AGRO-ECOLOGIE ET DEVELOPPEMENT DURABLE

N° ISBN - 978-2-7380-1284-5International audienceIn order to meet economy of scale demands made by large seed and agroindustrial companies, many areas of agriculture have recently evolved in ways which are incompatible with sustainable development, both in terms of damage to agroecosystems and by the continued belief in principles of land concentration and underuse. Farming systems based on agroecology can provide an alternative to these agroindustrial and largeestate approaches, while at the same time satisfying the many needs of a constantly growing world population

Enjeux alimentaires mondiaux et agricultures familiales

Nous sommes près de 7,3 milliards d’humains dans le monde et nous serons probablement plus de 9,5 milliards en 2050. La hausse du pouvoir d’achat dans certains pays émergents se manifeste par une consommation croissante de produits animaux et comme il faut de 3 à 10 calories végétales pour produire une calorie animale, il est à prévoir un doublement en 35 ans des productions alimentaires végétales pour espérer satisfaire cette demande croissante en aliments divers. Tout en prenant soin de ne pas sacrifier la « fertilité » des écosystèmes cultivés et pâturés, au nom de la satisfaction des besoins immédiats. Il existe des techniques agricoles inspirées de l’agro-écologie permettant d’ores et déjà d’accroître sensiblement les rendements à l’hectare, sans recours excessif aux énergies fossiles et aux produits phytosanitaires. Mais seules des formes d’agriculture familiale ancrées dans leurs « pays » seraient à même de mettre au mieux en valeur les potentialités productives des terroirs.We are nearly 7,3 billion people in the world and we will probably be more than 9,5 billion in 2050. The increase in purchasing power in some emerging countries results in a growing consumption of animal products. As we need to produce from three to ten plant calories to get one animal calorie, it will be necessary to double the vegetable production in the next 35 years in order to meet this growing demand in foods, while taking care not to damage the fertility of the agroecosystems on the long term. Some agricultural systems based on agro-ecology are already available in order to increase significantly the yields per hectare without excessive use of fossil fuels and pesticides. But only family farming systems rooted in their local environment will be able to make the best use of natural productive potentials

Rural poverty and diversification of farming systems in upper northeast Thailand

International audienceIn northeast Thailand, 85% of the farmers are smallholders who are unable to meet their basic needs from agricultural production only. These tiny farms survive thanks to non-farm income which face increased difficulties as other economic sectors ran out of steam during the recent economic crisis of the late 1990s. In this context, farmers have to rely more on their agricultural production activity and income. But how can this be made possible in a region well-known for its very constraining soil and climatic conditions? To answer this question, and to examine the whole complexity of agricultural development issues, this article proposes an analysis of recent agrarian transformations and an understanding of farmers' current practices and strategies. A diagnostic analysis of a village agrarian system located in Khon Kaen Province in upper northeast Thailand was carried out in 2002 by using a combination of field observations, interviews with key witnesses of the local history, and a farm survey of 26 diverse households. The recent history illustrates that farmers have shown a high adaptability to rapid changes in their economic environment, such as changing market demand for agricultural products and labour. The differentiation among farming households has led to different types of farmers with different resources, practices, and strategies. Families belonging to the most frequent type have a very tiny holding and their members are permanently or seasonally involved in unskilled off-farm activities. Their low and unstable total cash income is often insufficient to meet the family's basic needs and they become deeply indebted. As efforts to improve water availability are being made, many Isarn families could improve their living conditions by diversifying their agricultural production systems with more small-scale fruit, vegetable, fish, or livestock production to improve household food security and cash income, eventually combined with non-agricultural activities. But currently, such a strategy is still out of reach for numerous very poor farmers facing elimination across the region and government support to help them catch-up is still needed

Transformations de l’agriculture et reconfiguration des terroirs au Sud-Mali : une “pression démographique” à relativiser

Malgré la baisse des précipitations et une forte croissance démographique, l’agriculture du Sud-Mali a fait l’objet de transformations considérables au cours des trois dernières décennies. Ces modifications sont à mettre à l’actif des paysans à qui la Compagnie Malienne Des Textiles (CMDT) a fourni une assistance technique et des crédits gagés sur la production cotonnière. Grâce à l’acquisition d’animaux et d’équipements attelés, de nombreux agriculteurs ont été en mesure de remplacer leurs anciens systèmes d’agriculture sur abattis-brûlis par un système dans lequel les champs cultivés le sont tous les ans, sans période de retour à la friche (jachère). Ces parcelles sont situées sur un ager plus ou moins abondamment fertilisé par des apports de matières organiques en provenance des aires réservées à la pâture des animaux (saltus). Ces changements sont allés de pair avec une diversification accrue des systèmes de production agricole. Les familles les plus fortunées se détournent aujourd’hui progressivement de la culture cotonnière, au profit d’autres productions commerciales (maïs, bananes, mangues, noix de cajou, animaux sur pieds, etc.). Mais lorsque leur niveau d’équipement est insuffisant, les paysans ont bien du mal à vivre de leurs exploitations et dépendent des opportunités de revenus extra-agricoles. Les transformations de l’agriculture et de l’espace rural seront aussi fonction de la façon dont certaines familles tentent de s’approprier les bas-fonds pour y établir des plantations pérennes ou des cultures maraîchères encloses, et des nouvelles relations que les agriculteurs sédentaires parviendront à établir avec les éleveurs transhumants.Despite the rainfall decrease and a heavy demographic growth, Southern Malian agriculture has considerably changed during the past three decades. The Malian Company of Textiles (CMDT) provided technical assistance and cotton production endowed peasants with credits. With the acquisition of animals and harnessed equipments, many farmers could replace their former slash and burn cropping systems by permanent cultivation so that fields are cultivated every year, without a fallow period. These fields are located on a more or less fertilized ager with organic matters coming from reverted lands used for animal grazing (saltus). During that period some farmers have also been diversifying their farming systems. Nowadays, the better off families gradually cease growing cotton, and develop other commercial productions (corn, bananas, mangos, cashew nuts, animal breeding, etc). Nevertheless, because they lack equipments, many peasants cannot live on agriculture only and depend on extra-agricultural income opportunities. Changes in agriculture and rural areas will also be contingent upon the evolution of land property rights: some families start enclosing low land areas to grow perennial or vegetable crops, and new relationships will probably have to be worked out between sedentary farmers and transhumant stockbreeders

