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Since the 1950s, the development of livestock farming in France has focused on a technical model aimed at constantly increasing the physical productivity of labour, to the detriment of value creation. A comparative study of four small agro-pastoral regions illustrates the consequences of this development model in the geographical context: falling numbers of agricultural jobs and an ebb in the share of grazing in the diet of flocks, resulting in underuse or abandon of the areas deemed most difficult, which has in turn led to closure of landscapes. Alternatives have, however, emerged, some of which seek to create more value through a frugal functional model based conversely on greater use of pastoral resources, promoting more sustainable agriculture. The limited development of these frugal agro-pastoral systems is analysed here, with the aim of identifying areas of competition and the limits of coexistence between agricultural development models.