For Roger Le Guen, sociologist at the ESA-Angers School of Agriculture, France’s agricultural crisis is heavily tied to its inability to critically assess and update 50-year-old conceptions about this sector.
Farmers are caught between a rock and a hard place: on the one hand are greater economic risks, while on the other society’s ever-increasing demands (health, environment, animal welfare, etc.). Through calls for “sustainable development”, society is influencing the agricultural profession. Though the government has loosened its regulatory grip on the sector, it has still tightened conditions imposed on farming practices. The profession feels as if its political and economic power has been usurped: governance of the entire agricultural sector needs to be revamped.
Recent disturbances affecting the food processing industry also underscore the need to rethink approaches towards supplying and consuming food.
This creative lab will seek to answer the following questions:
• Which changes directed at agricultural practices, research and training will ultimately advance the industry in a way that ensures competitiveness and environmental protection?
• Which changes should be sponsored to give rise to responsible food consumption capable of feeding the greatest numbers?
• Which changes should be planned to enable the industry to interact with other sectors of activity and with the world at large?
Organized by Florence DUPRAZ, Director, Open Agrifood Orléans, France
Moderated by Didier LIVIO, President, SYNERGENCE, France
> Cultiver son jardin avec Didier Livio
— Summary —
Creative Lab’s summary