Mixed Crop Livestock Farming Incorporating Agroforestry Orchards Facing the New Cap

In the context of the new CAP, decoupling subsidies from production should incite farmers to reorganize their production systems, particularly through diversification opportunities. In this paper we focus our analysis on the conditions that could permit the development of extensive orchards by modelling mixed crop livestock farms, which incorporate orchards. A mathematical programming model is built to simulate various intensification levels characterizing different technical pathways within the different farm activities (cattle breeding, forage fields, arboriculture). This model also enables us to take into account some environmental indicators related to these pathways. Moreover, the method illustrates technical complementarities existing within the diversified systems, thanks to the joint production phenomena introduced into our analysis. We show how these complementarities can be integrated into the farmer's decision criteria.decoupling, diversification, agroforestry orchards, joint production, mathematical programming, Agribusiness, C61, D24, Q12, Q21,

Cross Compliance of CAP First Pillar Measures: A Transaction Costs Assessment

The 2003 review of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has introduced several new policy tools, among which cross-compliance. The introduction of this new policy entails production costs, along with other types of costs arising at the farm level: administrative, information, organisational costs, called transaction costs. The purpose of this paper is to determine the nature of transaction costs and to assess them. The literature on transaction costs in agriculture has, until now, mainly been devoted to the voluntary measures implemented within the framework of the European agri-environmental policy. The first part of the paper intends to use this literature to apply the private transaction costs analysis to the issue of cross compliance. The second part attempts to assess these costs. On the basis of a survey conducted in 2006 among a sample of 39 farmers from the Midi Pyrenees French region, a descriptive statistical analysis (Multiple Classification Analysis - MCA) permits to associate farmer profiles with different levels of incurred transaction costs. These profiles reveal the impact which the farmers’ responsibilities (professional networks) and the role of voluntary commitments previously undertaken may have on the nature and importance of transaction costs. This paper opens up new perspectives on the adoption criteria that should be taken into account in the evolution of agri-environmental regulations. It appears that growing administrative requirements could prompt farmers to outsource tasks which most of them carry out on their own today.Cross compliance, Transaction costs, CAP, Agricultural and Food Policy,

Bernard Bourget - Les défis de l’Europe verte - Broché, Éditions L'Harmattan, 116 pages, juillet 2011

Exercice difficile que de résumer en quelques pages les enjeux et les réformes de l’ancienne et de la nouvelle Politique agricole commune (PAC). C’est ce que propose Bernard Bourget, ingénieur général au ministère de l’Agriculture, président de la commission chargée de la prospective au Conseil général de l’Alimentation, de l’Agriculture et des Espaces ruraux (CGAAER). Le principal mérite de l’ouvrage réside dans la proposition d’un retour chronologique sur cette histoire dans un format et un..

Diversity of protein-crop management in western France

ISI Document Delivery No.: HN5FPTimes Cited: 0Cited Reference Count: 42Carof, Matthieu Godinot, Olivier Ridier, AudeFrench region, Brittany; French region, Pays de la LoireThis work was funded by two French regions, Brittany and Pays de la Loire, in the project SECURIPROT.0Springer franceParis1773-0155In the European Union (EU), local production of protein crops (faba bean, field pea, lupins) is of primary interest to help farmers depend less on purchased feed, provide agronomic benefits to cropping systems, and increase the EU's protein self-sufficiency. Nonetheless, farmers rarely grow protein crops, which currently represent less than 1% of the EU's arable land. We assumed that exploration of farmers' practices will bring focus on (i) their motivations for growing protein crops, so that extension programs can be improved based on these motivations, and (ii) the diversity of their crop management so that promising ones can be disseminated. In western France, a two-step survey was conducted among farmers who grew protein crops. The first step was an online survey of 127 farmers that aimed to characterize their farming systems. The second step was a face-to-face survey (69 volunteers from the 127 farmers) that aimed to collect precise data on management of protein crops. The main motivations of surveyed farmers for growing protein crops were related to (i) replacing imported soybean with farm-grown protein crops and (ii) pre-crop values of protein crops (i.e., benefits of protein crops for subsequent crops). Based on conventional farmers' answers, we estimated a pre-crop value of 118 Euroha(-1), which notably contributes to gross profit at the crop-rotation scale. Moreover, in our study, yields of protein crops did not differ significantly between conventional and organic systems. This offers an interesting opportunity for conventional systems to integrate organic practices, such as complex intercropping, to reduce variable costs (costs of seeds, pesticides, regulators, and chemical fertilizers) and increase gross profits. This study shows for the first time that, in western France, pre-crop values of protein crops and their suitability for low-input systems are undervalued and could be emphasized more strongly to encourage their adoption

