Agricultures familiales & recherche

FamilyFarming& Research

Agriculturas familiares & investigación

La France s’engage

France is on board

Francia se compromete

> Rencontres internationales

> International Encounters

> Encuentros Internacionales

Le Corum MontpellierFrance

1-3 2014

JuinJuneJunio

avec le soutiendu Gouvernement français

Contributing to a global research agenda

Agropolis International, CGIAR, GFAR, WRF

� www.agropolis.org/news/2014-review-international-encounters-family-farming-research.php

OFFPRINT TAKEN FROM THE PROCEEDINGS (DECEMBER, 2014)

Avec le soutien de / With the support of / Con el apoyo de

Comité International d’Organisation / International Organizing Committee / Comité Internacional de Organización

Partenaires / French and international bodies involved / Socios franceses e internacionales involucrados

Chaire UNESCOen alimentations du mondeFrance

Centre international d’études supérieures en sciences agronomiques

Organisationdes Nations Unies

pour l’éducation,la science et la culture

#agrifammpl

avec le soutiendu Gouvernement français

Better understanding the coexistence of the different

forms of farming ............................................................................................................... 2

Changing the visions of assessed and measured “performances” ............................... 3

Developing new sustainable farming practices ............................................................. 3

Supporting family farming by upgrading research practices

and governance ................................................................................................................. 3

Meeting the data and information needs ....................................................................... 4

Informing policies for appropriate decisions ................................................................. 4

Table of contents

This document was produced as a result of the “International Encounters on Family

Farming and Research“ held in Montpellier, June 1-3, 2014. The conference brought

together three hundred participants from the different continents representing family

farmers, policy makers, the private sector, as well as teachers and researchers.

Research agendas relating to family farming and the challenges it faces in the context

of global change afoot were discussed. Addresses by policymakers such as the

Ministers of Agriculture of France and Senegal (Stéphane Le Foll and Papa Seck), the

European Commission-Deputy Director General of Agriculture and rural development

(Monique Pariat) or IFAD President (Kanayo Nwanze) and by farmer representatives

(WFO, La Via Campesina, WRF) were followed by lectures (Hans Herren, Gordon

Conway, Marcela Villarreal, Marion Guillou, Robin Bourgeois) and discussions held in

seven working groups (themes and details are available on the Encounters website).

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T he aim of the International Encounters was

to share information and insights on the state

of and developments in family farming. The

method consisted in consulting family farm-

ers in a bid to question and enrich research agendas

concerning the challenges facing family farming as a

result of the global changes afoot (society, environ-

ment, economy, food security, urbanization, mobility

and migration, food and health, climate, and so forth).

The expected result was to identify priority research

areas.

The idea is not to conduct research for its own sake, but

to lead to innovations and processes that foster family

farming. The goal is also to inform policy and decision-

makers, as well as civil society about the initiatives need-

ed to maintain a viable economic and social status for

family farmers, thereby enhancing their food and nutri-

tional security.

The Encounters made it possible to get representatives

of family farmers, policy makers, the private sector, edu-

cators and researchers from the whole world to discuss

and work together. The Encounters also constituted one

of the milestones in the collective international move to-

wards a changing and shared family farming research

agenda. They were underpinned by the belief that inter-

action between representatives of the various relevant

stakeholders and research is key to fi nding concrete so-

lutions to the issues facing family farming and the many

existing global challenges.

This document is neither an outcome nor a summary of

the discussions per se. It sets out the main lessons the

organizing institutions of the Encounters took out from

such discussions based on the reports and recommenda-

tions from the various workshops and from presentations

made in plenary, without reproducing such lessons in de-

tail, but rather highlighting a few salient ideas and some

of the cross-cutting topics discussed in the seven work-

shops. It is an evolving framework that will be refi ned

and amended through subsequent discussions. The En-

counters’ organizing committee plans to submit this con-

tribution to a global research agenda to all stakeholders

involved in the UN International Year of family farming,

in the 3rd Global Conference on agricultural research for

development (GCARD3) and in the preparatory events

for the Conference of parties to the UN Framework Con-

vention on Climate Change (COP21) to be held in 2015

in Paris, where family farming and research should have

their say.

Six areas provide an overall framework for research

agendas at different levels, ranging from the local to the

international:

4 “thematic” areas:

• Better understanding the coexistence of the different

forms of farming

• Changing the visions of assessed and measured

“performances”

• Developing new sustainable farming practices

• Supporting family farming by upgrading participa-

tory research practices and governance

2 “cross-cutting” areas:

• Meeting the data and information needs

• Informing policies for appropriate decisions.

Better understanding the coexistence of the different forms of farming

Research for agricultural development must be struc-

tured by facts and thus take into account the diverse

forms of farming and markets, and not by stereotypes

that often perpetuate an outdated image.