Impossible développement agricole en République centrafricaine ?

L’abandon, déjà ancien, de l’agriculture a contribué à l’émergence des crises politico-militaires récentes en République centrafricaine. Un retour à la paix ne pourra donc pas être durable sans une action volontariste et prolongée en faveur du développement agricole, et notamment sans la recherche d’une meilleure articulation entre agriculture et élevage. Telle est la thèse défendue par les auteurs de l’article, qui envisagent ensuite quelques-unes les modalités que pourrait prendre cet appui à l’agriculture. Ils détaillent les actions possibles, à court, moyen et long termes, et insistent sur les exigences du développement agricole, pour les bailleurs comme pour les acteurs de l’appui.The long-standing abandonment of agriculture has contributed to the emergence of recent political-military crises in the Central African Republic. Any peace building will therefore not be sustainable without pro-active and prolonged action in favor of agricultural development, and particularly without a search for a better articulation between agriculture and pastoralism. This is the thesis defended by the authors, who then consider some modalities that this support for agriculture could take. They detail possible actions, in the short, medium and long term, and stress the requirements of agricultural development, both for donors and for actors

L’agriculture comparée, une discipline de synthèse ?

Cet article se propose de montrer comment, à partir des prémices posées par René Dumont, cette approche de l’agriculture s’est peu à peu consolidée, précisée et construite, pour finalement constituer une discipline scientifique à part entière, avec ses méthodes et ses concepts propres. Surtout portée par des agronomes, l’agriculture comparée s’appuie sur les méthodes et résultats de l’agronomie mais intègre également les résultats de disciplines appartenant aux sciences sociales, comme l’histoire et la géographie agraires ainsi que l’économie rurale. Par les trois niveaux d’analyse qu’elle privilégie, celui de la parcelle ou du troupeau, niveau d’observation des pratiques, celui de l’unité de production, niveau d’intégration des différents systèmes de culture et systèmes d’élevage, et celui de la région ou du pays, niveau pertinent d’application du concept de système agraire, l’agriculture comparée invite aux changements d’échelle autant qu’à une démarche comparatiste visant à rendre intelligibles les transformations de l’agriculture dans le monde.This article proposes to explain the development of this approach to understanding farming, which began with René Dumont’s groundbreaking work, and has since been reinforced, made more precise, and has been constructed to the point where it finally has become a scientific field in its own right, having its own methodology and concepts. A field that mostly concerns agronomists, Comparative Agriculture is based on agronomy’s methods and results, but equally involves the social sciences such as history, agrarian geography, as well as rural economics. Three levels of analysis are employed: the plot or herd level where practices are observed; the production unit level, within which the different cropping and herding systems are integrated with one another; and the regional or country level to which the application of the concept of the agrarian system pertains. By using these three different levels of analysis, Comparative Agriculture allows as much for switching scales as for a comparative approach aiming to make sense out of agricultural transformations around the world

NEOPRODUTIVISMO

O neoprodutivismo resulta da diversificação de modelos nos quais baseia-se o desenvolvimento agrícola desde a crise do produtivismo. Neste artigo trata-se das perspectivas da agricultura brasileira, a começar pela crítica de algumas interpretações equivocadas. Analisamse as transformações agrícolas, a crise do produtivismo, impactos sócio-ambientais, principais reações via mercado, e a emergência de modelos alternativos. A partir do exemplo francês, comenta-se o atual projeto de lei de orientação agrícola. Conclui-se pelo reconhecimento de que é difícil a tarefa de apontar alguma resultante para a agricultura brasileira, de grande diversidade regional, etnocultural, de modelos tecnológicos e organizacionais, de mercados, da qualidade dos processos e produtos e, mais recentemente, do trabalho - a pluriatividade. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Agricultura, crise do produtivismo, modelos alternativos, Brasil, França. NEW FORMS OF PRODUCTION New-productivism results from diversification of the models on which is founded agricultural development since productivism crisis. This article deals with perspectives to brazilian agriculture, starting with objections to some equivocate interpretations. Agricultural transformations are examined as well as productivism crisis, social-environmental impacts, the market's main reactions, and the emergency of alternative models. Taking french example, the present law project to agricultural orientation is discussed. As a conclusion, we admit that is a difficult task to point out some resultant to brazilian agriculture, with its enormous diversity of regions, ethnocultures, technological and organizational models, markets, product quality, and more recently, the agrarian economy with nonagricultural activities - the so-called pluriactivity. KEYWORDS: Agriculture, productivity crisis, alternative models, Brazil, France. Publicação Online do Caderno CRH: http://www.cadernocrh.ufba.b