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The development of intensive irrigated agriculture in arid California has inspired many governments and people around the world. In the paper, we show how 'California' as a social imaginary influenced North Africa's irrigation policies. We trace the influence of this imaginary at two very different and critical junctures: in Morocco under the French Protectorate from the 1930s to the 1950s and in the contemporary Algerian Sahara. We argue that the influence of the 'California' imaginary persisted because of how it appeared to be the perfect embodiment of capitalist modernity while at the same time exhibiting two crucial sociopolitical ambiguities; the first ambiguity concerned the proper role of the state and the second had to do with the California imaginary's overall implications in terms of social equity. These ambiguities enabled governing actors to naturalise and routinise this imported imaginary even as they used it to forge distinct types of political settlements that were in line with local historical circumstances. We thus argue that the notion of imaginary, inherently visual and polysemic, is usefully distinguished from alternative notions such as paradigms, narratives and frames. We also contend that imaginaries do not function independently from other social forces, but rather that they are embedded in the wider political economy. This leads us to conclude that any transformation of agricultural policies in North Africa will require the diffusion of an alternative imaginary that is as effective in forging powerful social coalitions as the Californian dream proved to be.

Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have recently gone through agricultural transformations towards increased production of commercial crops, primarily for export, to promote national economic growth. Rural populations are often at the center of such transformations as intended targets of State policies, though their roles in strategies for rural development and poverty alleviation are contested. We approach these changes not as a simple opportunity for accumulation, but rather as an instance of ‘rupture’, through which opportunities, risks and impacts are experienced differentially by the targeted farmers. With an example from Rwanda, we ask how the State’s policy strategy and attempts to construct "ideal agricultural subjects" resonate with the actual changes experienced by farmers themselves. We present three different empirical examples to show that a) when opportunities from agricultural transformation initially arise, only the wealthiest can capture them, and even then the government is seen as the main beneficiary; b) some priority crop growers experience an increase in income and savings due to higher productivity and better prices, while those who do not grow priority crops face land scarcity and lack of employment opportunities; c) requirements to upscale livestock production do not align with the strategies or capacities of many smallholders. We show that only endowed farmers with sufficient land and ability to engage in priority crops or livestock production can take advantage of the opportunities presented by agricultural transformation, while smallholders with constraints to their adoption of promoted changes face vulnerability to dispossession and poverty. We relate these findings to our broader conceptual frame, and encourage further research to explore the integration, modification, resistance to and impacts of idealized policies in Rwanda and across sub-Saharan Africa.

Many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have recently gone through agricultural transformations towards increased production of commercial crops, primarily for export, to promote national economic growth. Rural populations are often at the center of such transformations as intended targets of State policies, though their roles in strategies for rural development and poverty alleviation are contested. We approach these changes not as a simple opportunity for accumulation, but rather as an instance of ‘rupture’, through which opportunities, risks and impacts are experienced differentially by the targeted farmers. With an example from Rwanda, we ask how the State’s policy strategy and attempts to construct "ideal agricultural subjects" resonate with the actual changes experienced by farmers themselves. We present three different empirical examples to show that a) when opportunities from agricultural transformation initially arise, only the wealthiest can capture them, and even then the government is seen as the main beneficiary; b) some priority crop growers experience an increase in income and savings due to higher productivity and better prices, while those who do not grow priority crops face land scarcity and lack of employment opportunities; c) requirements to upscale livestock production do not align with the strategies or capacities of many smallholders. We show that only endowed farmers with sufficient land and ability to engage in priority crops or livestock production can take advantage of the opportunities presented by agricultural transformation, while smallholders with constraints to their adoption of promoted changes face vulnerability to dispossession and poverty. We relate these findings to our broader conceptual frame, and encourage further research to explore the integration, modification, resistance to and impacts of idealized policies in Rwanda and across sub-Saharan Africa.

