Upscaling of more sustainable cropping systems: a framework to analyse and support intermediation processes.

Marianne Cerf (1) , Lorène Prost (1) , Bertrand Omon (2) , Jean Marie Lusson (3) , Marie-Sophie Petit (4)

1 LISIS - Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Sciences, Innovations, Sociétés
2 CA 27 - Chambre d'Agriculture de l'Eure
3 RAD - Réseau Agriculture Durable
4 CRA BFC - Chambre Régionale d’Agriculture de Bourgogne Franche-Comté

The Ecophyto Plan 1 was devised to achieve a 50% decrease of pesticide use in France between 2008 and 2018. Based on available agronomic knowledge, collective expertise showed that reaching such a target at farm level implied in-depth redesigning of the current cropping systems. The DEPHY Network is one of the main policy instruments to support such a redesign process and to contribute to inviting more and more farmers to take up this challenge. To analyse the ways in which intermediation is organized in this network, we developed a framework which we also applied to two farmer-led networks that support farmers in redesigning their cropping systems and that seek to increase farmers’ participation in such processes. Grounded in former studies on transition pathways at farm level and in participatory design processes in work system design projects or in open source communities, our framework distinguishes three levels (strategic, experiential and collaborative) to analyse the organization of intermediation. We apply it to the DEPHY Network and then point out the differences that we identify between the 3 networks analysed. Based on this, we make recommendations about the way each level should be addressed in order to support on-farm redesign processes in a large and inclusive network. We finally conclude by highlighting the limits of our framework and the need to test our recommendations.

Mots clés: intermediary objects; pesticide reduction; sustainable agriculture; cropping systems; participatory redesign; peripheral participation

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

Marianne Cerf, Lorène Prost, Bertrand Omon, Jean Marie Lusson, Marie-Sophie Petit. Upscaling of more sustainable cropping systems: a framework to analyse and support intermediation processes.. 12. European IFSA Symposium : Social and technological transformation of farming systems: Diverging and converging pathways, International Farming Systems Association (IFSA). AUT., Jul 2016, Newport, United Kingdom. ⟨hal-01781904⟩