Edition : Catherine Darrot Presentation : Marie-Luce Ghib Rural Seuca 2010 Seminar « Small farms » A collaboration between research and civil society France, 22nd-23rd of January, 2009 Rural Seuca August 2010

Edition : Catherine Darrot Presentation : Marie-Luce Ghib Rural Seuca 2010 Who and why ?  The goal  Knowing and recognising small farms  The partnership National research institute for agriculture Confédération paysanne : A French syndicate involved in the promotion of peasant-like farming systems

Aim of the seminar  The operating modes and the diversity of the small- scale farms remain badly- known.  Some researchers however work on these subjects, while some peasants do experiment and analyse daily those systems.  The aim of this seminar was to develop more common and in-deep analysis.

Edition : Catherine Darrot Presentation : Marie-Luce Ghib Rural Seuca 2010 Why initiating such a partnership ?  Re-mobilising the scientific community around the problematic of small farms  Initiating and encouraging innovative researches and debate  Allow the syndicate of peasant-like farmers “Confédération paysanne” to situate and know the researchers actually working on those subjects  Defining common problematics between farmers and researchers For researchers

Edition : Catherine Darrot Presentation : Marie-Luce Ghib Rural Seuca 2010 Why initiating such a partnership ?  Re-mobilising the scientific community around the problematic of small farms  Initiating and encouraging innovative researches and debate  Allow the syndicate of peasant-like farmers “Confédération paysanne” to situate and know the researchers actually working on those subjects  Defining common problematics between farmers and researchers For farmers

Edition : Catherine Darrot Presentation : Marie-Luce Ghib Rural Seuca 2010 Some of the trends raised  The small farmers are facing some difficulties : Competition for access to land Weak representation within the professional sphere Uncertainties related to their social security system (“cotisant solidaire” = uncertain statute) Sanitary rules not adapted to smaller farms ; higher spendings to reach the norms regarding to the small scale of the farms Farming systems presented as non viable by official institutions  The “small farms” however contribute to dynamism of rural territories.

Research questions raised  Are those small farms contributing to change the relationship between society and agriculture ?  How do they renew the combination of activities ? How do they reveal some new aspects of diversification ?  How are they specifically raising some more general issues as vulnerability, fragility, resilience and flexibility ?  … How many are they ? Which reliable statistical data ?

Edition : Catherine Darrot Presentation : Marie-Luce Ghib Rural Seuca 2010 Thank you for your attention !