Synthetic Nitrogen (N) usage in agriculture has greatly increased food supply over the past century. However, the intensive use of N fertilizer is nevertheless the source of numerous environmental issues and remains a major challenge for policymakers to understand, measure, and quantify the interactions and trade-offs between ecosystem carbon and terrestrial biodiversity loss. In this study, we investigate the impacts of a public policy scenario that aims to halve N fertilizer application across European Union (EU) agriculture on both carbon (C) sequestration and biodiversity changes. We quantify the impacts by integrating two economic models with an agricultural land surface model and a terrestrial biodiversity model (that uses data from a range of taxonomic groups, including plants, fungi, vertebrates and invertebrates). Here, we show that the two economic scenarios lead to different outcomes in terms of C sequestration potential and biodiversity. Land abandonment associated with increased fertilizer price scenario facilitates higher C sequestration in soils (+ 1014 MtC) and similar species richness levels (+ 1.9%) at the EU scale. On the other hand, the more extensive crop production scenario is associated with lower C sequestration potential in soils (− 97 MtC) and similar species richness levels (− 0.4%) because of a lower area of grazing land. Our results therefore highlight the complexity of the environmental consequences of a nitrogen reduction policy, which will depend fundamentally on how the economic models used to project consequences.

Les politiques agricoles visant à développer des cultures en tenant compte de la biodiversité locale demeurent marginales. Pour définir ce qu'il convient de considérer dans le retour à des "céréales locales" en réponse aux changements climatiques, nous avons mis en perspective des résultats de deux projets interdisciplinaires conduits dans des zones sèches du du Sénégal et de l'Inde. Le premier, situé dans le Sahel sénégalais, "Relier la diversité agricole à la qualité de l'alimentation par l'analyse sociale des pratiques féminines et de l'alimentation" (DIVA), visait à analyser les impacts de l'intensification rizicole sur la biodiversité agricole et alimentaire et le second, situé dans la zone sèche du Deccan (Sud de l'Inde), "Accompagner l'adaptation de l'agriculture irriguée au changement climatique" (ATCHA), a étudié les adaptations de l'agriculture irriguée face aux changements climatiques, 30 ans après la révolution verte (RV). L'analyse transversale a été réalisée au prisme du couple de céréales riz irrigué et sorgho pluvial en mettant l'accent sur les activités féminines liées à ces cultures. Cette analyse a fait émergé les liens forts entre les conséquences agro-environnementales des changements agricoles analysés, leurs traductions alimentaires et les pertes culturelles qui en découlent : l'intensification du riz dans la vallée du fleuve Sénégal et celles de la RV en Inde font non seulement décliner la biodiversité agricole des céréales locales, mais endommagent les capacités d'adaptation et la qualité nutritionnelle des repas et la qualité de vie. L'éclairage sur les activités féminines permet aussi de mettre en évidence leurs propres difficultés pour maintenir une certaine diversité agricole et alimentaire. Or ces systèmes basés sur les céréales "résistent" en termes de variétés locales et de savoirs associés comme le montre le retour du "système des millets", les mils et sorghos indiens marginalisés par la RV, promus dans certains États de l'Inde sous

Brazil has developed various public policy instruments and initiatives on adaptation in agriculture given increased climate variability and, in particular, drought, in the semi-arid Northeast. This book examines eleven instruments or devices for adaptation of agriculture to droughts, developed from state or federal levels. The instruments studied are: Adapta Araripe, PRONAF and Agroamigo credit for family farming, Garantia Safra, Water for All, Productive Cisterns, Local Seeds Programs in Ceará, Agroecological Extension Policy, University Extension in Pernambuco, Policy for Agroecology and Organic Production in Sergipe, Territory Rural Development in the state of Paraiba. The twelve chapters propose a characterization of these public policies and of their instruments for adaptation of agriculture to climate change.

La notion de service écosystémique est devenue incontournable dans les discours institutionnels et académiques en dépit des controverses et des critiques. Initialement portée par les acteurs de la conservation de la biodiversité, elle connaît depuis plusieurs années un déploiement dans les milieux agricoles. Si l'idée selon laquelle les fonctionnalités des écosystèmes sont déterminantes dans la production agricole n'est pas nouvelle, cette notion permet de mettre en évidence les nouveaux enjeux liés aux changements climatiques et aux besoins alimentaires croissants. Ces enjeux étant particulièrement importants dans les pays du Sud, la plupart des pays dits à faible revenus ou à revenus intermédiaires, il est alors pertinent de s'interroger sur l'intérêt de cette notion sur le plan des pratiques et des politiques agricoles menées dans ces pays. Cet article, introductif au numéro thématique des Cahiers Agricultures " Agriculture et services écosystémiques dans les pays du Sud ", retrace l'émergence de cette notion, discute de son importance dans une logique d'intensification écologique des agricultures, avant de présenter les articles qui composent ce numéro thématique. Tout en adoptant une posture critique vis-à-vis de la notion, notamment lorsqu'elle est adossée à des mécanismes de paiement, il insiste sur l'importance de la co-construction avec les paysans des référentiels d'action à adopter.

