Conservation agriculture effects and policy support to mitigate soil degradation in Midi‐Pyrénées (France)

Abstract

This paper draws on the results of a case study within the SoCo project and aims to assess the benefits and constraints in the application of conservation agriculture (CA) methods in Midi-Pyrénées, France, along with an evaluation of the coherence of the policy framework designed to improve the protection of soil resources.Inappropriate agricultural practices, under particular climate, terrain and soil conditions, have contributed to make erosion the main soil degradation phenomenon in Midi-Pyrénées, particularly under spring crops. The decrease of carbon stock is also a relevant issue.Among the various techniques applied by local farmers to reduce the impact of soil degradation on their land, CA appeared popular and was therefore analysed in detail.No specific legislation on soil protection is currently available in France, while the present agri-environmental policy, including the Rural Development Plan and the cross compliance measures, focuses mainly on water quality and biodiversity.A mixed methodological approach was used consisting of a literature review on the status of soils, of the characteristics of CA practices and of the soil-related policies in force. Semi-structured interviews with selected stakeholders on the use of soil conservation techniques and on soil legislation allowed a broader discussion of the study results.The research suggests that CA can effectively contribute to mitigate soil degradation in Midi-Pyrénées, although some implementation drawbacks seem to limit its wider use mainly due to lack of a specific support. Therefore, a better targeting of existing policies would be desirable for an improved protection of soil resources.

Soil degradation, farming practices, institutions and policy responses: An analytical framework

“…With the exception of Denmark and Italy, the individual cases are discussed by Verspecht et al, 2011;Penov et al, 2011;Prazan and Dumbrovsky, 2011;Prosperi et al, 2011;Prager et al, 2011;Barbayiannis et al, 2011;Calatrava et al, 2011;Posthumus et al, 2011. These papers discuss soil management and soil conservation policies in nine specific contexts, highlighting major insights from the individual case studies.…”

Farming Systems in Two Less Favoured Areas in Portugal: Their Development From 1989 to 2009 and the Implications for Sustainable Land Management

“…At the EU level, a number of agri-environmental measures were designed to support beneficial traditional practices (e.g. the upkeep of permanent pastures), which have been abandoned over the years in the course of intensification biassed policies (Barbayiannis et al, 2011;Calatrava et al, 2011;Prager et al, 2011;Prosperi et al, 2011). Although the design of these incentive-based measures potentially delivers the desired benefits, a better target at the farm level management needs to be put into practice in order to deliver the intended benefits Posthumus et al, 2011).…”

The challenge of developing effective soil conservation policies

“…In contrast, in the German study the soil-related AES have been closed (Prager et al, 2011a), and in the Bulgarian case they were not implemented until 2009 (Penov et al, 2011). In other countries, such as Greece and France, it was the cross compliance requirements-mainly the Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions-that were of the highest importance for soil conservation (Barbayiannis et al, 2011;Prosperi et al, 2011).…”

“…Other studies have an emphasis on a particular farming practice. For example, the French case study centres on conservation agriculture, which represents a complex system of farming practices and technologies, and its application (Prosperi et al, 2011). Others discuss the lack of institutional capacities, for example, in Bulgaria this hinders the enforcement of soil-related policies (Penov et al, 2011), while in Greece, this lack of capacities prevents the detection of incoherencies between agricultural policy and soil conservation-related policies and hence lets the market dictate to what extent soil conservation is considered in farmers' decisions (Barbayiannis et al, 2011).…”