Agriculture is a key domain for territories (most of which are rural) and societies (still significantly agricultural in the South).
Agriculture’s status has moved from being perceived as a sector of the past, to a domain oftopical cross-cutting issues , i.e. increasing competition for access to agrifood resources (food security, purchasing of land by foreign states, etc.), issues of protecting consumer health, preserving natural resources, maintaining biodiversity, cultural diversity and the organoleptic quality of food. A territory-based approach involves crossing these productive, social (right to food), health, cultural and environmental dimensions, i.e. upgrading environmental and health quality standards of agrifood systems at production, industrial processing and distribution levels; promoting short channels and questioning the notion of sustainable development.
The competition – or complementary strengths – between agricultural models (agribusiness, family farming, local production systems, competition between generic brands and Geographic Indications), and therefore between agricultural policies, has an essential territorial dimension.
4 sub-themes
- Agriculture models and territory building
- Public policies, agriculture and territories
- Production of standards, territories and globalised networks
- Methods and tools for territorial diagnosis.