To promote greater sustainability in agriculture, development of agroecology is increasingly being invoked. What are the conditions for establishing agroecological production in tropical regions? Based upon case studies in several tropical areas, we provide here some answers to this question. We review the “pillars” (i.e. principles) and the “implementation levers” (i.e., tools) for the development of agroecology. We identify three main pillars: (1) the mobilization and management of ecological processes for the sustainable production and the resilience of agroecosystems; (2) the development of interactions between technical, social, environmental, and institutional components of agroecosystems for a holistic approach to agroecology; and (3) the scaling up of agroecology that takes place with a plurality of actions and pathways at different organization levels rather than an increase in resources and a replication of standardized technical processes. To implement these three pillars, we identify 11 main bio-technical, cognitive, socio-political, and organizational levers. Bio-technical levers include those for (1) mobilizing complementarity between crop species to optimize natural resources use, (2) mobilizing functional biodiversity at the plot scale to optimize natural regulation of pests and diseases, (3) managing biodiversity at landscape and territorial scales, (4) increasing the efficiency of biogeochemical cycles, and (5) renewing targets for genetic improvement. Cognitive, socio-political, and organizational levers include those for (6) political and institutional action at the national and global level, (7) action at the local level to support producers, (8) political and organizational action at the territorial level, (9) the marketing and the development of new agri-chains, (10) the development of new methods for evaluating production systems, and (11) the recognition of the values of gender and generation within families and other organisational levels.

Governments are updating national strategies to meet global goals on biodiversity, climate change and food systems proposed in the Convention on Biological Diversity post-2020 framework and agreed at the United Nation's Climate Change Conference (COP26) and Food Systems Summit (UNFSS). This represents a unique and crucial opportunity to integrate and accelerate food system actions to tackle interconnected global challenges. In this context, agroecology is a game-changing approach that can provide the world's growing population with nutritious, healthy affordable food, ensure fair incomes to farmers and halt and reverse the degradation of the natural environment. Here, we explore agroecological transition pathways in four case studies from low- and middle- income countries and identify catalysts for change. We find that enabling policy and market environments, participatory action research and local socio-technical support each plays a critical role in stimulating transitions towards agroecology. We propose strategies and priorities for research to better support agroecological transitions using these catalysts of change as entry points. Engagement of governments, private sector, civil society, farmers and farm workers in this research agenda is essential.

The article examines the participation of farmers in the Mesas de Desarrollo Rural (MDRs) established in Uruguay in 2007. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with various stakeholders between 2016 - 2018 to explore their participation, analyse official documents and do participant observation of meetings. The main findings indicate the adaptability of these mechanisms to territorial and producer conditions; their openness to other non-agricultural sectoral institutions; and difficulties in maintaining or renewing the participation dynamic, particularly of farmers' representatives. The impacts of the political changes in 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic on MDRs were also examined after new interview of new policy responsibles.

Description du sujet. Depuis les années 1990 au Cameroun, l'agriculture biologique a de la peine à émerger au sein des politiques publiques. A travers ses opportunités et contraintes, l'agriculture biologique suscite une réflexion sur sa capacité à participer à une transformation technologique et institutionnelle en vue de contribuer à la sécurité alimentaire. Objectif. L'étude vise à caractériser et à analyser les relations entre les différents types d'agriculture biologique ainsi leur impact sur la sécurité alimentaire au Cameroun. Méthodes. Les données ont été collectées à travers une enquête qualitative réalisée dans les villes de Douala et de Yaoundé. Des entretiens semi-directifs conduits auprès de 17 experts et deux ateliers participatifs qui ont réunis 43 participants comprenant des scientifiques, le secteur privé, les politiques et des acteurs de la société civile ont été effectués. Les données obtenues ont été analysées à l'aide de deux grilles d'analyse qui ont été utilisées au Bénin mais qui ont été amendées dans ce travail. Résultats. Les résultats ont montré l'existence de trois types d'agriculture biologique à Douala et à Yaoundé : une agriculture biologique certifiée selon les normes internationales, une agriculture biologique entrepreneuriale (auto-certification) et une agriculture biologique "naturelle". Chacun de ses types a une influence variable sur chaque dimension de la sécurité alimentaire. Conclusion. L'agriculture biologique contribue à la transformation structurelle de l'économie camerounaise, c'est-à-dire en participant à des changements technologiques et intentionnels. Cette étude permet d'éclairer le rôle que joue l'agriculture biologique, sa trajectoire technologique et institutionnelle innovante ainsi que sa contribution à la sécurité alimentaire et nutritionnelle au Cameroun.