Éditorial

Dans Économie rurale, 31 articles ont été publiés en 2014. La diversité des thèmes et des approches reflète bien la ligne éditoriale de la revue de la Société française d’économie rurale (SFER), guidée par une vision pluraliste des recherches françaises sur les transformations économiques et sociales de l’agriculture, de l’alimentation et des territoires ruraux. Ainsi, différentes disciplines sont encore présentes cette année dans la revue : sciences économiques (15 articles), sociologie (7 a..

Éditorial

Dans ce numéro, nous publions des articles issus de communications présentées lors des Journées de Recherche en Sciences Sociales (JRSS) organisées conjointement par l’INRA, le CIRAD et la SFER à Toulouse les 13 et 14 décembre 2012. La composition du numéro spécial témoigne de l’objectif partagé entre la revue et l’association de mettre en visibilité et en débat non seulement la diversité des enjeux associés à l’agriculture, mais également la pluralité des approches scientifiques et des méth..

Linking marketing choices with farming practices of grain producers: A farm level modeling approach applied to the South-west of France

With the increasing commodity prices volatility over the last years and the successive agricultural policy reforms, European grain producers face greater uncertainty. To better understand consequences of a price risk increase on production decisions, marketing decisions and farm revenue as well as linkage between production and marketing decisions, we develop a multiperiodic risk farm model. Production decisions concern selections of crop mix and farming practices (conventional or integrated farming) while marketing decisions focus on four types of pricing arrangements. The model is applied to a representative farmer of a region located in the Southwest of France. The results exposed in this paper shows that with a price risk increase, production adjustments of a risk averse farmer are oriented toward less risky (environmentally friendly) farming practices unless marketing contracts allow to mitigate price risk.multiperiod farm model, marketing contracts, risk, common agricultural policy, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management,

Éditorial

Ce numéro qui clôture les publications 2015 d’Économie rurale est un numéro double composé d’articles portant sur les transformations des filières agricoles et agroalimentaires. La diversité d’approches est fidèle à la ligne éditoriale de la revue. Les transformations des filières sont appréhendées à partir de revues de la littérature, d’études de cas originales, portant sur des secteurs peu étudiés (par exemple sur la filière du chêne-liège en Corse, ou les questions logistiques dans la fili..

Éditorial - Une nouvelle équipe éditoriale pour Économie rurale

Comme annoncé dans l’éditorial du numéro 333, une nouvelle équipe est désormais en charge de la gestion éditoriale et de l’animation scientifique de la revue. Nous tenons à remercier Bernard Roux et les membres de l’équipe précédente pour tout le travail accompli au sein du Comité de rédaction et du secrétariat éditorial. La nouvelle équipe affiche, dès sa composition, la volonté réaffirmée de la revue d’embrasser non seulement la diversité des approches et des champs thématiques de « l’écono..

Éditorial - Une nouvelle équipe éditoriale pour Économie rurale

Comme annoncé dans l’éditorial du numéro 333, une nouvelle équipe est désormais en charge de la gestion éditoriale et de l’animation scientifique de la revue. Nous tenons à remercier Bernard Roux et les membres de l’équipe précédente pour tout le travail accompli au sein du Comité de rédaction et du secrétariat éditorial. La nouvelle équipe affiche, dès sa composition, la volonté réaffirmée de la revue d’embrasser non seulement la diversité des approches et des champs thématiques de « l’écono..