It must take into account diversity in terms of:

• forms of agricultural activity (family farming, agribusi-

ness...) and structures (land, implements, labor organi-

zation, etc.), beyond the simplistic opposition between

small and large holdings;

• types of collective organization bringing together dif-

ferent territorial stakeholders and throughout produc-

tion and value chains (cooperatives, indigenous com-

munities, corporations...);

• dynamics (economic, natural resources, population,

territorial and regional) of which family farming is part

and parcel.

This diversity will result in a better understanding of power

and competition dynamics, as well as collective spirit and

interaction between these different forms on the same ter-

ritory—understood here as a geographic area with social

and historic consistence. Land and water issues, but also

migration play a role therein and deserve greater atten-

tion on account of their dynamics and impact.

It should also make it possible to link up work done at

various spatial scales (biological mechanisms, farms and

holdings, landscapes, territories, nations, and so forth) to

produce multidisciplinary syntheses and carry out ambi-

tious trans-disciplinary studies. Such studies should also

shed light on how farms fi t into the broader food systems.

Contributing to a global research agenda

Agropolis International, CGIAR, GFAR, WRF

2

Changing the visions of assessed and measured “performances”

What do we expect from family farming? Owing to the

challenges humankind is and will be facing, the response

is no longer only income and direct food security, nor in-

creased yields of primary commodities marketed at pric-

es that urban consumers can afford.

The expected overall vision with respect to yields today

is closely linked to the need to gain insight into and un-

derstand the impacts of agricultural practices and activi-

ties in all areas. Family farming activities must be at the

same time viable, sustainable and replicable. These req-

uisites are deeply rooted in the fact that family farming

is fi rst and foremost a way of life providing employment

and livelihood, over and above a mere strictly economic

activity. They underscore the need for economic, social

and environmental sustainability at all levels, from family

members, right up to territories and food systems. These

requisites mean that special emphasis must be laid on

the resilience of the relevant entities and systems, which

is key to surviving and adapting to a situation of vulner-

ability.

In order to rethink suitable performance criteria,

a few markers must guide researchers:

• Increasing available quantities. To achieve this, pro-

duction and diversifi cation are keys. It is not necessar-

ily about producing more, but possibly reducing losses

during production and processing, reducing wasteful

consumption and doing more to preserve natural re-

sources;

• Understanding interactions between the various func-

tions of agricultural activities and their relationship with

the territories to which they contribute. It is thus neces-

sary to identify suitable multi-functionality and territori-

alization criteria and, as a result, develop new metrics

for external phenomena, especially in a context of cli-

mate change and biodiversity conservation;

• Changes in food systems and demand which drive the

activity of production and supply systems. It is impor-

tant to gain insight into the related mechanisms as well

as their impacts in respect of nutrition and nutritious

diets, which is often overlooked;

• Harshness of activities (with special emphasis on fe-

male labor);

• Family relations, more specifi cally the status of women

and youth, both in terms of labor and decisions and

their consequences on the individual (empowerment,

nutritional status...). Monitoring gender and inter-gener-

ational relations is also key to understanding the phe-

nomena of reproduction and transmission;

• On- and off-farm employment, income generated and

ownership. Involvement in off-farm activities in a num-

ber of situations amounts to job diversifi cation, which

directly supplements farming activities that constitute

a key source of employment to address the challenges

of population growth and urban/rural balance.

Developing new sustainable farming practices

Technical innovation is an usual area of agricultural re-

search. Expertise in this area is immense, but novel cir-

cumstances within which agricultural activities are per-

formed currently and the levels of performance expected

today (employment, climate change, natural resource

conservation and more) have changed the way it is used.

Gradual improvements in existing cropping systems

must aim at overcoming the dominant technical models

relying on simplistic practices in order to meet new and

complex challenges to which family farming can be es-

pecially vulnerable.

The number of both technical and organizational innova-

tions is increasing in all production areas, all aimed at

improving sustainability. To be effective, they must adapt

to regional ecosystems and socioeconomic constraints.

Research should not limit itself to tailoring a technologi-

cal model that works for large farms to family farms. The

set of constraints faced in family farms are not only re-

lated to their sizes; research must also embark on more

exploratory approaches. New agro-ecological practices

strongly rely on the agricultural, ecological, economic

and social contexts, and accounting for them is therefore

crucial. An immediate consequence is that such research

can only be conducted within a systemic conceptual

framework and that farmers are key players in such re-

search programs.

In practice, it is advisable to apply scientifi c knowledge

and tap the general knowledge that derives from old and

innovative farming practices. The steering of living pro-

cesses would use agro-ecological methods while work-

ing with farmers to fully take into account their proposals

and actual capacities (physical and economic) to access

the recommended inputs and techniques, both in terms

of fi nancial resources and distribution of labor.