The importance of agriculture in an economy usually declines as it climbs the development ladder. Raising agriculture productivity has been known to be an important precursor. Labour productivity in agriculture can either be increased by higher land productivity or higher land availability per farmer and mechanisation. In India, however, the dramatic increase in land productivity through industrial farming has caused severe environmental damage and did not boost agricultural labour productivity. Going ahead, India faces the challenges of both increasing farm productivity and increasing sustainability and resilience to climate change. These policy goals have the potential of creating a trade-off for policymakers. By showing that India's path of structural transformation is unsustainable, this paper calls for a new paradigm in Indian agriculture through the adoption of agroecological principles at scale.

Governments are updating national strategies to meet global goals on biodiversity, climate change and food systems proposed in the Convention on Biological Diversity post-2020 framework and agreed at the United Nation's Climate Change Conference (COP26) and Food Systems Summit (UNFSS). This represents a unique and crucial opportunity to integrate and accelerate food system actions to tackle interconnected global challenges. In this context, agroecology is a game-changing approach that can provide the world's growing population with nutritious, healthy affordable food, ensure fair incomes to farmers and halt and reverse the degradation of the natural environment. Here, we explore agroecological transition pathways in four case studies from low- and middle- income countries and identify catalysts for change. We find that enabling policy and market environments, participatory action research and local socio-technical support each plays a critical role in stimulating transitions towards agroecology. We propose strategies and priorities for research to better support agroecological transitions using these catalysts of change as entry points. Engagement of governments, private sector, civil society, farmers and farm workers in this research agenda is essential.

The importance of agriculture in an economy usually declines as it climbs the development ladder. Raising agriculture productivity has been known to be an important precursor. Labour productivity in agriculture can either be increased by higher land productivity or higher land availability per farmer and mechanisation. In India, however, the dramatic increase in land productivity through industrial farming has caused severe environmental damage and did not boost agricultural labour productivity. Going ahead, India faces the challenges of both increasing farm productivity and increasing sustainability and resilience to climate change. These policy goals have the potential of creating a trade-off for policymakers. By showing that India's path of structural transformation is unsustainable, this paper calls for a new paradigm in Indian agriculture through the adoption of agroecological principles at scale.

La notion de service écosystémique est devenue incontournable dans les discours institutionnels et académiques en dépit des controverses et des critiques. Initialement portée par les acteurs de la conservation de la biodiversité, elle connaît depuis plusieurs années un déploiement dans les milieux agricoles. Si l'idée selon laquelle les fonctionnalités des écosystèmes sont déterminantes dans la production agricole n'est pas nouvelle, cette notion permet de mettre en évidence les nouveaux enjeux liés aux changements climatiques et aux besoins alimentaires croissants. Ces enjeux étant particulièrement importants dans les pays du Sud, la plupart des pays dits à faible revenus ou à revenus intermédiaires, il est alors pertinent de s'interroger sur l'intérêt de cette notion sur le plan des pratiques et des politiques agricoles menées dans ces pays. Cet article, introductif au numéro thématique des Cahiers Agricultures " Agriculture et services écosystémiques dans les pays du Sud ", retrace l'émergence de cette notion, discute de son importance dans une logique d'intensification écologique des agricultures, avant de présenter les articles qui composent ce numéro thématique. Tout en adoptant une posture critique vis-à-vis de la notion, notamment lorsqu'elle est adossée à des mécanismes de paiement, il insiste sur l'importance de la co-construction avec les paysans des référentiels d'action à adopter.

