Peasant Seeds in France: Fostering A More Resilient Agriculture

Abstract

The profitability of the French agricultural sector has fallen over the last two decades, leading to the suggestion of a "rupture in technical progress". Additionally, the intellectual property regime in force has contributed to the erosion of the cultivated biodiversity, limiting plant resiliency to climate change and other hazards. In the face of these challenges, agroecological farming practices are a viable alternative. This paper investigates the positive and negative aspects associated with the development of alternative seed procurement networks in France. The findings indicate that peasant seed networks can effectively contribute to overcoming many of the structural blockages with which French agriculture is confronted, but that yield concerns; higher information and supervisory costs, as well as the unfavourable legislative context, constitute key challenges to their development. However, these could be partially or totally eliminated if adequate policies are implemented. In this regard, the recommendations are to: (i) strengthen the dialogue with farmers in the shaping of policies related to the use of plant genetic resources; (ii) abrogate the "obligatory voluntary contribution" on farm-saved seeds; (iii) diversify the collection of Centres for Biological Resources, increase their number, and democratize their access; (iv) harmonize the French and European regime on intellectual property; and (v) encourage participatory research.

Cultivating response: Peasant seed and plant–human collaboration in an agro-industrial heartland

“…In the post-Second World War period, the French state focused on rebuilding the nation's productive power, beginning with attaining national self-sufficiency in agricultural production (Gevers et al, 2019). The creation of a legal definition for variety and its institutionalization in the Catalogue went along with a process of professionalization and compartmentalization of the seed industry.…”

To Change the Law, Defy the Law: Hijacking the Cause and Co-Opting Its Advocate

“…Since World War II, national governments-and private interests since the 1960s-have taken charge of producing seeds that have become increasingly standardized (and thus useful) to an agricultural sector that is suffering more than ever from productivity imperatives (Gevers, Van Rijswick, and Swart 2019). It therefore became impossible to find so-called "traditional," "local," or "domestic" varieties that were not registered in France's Official Catalogue of Authorized Species and in the related EU official catalogue, in turn leading to most farmers abandoning their longstanding practice of storing their own seeds.…”

“…In such cases of marketing-flavored CPA, policymakers must first listen directly to the less powerful actors (Gevers, Van Rijswick, and Swart 2019). Then, in a bid to coordinate the actors engaged in a prosocial outcome, policymakers must encourage building “conditional cooperation” (Holdo 2020) in which each actor’s integrity is respected, as opposed to co-optation that silences the voices of the less powerful actors.…”

“…The study analyzes the perspectives adopted since 2003 by the major advocate for the cause, the French Farmer Seed Network (Réseau Semences Paysannes [RSP]) in its attempt to change the law to benefit farmers and seed producers. RSP is the main SMO promoting the use of farmer seeds in France (Gevers, Van Rijswick, and Swart 2019). The aim of this work is to advance knowledge on the point of view of the SMO that originally advocated for the cause prior to its co-optation by a company.…”

Restoring cultivated agrobiodiversity: The political ecology of knowledge networks between local peasant seed groups in France

“…Over the past few years, a number of peasant seed initiatives have played a key role in France raising awareness about the benefits of restoring cultivated agrobiodiversity and promoting the reintroduction of landraces and ancient varieties, as well as their on-farm conservation (Demeulenaere, 2014(Demeulenaere, , 2018. 1 However, restrictive seed laws and persistent misconceptions impose severe restrictions to their integration into policy promoting farm agrobiodiversity restoration and conservation (Pascual et al, 2011;Coomes et al, 2015;Velten et al, 2018;Gevers et al, 2019). Until now, valuable lessons from these studies have not reach the mainstream debates and policy making on the future of agriculture in the European context.…”