Since the late 1980s, many alternative practices have been proposed to European farmers to reduce pesticide and input use in general. These practices have been promoted by agro-environmental contracts signed between individual farmers and the European Union and by which farmers engage themselves in changing their practices. The adoption rate of these measures has remained very low in many European regions particularly in Southwestern France. This article aims at stressing the role played by risk attitude and labor constraint in farmers’ adoption decision. After presenting a static theoretical model which assesses the impact of labor constraints and risk attitude on the level of adoption of low input practices supported by agro-environmental contracts, the article proposes a numerical application based on a mathematical programming risk-model implemented on two typical crop farms in South-western France. Three kinds of contracts (no tillage, long rotation, lower pest treatments) are tested, two of them (long rotation and lower pest treatments) aiming at directly reducing input use. The results show that, despite the overall positive impact of alternative practices under contract on environment and farmers’ income, increased yield variability under positive risk aversion and larger labor requirements are actual barriers to adoption.Depuis la fin des années 1980, plusieurs pratiques alternatives ont été soutenues dans le cadre de programmes agro-environnementaux, par des contrats volontaires signés entre l’Union Européenne et les agriculteurs, par lesquels ceux-ci s’engagent à changer durablement leurs pratiques. Le taux d’adoption de ces contrats est resté très faible dans beaucoup de pays de l’UE et dans le sud-ouest de la France en particulier. Cet article vise à analyser le rôle du comportement par rapport au risque et des contraintes de travail sur la décision d’adoption de ces pratiques. Après avoir présenté un modèle théorique statique pour montrer l’impact du risque et du facteur travail dans l’adoption de pratiques à bas niveau d’intrants, nous proposons une application à l’aide d’un modèle de programmation mathématique représentant deux types d’exploitations céréalières spécialisées du sud-ouest de la France. Trois types de contrats agro-environnementaux sont testés (zéro labour, rotation longue, diminution des traitements phytosanitaires). Les résultats montrent que malgré l’effet globalement positif des pratiques alternatives sur les indicateurs environnementaux et sur le revenu des agriculteurs, la variabilité plus forte des rendements, en présence d’aversion au risque positive, ainsi que de plus forts besoins en travail sont des barrières importantes à l’adoption

Abstract:Integrating natural resources and ecological services in the production process is crucial to implement sustainable agriculture. However, the measurement of natural resource efficiency remains difficult. This paper aims at contributing to this issue, by investigating French farms' use and excess (slack) of energy resources through Data Envelopment Analyses (DEA). Results show that disentangling energy resources from the rest of intermediate consumption highlights energy use excess which is masked when considering intermediate consumption as a whole. The analysis of the determinants of energy use excess and of intermediate consumption shows a discrepancy in results, which policy-makers should take into account when designing energy policies. In addition, results show that large and highly capital intensive farms perform better in terms of energy use excess, while the dependence on public subsidies is a constraint.

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L'Agriculture écologiquement intensive (AEI) est développée par les coopératives de l'Ouest de la France comme une démarche agroécologique. Cependant, la mobilisation des agriculteurs dans la démarche reste faible. Cet article propose une analyse des facteurs d'engagement et des actions menées pour les mobiliser dans l'AEI. Il propose une articulation d'analyses quantitatives et qualitatives et mobilise des enquêtes réalisées auprès de coopérateurs et de technicocommerciaux. Les résultats montrent : que l'adoption des pratiques AEI est motivée par la nécessité de preuves économiques ; que le réseau professionnel des agriculteurs est aussi important que les caractéristiques de leurs exploitations et que les coopératives peuvent contribuer à l'engagement des agriculteurs dans la transition écologique. MOTS-CLÉS : innovation, changement technique, transition agroécologique, AEI, adoption Agricultural cooperatives in the ecological transition of farmers: Tools for proving economic interestEcologically Intensive Agriculture (EIA) has been adopted by the agricultural cooperatives of the west of France as an agroecological approach. However, the inclusion of farmers in this approach remains weak. This paper proposes an analysis of the factors of adoption by farmers and the actions taken by cooperatives to include them in the EIA. It proposes a combination of quantitative and qualitative analyses and uses surveys carried out with farmers and technical-sales specialists. The results show that the adoption of EIA practices is motivated by the need for economic evidence; that farmers' professional networks are as important as the characteristics of their farms; and that cooperatives can contribute to farmers' commitment to ecological transition. (JEL : Q13, Q55).

There is an urgent need for agriculture in general, and for viticulture in particular, to reduce their impacts on the environment. Doing so requires an approach that supports transitioning to more environmentally friendly practices. Involving farmers and agricultural advisors is key to lifting technical, economic, and social barriers to this transition. Participatory methods can help to consider specific contexts and concerns, but few suitable tools are available. We developed a methodological framework to address both environmental and economic dimensions at the field and farm scales in three participatory ecodesign workshops with winegrowers. We applied our framework to the ecodesign of pathways of technical operations in the Middle Loire Valley, France. The first two workshops focused on the field scale, and group interactions were facilitated using a serious game and a “live” assessment of the environmental performance of the ecodesigned system. The third workshop focused on implementation at farm level. The aggregated environmental impact of the ecodesigned farm decreased by 4%, while the economic performance of its four pathways of technical operations improved. We showed that combining environmental and economic assessment tools, suitable for use in participatory workshops, addresses most mechanisms for and barriers to changing practices at the farm scale. The typology of activities at the farm scale allows farm characteristics and the diversity of production systems to be represented in the ecodesign without over-complicating the process. The use of farm maps takes advantage of the collective expertise of the group and increases participant involvement. This process highlighted the need to continue to extend the scope and criteria of ecodesign to decrease environmental impacts even more. Here, we show for the first time the need to quantify the influence of a farm’s environmental practices on its economic performance to reduce the perception of risk and facilitate adoption of these practices.