Landscape and biodiversity as new resources for agro-ecology? Insights from farmers’ perspectives

Abstract

ABSTRACT. Pesticide reduction is a key current challenge. Scientific findings in landscape ecology suggest that complex landscapes favor insect pest biological control by conservation of natural enemy habitats. A potential agro-ecological innovation is to conserve or engineer such complex landscapes to reduce pesticide use. However, whereas the relevant resources are often well known in most natural resource management situations, potential resources involved in this innovation (natural enemies and the landscape) are not necessarily considered as resources in the eyes of their potential users. From the perspective that resources are socially constructed, our objective was to investigate whether and how these resources are considered by their potential users. To do so, we conducted research in an area specializing in tree-fruit (apple) production in southwestern France. This site was selected for its high pest incidence and high use of insecticides on orchards and, consequently, high stakes involved for any alternative. We conducted 30 comprehensive interviews with stakeholders (farmers and crop advisors) about their pest control strategies to explore their representation of their landscape and natural enemies. Our results show that natural enemies are considered by local stakeholders as public good resources, especially in the context of interventions by public institutions for their conservation, acclimation, and management. Farmers sometimes consider natural enemies as private goods when they can isolate the crop, enclosing it with nets or some other type of boundary. We also show that the landscape was not considered as a resource for biological pest control by conservation, but rather as a source of pests. We advocate for more research on the effects of landscapes on natural enemies, including participatory research based on dialogue among farmers, crop advisors, and scientists.

Ecoinovação no Agronegócio: revisão sistemática da literatura

“…Em contraponto, todavia, Salliou e Barnaud (2017) afirmam que a incredulidade dos agricultores quanto à eficiência do controle biológico em substituição aos pesticidas químicos, ou seja, a falta de confiança pública na biotecnologia (MCCARTHY; LIU; CHEN, 2016) tende a dificultar o desenvolvimento de ecoinovações de produto (BLAZY et al, 2010;SALLIOU;BARNAUD, 2017). Por conseguinte, emerge a criação de cadeias de valor mediante a integração de distintos modelos de negócio, como o turismo agroalimentar (LIU et al, 2017) ou turismo rural em paralelo à exploração de pecuária orgânica (GENOVESE et al, 2017).…”

“…Um dos principais desafios da difusão da inovação é a relação entre a eficiência de produtos ecoinovadores e os impactos ambientais, haja vista a incredulidade da eficácia do controle biológico em comparação ao químico, por exemplo (JONGE, 2004;LEACH et al, 2012;SALLIOU;BARNAUD, 2017), ou ainda o trade-off entre perdas de produção e impacto econômico (SAINT-GES; BÉLIS BERGOUIGNAN, 2009). Assim, fatores ideacionais (como o impacto percebido por uma tecnologia na rentabilidade), fatores institucionais (a exemplo da promoção de métodos específicos) ou fatores logísticos (como a facilidade de instalação e manutenção da tecnologia oferecida) podem explicar as causas que tornam uma ecoinovação ser difundida em maior escala do que outras MARIOLA;HANSEN, 2008).…”

Governance of Ecosystem Services in Agroecology: When Coordination is Needed but Difficult to Achieve

“…A first success in the use of natural enemies to regulate pests was achieved against the European red mite (Panonychus ulmi) on apple trees. The integration of Aphelinus mali, which parasitizes woolly aphids (Eriosoma lanigerum), and the introduction of Neodryinus typhlocibae against Metcalfa pruinosa invasive pests are some notable later successes [35]. While further advances in integrated pest management have been achieved, pesticide use remains by far the main pest control option in the area, which reflects the general situation in France.…”

Development of the Concept of Agroecology in Europe: A Review

“…It was found that, in most natural resource management situations, potential agroecological means considering the importance of the complexity of landscape and the natural enemies to control plagues and reduce the use of pesticides, are not necessarily considered as resources for their potential users (agricultural producers), since in some cases they were perceived more as a source of pests [62]. In this sense, for the European context, it has been recommended to implement agroforestry strategies as key elements for agriculture and food security to optimize sustainable intensification and balance the competitive demands over land for the production of food and energy.…”

“…In front of these results, the scientific findings, for example of landscape ecology, suggested that complex landscapes favor the biological control of insect pests by conserving the habitats of their natural enemies [62]. Faced with the fact of confronting modern societies, some authors mentioned that farmers should not only be efficient in food production, but also ensure that ecological services (pollination, pest control or conservation of biodiversity) are effective, which raises the need to reconsider the role of the environment by redesigning or evaluating the agricultural systems [78].…”