Farming systems as providers of public goods: a sociological perspective

1. BipPop Project Sandrina Pereira Catherine Darrot Philippe Boudes Farming systems as providers of public goods: a sociological perspective XIII WORLD CONGRESS OF RURAL SOCIOLOGY WG 38 - 4 August 2012, Lisbon

2. BipPop Project • BipPop : « Biens Publics en agriculture, et Politiques Publiques » (Public goods provided by agriculture, and public policies) • French project (National Agency for Research) • 2011 – 2013 (3 years) • 3 teams, interdisciplinary approach • « Compared agriculture » (Agro-economy focusing on farming systems trajectories at the local level) • Institutional economy and political sciences • Sociology • Field work : France, UK, Germany, Portugal, Poland

3. BipPop Project • BipPop : « Biens Publics en agriculture, et Politiques Publiques » (Public goods provided by agriculture, and public policies) • French project (National Agency for Research) • 2011 – 2013 (3 years) • 3 teams, interdisciplinary approach • « Compared agriculture » (Agro-economy focusing on farming systems trajectories at the local level) • Institutional economy and political sciences • Sociology • Field work : France, UK, Germany, Portugal, Poland

4. Social Public goods Food security Rural jobs, social vitality of rural areas Equity (between farmers ; between farmers and other citizens ; between rural inhabitants and the rest of society) : income, decisionmaking, life conditions… Heritage, knowledge and know-how Public health Social insertion of agriculture ; governance conditions Some public goods in agriculture…Litterature, reviewed by Bazin, G., Devienne S., Garambois, N. for BipPop • Environmental public goods • Biodiversity, water, soil, air, • Animal welfair, fires and waterfloods prevention… • PG and landscapes

5. A specific definition of Public Goods • PG : multi-dimensional definition considered for BipPop • PG, neo-classical economical definition • « Good » = usefull for human beings • No rivality, no exclusion possible (Ex : Moonlight) • PG (« tutélaire »), political dimention • Formal public action, justified by the potential ou real risks compromising the future of this good • PG, sociological dimension • Moral and social elaboration of its value (through public action + management + production + uses) • [Kaul & Mendoza, 2003 ]

6. Inter-disciplinariry in BipPop projectTerritorial approach - A short synthesis Compared agriculture, detail Describing the contribution of each farming systems to PG privision, at each period of time Which role of PG in the evolution of each farming system ? Sociology, detail What drives a farmer to become more or less provider of PG ? 1) Globally influenced by his personal history and situation A) Influenced by his production system A) The trajectory of the system along time are explained by sociological elements (capitalisation/de-acpitalisation of the farm) PG Public policies PG managers Farming systems A sociology

7. PG and agricultureWhy a focus on sociology ? • PG is a notion born in neo-classical economy • « Good » = usefull for human beings • PG = No rivality, no exclusion possible (Ex : Moonlight) • Within the neo-classical paradigm, the market is able to optimise the repartition and care of the goods • But public goods must be regulated by State (or any public structure) to preserve them

8. PG and agriculture : Why a focus on sociology ? • Pb with the neo-classical economical perspective • What is a public good, i.e. goods interesting everybody, which should be managed by State ? •  Difficulty to raise a consensus in the designation of those goods : no normative definition

9. PG and agriculture : Why a focus on sociology ? • PG = social construction • Variety of values related to those goods • Describe the conditions of publicisation of PG [Kaul & Mendoza, 2003, triangle of publicisation]  BipPop proposes a square • Policy • Management • Users • Producers • Micoud [2005] : Public goods can be considered under 3 dimensions • Scientifical concept • Action modality • Rhetorical object

10. PG, agriculture and sociology : research questions within BipPop • Identifying the PG supported by public policies in a given area.Why supporting and preserving those goods ?  Cognitive and normative dimensions of this policies • Identifying the values attached to those PG by farmers, within the frame of their activity ; what can explain that they become or not producers of this PG ? • Personal history and values • Constrains and rationality of their farming systems • Networks to which they are connected • Do the public policies supporting a given PG correspond to the logic of farmers (as producers of PG) ? consequences on the evolution of this PG

11. Field work area 2007 et 2012 Sources E.Chantre 2007

12. Localising the area Sources E.Chantre 2007

13. Driving interviews • A national and local context already known • Compared agriculture : Emilia Chantre (Master report in PIeniny region in 2007) • Sociology : Catherine Darrot (PhD in 2008 at the national level, including firld work in this area – « The Polish paysants facing CAP ») • A specific focus for this new field work within BipPop • Context data already known • Interviews focused on BipPop issues • A constrain : a short, intensive week only for interviews • Consequently only 10 interviews (2 – 3 hours each) • 7 interviews with farmers • 3 institutional interviews

14. Limits of this work • Only limited generalisation • Only one interview by farming system •  Allows to raise hypothesis • Sociological conclusions valid at the individual scale, but not for each farming system and/or social group • A contrario • Some elements can be generalised out of each interview • Regarding institutional informations • Genericity of the social trajectories (« life story methods ») • Main issue : building a methodology for all the case studies

15. First elements 1 - Identifying the PG supported by public policies in a given area.

16. Frame : connecting PG to farming systems (who produces what)

17. Example 2012 2007