However, the contribution of research cannot be restrict-

ed to production techniques only. Marketing or consump-

tion techniques are other avenues to be explored. One

example is integration into innovative value chains like

those focusing on the specifi c quality of local products

or deriving from production diversifi cation, as opposed to

the standardization of commodities.

Supporting family farming by upgrading research practices and governance

For research to effectively support family farming, it is

necessary that family farmers support research in return.

Therefore, new forms of participatory mechanisms, all

along research processes, are needed.

3

The focus should not only be on developing new techni-

cal standards, but also on strengthening the mechanisms

for developing new and suitable production systems.

Great inventiveness derives from research activities joint-

ly conducted by farmers and scientists. A general evo-

lutionary principle is necessary for this type of targeted

research (knowing by doing): integrating the experience

of family farmers, the private sector and policy makers in

usual scientifi c tests conducted “under controlled condi-

tions”. The aim is to take advantage of the knowledge

derived from the experiences of practitioners in order to

complement the outcomes of the usual pilot protocols of

research schemes.

Accordingly, it is necessary to:

• make the governance of agricultural research more in-

clusive by bringing on board all relevant stakeholders

at all levels (decision-making process);

• develop innovative arrangements for collective action

and consultation (learning process).

This requires a kind of governance and arrangements

that break with all asymmetries that different stakehold-

ers are facing (usually unfavorable to family farming),

hence raising the issue of available fi nancing for such

approaches.

In practical terms, the discussions underscored the need

for a mechanism for sharing knowledge between the

main stakeholders represented in Montpellier, with the

support of international organizations working in this

sector. In the fi eld, it would be key to build the capaci-

ties of both researchers and farmers, and particularly, to

encourage the emergence of young leaders.

Finally, it is by knowing how to be accountable (in re-

spect of methods and outcomes) to all those involved

that research can start the necessary dialogue with soci-

ety, so as to better innovate, contribute to the collective

effort and guide policy development.

Meeting the data and information needs

All agricultural research approaches, whether participa-

tory or not, highlight the need for a proper organization of

information on production structures, working processes

and performance achieved (biological, technical, socio-

economic, environmental, etc.). Specifi cally, there is a

strong demand for building comprehensive information

systems on the change dynamics of agriculture within

territories. This entails:

• sharing definitions and typologies with others

(HLPE, FAO Expert working group);

• harmonizing and opening access to data;

• preparing data or statistics that account for struc-

tural dynamics, including at the family level;

• holding strategic information on urban supply

systems for the various forms of production.

These systems must naturally be based on an optimal

use of ICTs in open data arrangements.

The FAO is thus offering to build shared platforms on

family farming (International working group, World Agri-

culture Watch).

Informing policies for appropriate decisions

Informing policy makers about family farming does not

mean focusing solely on agricultural sector policies or on

policies relating to social issues. In fact, many policies im-

pact farming activities and livelihoods in rural territories.

It is therefore necessary, when informing policy-makers,

to highlight the impacts of all policies on farming, bearing

in mind that it is family farmers, the major individual in-

vestors and collective stakeholders, who very often bear

the associated risks.

Research and testing on the most suitable marketing ap-

proach (contractual, regulated...) should be continued to

defi ne their operational patterns in various situations. How-

ever, over and above the study of the inclusion of individual

farms in sectors, research must also build support for collec-

tive marketing arrangements, possibly by subjecting them

to environmental service requirements for example.

More generally, the various roles assumed by agricul-

tural activities nowadays are broadly acknowledged

as far as production, income generation and economic

well-being, natural resource conservation, maintenance

of biodiversity, the environment and landscapes or the

performance of other activities (processing, tourism, etc.)

are concerned. Consequently, to support multifunctional

family farmers, research must help develop consistent

multifunctional policies. Payments for environmental ser-

vices (such as incentives for biodiversity conservation or

carbon sequestration) must notably be consistent with

production, food security and income needs. It is there-

fore appropriate to establish multifunctional incentive

schemes (linking environmental services, food security,

social safety nets, insurance mechanisms and more).

Thus, research programs must help ensure that the spe-

cifi c situation of people, particularly women and youth,

with regards to labor, employment access, participation

in decision-making and their well-being, is taken into ac-

count. In a nutshell, the aim is to guarantee that policies,

which are often sector-related, are consistent and inclu-

sive, i.e. ensure that in addition to not having any contra-

dictory effects, they are mutually reinforcing.

To be more effective, research must help build appro-

priate international coordination forums. In this regard,

it can support the international stakeholder forums and

networks organized in a bottom-up manner (organiza-

tions representing family farms, scientifi c networks and

others) or following a bilateral and multilateral approach

(CSA, FAO, IFAD…).

4