Typing winegrower profiles to ease agroecological change in viticulture practices in the Loire Valley, France

Abstract

Viticulture is a perennial agricultural system that is rooted in tradition but must also adapt to change (e.g. climate change, authorized rate of pesticide uses in the European Union). Viticulture includes a variety of practices whose objective is to produce wine grapes. To help viticulture systems adapt to changes, both field viticulture practices and value chain activities within winegrower networks must be considered. Here, we used socioeconomic and technical surveys to investigate these potential influences on winegrowers' decision-making in regard to adapting to changes, so as to develop a typology of winegrowers in the Loire Valley, France. The surveys were conducted in 2010 with 37 winegrowers managing 56 fields. To our knowledge, this study is the first to use this method to quantify viticulture networks. Our results showed that winegrowers within the same networks share similar behavioural patterns, with non-harvest viticulture practices (e.g. vine density planting, number of buds) characterizing winegrower profiles. Further, our typology reveals viable options for changing practices in a manner that aligns with the sociocultural characteristics of each profile. Agricultural extension services can especially make use of this typology as a starting point to help winegrowers adapt to changes in a more personalized and successful way.