seminar « small farms »

Edition : Catherine Darrot Presentation : Marie-Luce Ghib

Rural Seuca 2010

Seminar « Small farms »

A collaboration between research and civil society

France, 22nd-23rd of January, 2009

Rural Seuca August 2010

Edition : Catherine Darrot Presentation : Marie-Luce Ghib

Rural Seuca 2010

Who and why ?

The goal

Knowing and recognising small farms

The partnership

National research institute for agriculture

Confédération paysanne :

A French syndicate involved in the promotion of peasant-like farming systems

Aim of the seminar

The operating modes and the diversity of the small-scale farms remain badly-known.

Some researchers however work on these subjects, while some peasants do experiment and analyse daily those systems.

The aim of this seminar was to develop more common and in-deep analysis.

Edition : Catherine Darrot Presentation : Marie-Luce Ghib

Rural Seuca 2010

Why initiating such a partnership ?

Re-mobilising the scientific community around the problematic of small farms

Initiating and encouraging innovative researches and debate

Allow the syndicate of peasant-like farmers “Confédération paysanne” to situate and know the researchers actually working on those subjects

Defining common problematics between farmers and researchers

For researchers

Edition : Catherine Darrot Presentation : Marie-Luce Ghib

Rural Seuca 2010

Why initiating such a partnership ?

Re-mobilising the scientific community around the problematic of small farms

Initiating and encouraging innovative researches and debate

Allow the syndicate of peasant-like farmers “Confédération paysanne” to situate and know the researchers actually working on those subjects

Defining common problematics between farmers and researchers

For farmers

Edition : Catherine Darrot Presentation : Marie-Luce Ghib

Rural Seuca 2010

Some of the trends raised

The small farmers are facing some difficulties :

• Competition for access to land

• Weak representation within the professional sphere

• Uncertainties related to their social security system (“cotisant solidaire” = uncertain statute)

• Sanitary rules not adapted to smaller farms ; higher spendings to reach the norms regarding to the small scale of the farms

• Farming systems presented as non viable by official institutions

The “small farms” however contribute to dynamism of rural territories.

Research questions raised

Are those small farms contributing to change the relationship between society and agriculture ?

How do they renew the combination of activities ? How do they reveal some new aspects of diversification ?

How are they specifically raising some more general issues as vulnerability, fragility, resilience and flexibility ?

… How many are they ? Which reliable statistical data ?

Edition : Catherine Darrot Presentation : Marie-Luce Ghib

Rural Seuca 2010

Thank you for your attention !