A localised development of organic farming as a response to the problem of water quality: a new challenge

Initiatives aiming at developing organic farming (OF) to meet water quality stakes are increasing. This article is a comparative study of four such projects. It is based on semi-structured interviews. Two logics for public action are implemented to foster the development of OF in areas facing water quality problems. The first one aims at concentrating actions in water sensitive areas. The main tool that is then mobilized is the use of localized agri-environmental measures supporting conversion to organic farming. The second logic aims at implementing actions for organic development at a geographical scale considered as relevant for developing OF and differing from water sensitive areas. The main actions that are then activated are coordination, consciousness-raising about OF for agricultural stakeholders and structuring of processing and distribution chains for organic products. Our result showed that the actor networks differ according to local contexts, project leaders, and objectives. They tended to expand and become more complex over time. This explains why such projects are difficult and slow to put in place. Nevertheless, water conservation has now become an asset for the development of OF. This entails reconsidering the theoretical development models for OF, thus enriching them with a territorial dimension

Peroxide grafted PDMS: hydrosilylation reaction study and thiol-ene chemistry as an alternative pathway

International audiencePeroxide containing PDMS were synthesized according to a new pathway. Although hydrosilylation is one of the main reaction carried out in silicone chemistry, the catalysts used are very sensitive to the chemical nature of the reactants and remained inefficient to graft allylic peroxide. Radical catalyzed thiol-ene chemistry was involved for the first time to yield an initiator group containing polymer. Peroxide grafted polysiloxane structure and decomposition were characterized using 1H, 13C and 29Si NMR, FT-IR and RAMAN spectroscopies, SEC and DSC. These macroinitiators can be used to obtain polysiloxane able to undergo cross-linking

Local Issues And Market As Drivers For Innovation In Organic Farming

This paper analyses innovation processes in the French organic sector. On the basis of an inventory of multi-stakeholders innovative groups at national level and detailed case studies, we identify and characterise different types of innovation dynamics. While most groups implement simple innovations, a few carry out more complex and multiple innovations. Some are coupled innovations, to achieve consistency between local environmental stakes, farming systems and practices, agricultural products and market opportunities. They involved various actors working collectively. Others innovations are the outcome of a co-evolution process, taking place at production and processing levels rather independently