To promote greater sustainability in agriculture, development of agroecology is increasingly being invoked. What are the conditions for establishing agroecological production in tropical regions? Based upon case studies in several tropical areas, we provide here some answers to this question. We review the “pillars” (i.e. principles) and the “implementation levers” (i.e., tools) for the development of agroecology. We identify three main pillars: (1) the mobilization and management of ecological processes for the sustainable production and the resilience of agroecosystems; (2) the development of interactions between technical, social, environmental, and institutional components of agroecosystems for a holistic approach to agroecology; and (3) the scaling up of agroecology that takes place with a plurality of actions and pathways at different organization levels rather than an increase in resources and a replication of standardized technical processes. To implement these three pillars, we identify 11 main bio-technical, cognitive, socio-political, and organizational levers. Bio-technical levers include those for (1) mobilizing complementarity between crop species to optimize natural resources use, (2) mobilizing functional biodiversity at the plot scale to optimize natural regulation of pests and diseases, (3) managing biodiversity at landscape and territorial scales, (4) increasing the efficiency of biogeochemical cycles, and (5) renewing targets for genetic improvement. Cognitive, socio-political, and organizational levers include those for (6) political and institutional action at the national and global level, (7) action at the local level to support producers, (8) political and organizational action at the territorial level, (9) the marketing and the development of new agri-chains, (10) the development of new methods for evaluating production systems, and (11) the recognition of the values of gender and generation within families and other organisational levels.

Brazil has developed various public policy instruments and initiatives on adaptation in agriculture given increased climate variability and, in particular, drought, in the semi-arid Northeast. This book examines eleven instruments or devices for adaptation of agriculture to droughts, developed from state or federal levels. The instruments studied are: Adapta Araripe, PRONAF and Agroamigo credit for family farming, Garantia Safra, Water for All, Productive Cisterns, Local Seeds Programs in Ceará, Agroecological Extension Policy, University Extension in Pernambuco, Policy for Agroecology and Organic Production in Sergipe, Territory Rural Development in the state of Paraiba. The twelve chapters propose a characterization of these public policies and of their instruments for adaptation of agriculture to climate change.

The article examines the participation of farmers in the Mesas de Desarrollo Rural (MDRs) established in Uruguay in 2007. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with various stakeholders between 2016 - 2018 to explore their participation, analyse official documents and do participant observation of meetings. The main findings indicate the adaptability of these mechanisms to territorial and producer conditions; their openness to other non-agricultural sectoral institutions; and difficulties in maintaining or renewing the participation dynamic, particularly of farmers' representatives. The impacts of the political changes in 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic on MDRs were also examined after new interview of new policy responsibles.

Description du sujet. Depuis les années 1990 au Cameroun, l'agriculture biologique a de la peine à émerger au sein des politiques publiques. A travers ses opportunités et contraintes, l'agriculture biologique suscite une réflexion sur sa capacité à participer à une transformation technologique et institutionnelle en vue de contribuer à la sécurité alimentaire. Objectif. L'étude vise à caractériser et à analyser les relations entre les différents types d'agriculture biologique ainsi leur impact sur la sécurité alimentaire au Cameroun. Méthodes. Les données ont été collectées à travers une enquête qualitative réalisée dans les villes de Douala et de Yaoundé. Des entretiens semi-directifs conduits auprès de 17 experts et deux ateliers participatifs qui ont réunis 43 participants comprenant des scientifiques, le secteur privé, les politiques et des acteurs de la société civile ont été effectués. Les données obtenues ont été analysées à l'aide de deux grilles d'analyse qui ont été utilisées au Bénin mais qui ont été amendées dans ce travail. Résultats. Les résultats ont montré l'existence de trois types d'agriculture biologique à Douala et à Yaoundé : une agriculture biologique certifiée selon les normes internationales, une agriculture biologique entrepreneuriale (auto-certification) et une agriculture biologique "naturelle". Chacun de ses types a une influence variable sur chaque dimension de la sécurité alimentaire. Conclusion. L'agriculture biologique contribue à la transformation structurelle de l'économie camerounaise, c'est-à-dire en participant à des changements technologiques et intentionnels. Cette étude permet d'éclairer le rôle que joue l'agriculture biologique, sa trajectoire technologique et institutionnelle innovante ainsi que sa contribution à la sécurité alimentaire et nutritionnelle au Cameroun.