize units/ha

Sophie Devienne 6/12/2016 14 Source : Garambois, 2011; Garambois & Devienne, 2012; Garambois & Devienne, 2013 A connuous trend…

1989 2009

Evoluon prédominante Predominant dans la région evoluon in the area

Source : Garambois, 2011; Garambois & Devienne, 2012; Garambois & Devienne, 2013

Sophie Devienne 6/12/2016 15 Driven by the rapid downward trend in agricultural prices

140 Prices evoluon in constant currency Machinery and 1970 = index 100 equipment 120

100 Intermediate consumpons

Animal products 60 Vegetal products

0 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

Sophie Devienne 6/12/2016 16 Source : INSEE Naonal accounts Outside this mainstream development, the emergence of agroecological systems, autonomous and inputs saving : the

1989 grasslands producon systems 2009

Evoluon prédominante Predominant dans la région evoluon in the area

Evoluon towards Evoluon vers un grasslands système herbager system

Temporary grasslands (grass –white clover Sophie Devienne 6/12/2016 associaon) 17 Source : Garambois, 2011; Garambois & Devienne, 2012; Garambois & Devienne, 2013 Grasslands systems follow the principles of agroecology

• Associaon grass – clover, diﬀerent species adaptated to pedoclimac condions: – No chimical ferlizers – Balanced feed for cows

• Increase the importance of grazing – Less costs of inputs, machinery and building costs

• Moderate the producon per cow

• Adaptaon of the lactaon period to the grass growth period…

Autonomous and inputs saving systems Sophie Devienne 6/12/2016 18 A drasc decrease in input consumpon, parcularly in ammonium nitrate

Sophie Devienne 6/12/2016 19 Source : Garambois, 2011; Garambois & Devienne, 2012; Garambois & Devienne, 2013 Grasslands systems follow

the principles of agroecology • Associaon grass – clover, diﬀerent species adaptated to pedoclimac condions: – No chimical ferlizers – Balanced feed for cows

• Increase the importance of grazing – Less costs of inputs, machinery and building costs

• Moderate the producon per cow

• Adaptaon of the lactaon period to the grass growth period…

Autonomous and inputs saving systems Maximisaon of value added instead of gross product

Developed by a small group of farmers, previously involved in the mainstream movement of development : concepon and development of an adapted technical framework. Sophie Devienne 6/12/2016 20 High economic eﬃciency of grasslands dairy producon systems :

CI = Gross Intermediate product consumptions

Income

Sophie Devienne 6/12/2016 21 Source : Garambois, 2011; Garambois & Devienne, 2012; Garambois & Devienne, 2013 An higher labour producvity for grasslands systems

Sophie Devienne 6/12/2016 22 Source : Garambois, 2011; Garambois & Devienne, 2012; Garambois & Devienne, 2013 A similar income for grasslands systems with smaller surface per agricultural worker

Sophie Devienne 6/12/2016 23 Source : Garambois, 2011; Garambois & Devienne, 2012; Garambois & Devienne, 2013 Agrarian system diagnosis

• Combinaon of ecological, technical, economical and social components

• Explanaon of dynamics of agrarian system, landscape, producon systems and their consequences

• Economy of agricultural producon applied at the producon system level

• Idenfy the condions of transion for the diﬀerent types of farms towards sustainable systems preserving environment, added value and employment

Sophie Devienne 6/12/2016 24