Workshop VIII - SYNTHESIS What is a profitable use of land? LAND FOR FOOD Land Use and Sustainable Food Governance of City-Regions IUFN International Workshop, 24-25 th April, 2014, Paris (France)
SPEAKERS KEP POINTS Carole HERNANDEZ-ZAKINE, SAF agr idées (France) SAF agr idées is a think tank created in 1867 to imagine tomorrow s agriculture. In 2013, it published a report called Agriculture and Territories, that deals with the relationship between cities and rural areas. What is a profitable use for land? leads to other questions: what use are we talking about? Is it a single use? For whom is it profitable? Profitability is an important concept, as agriculture is an economic activity. Land is also profitable per se, regardless of the food produced, because of urbanization. Agriculture is profitable if it has outlets, a favorable regulatory and fiscal context, and if needed, subventions. It can also be paid for the services it brings to everyone (biodiversity, carbon capture ). As far as profitability is concerned, the current situation shows: o A general context of agricultural land disappearance in the face of urbanization. o A tendency to use land to grow cereals instead of using it for pasturing (permanent or temporary pasture). o A choice of energy over food: biofuels are also competing for agricultural land. In France, they represent 2% of the Utilised Agriculture Area, they are a marginal phenomenon. In the USA, however, 50% of wheat production goes into biofuels. How much of the situation do we want to leave to the market? To public intervention? This leads to a more general question: is agriculture an economic activity or a public service activity? Speakers : Carole HERNANDEZ- ZAKINE, Head of Territories and Sustainable Development, SAF agr'idées (France) Maud LELIEVRE, Managing director, Eco Maires (France) Maud LELIEVRE, Eco Maires (France) Eco Maires is a French NGO with an office in Paris and one in Dakar. It therefore deals not only with French issues, but also with development-related issues. It leads a program on arable land preservation. In developing countries, one can point to several phenomena taking place: o The development of biofuel: the Eco-Maires experience shows that some of the projects are exemplary, but a lot lead to worrying situations that exclude the local population from the projects. o Millions ha of arable land have changed use. o Land grabbing. Investment funds put massive amount of money in food products or land, which fuels speculation. In France, challenges related to agricultural land are as follows: o 2/3 of agricultural land is used to produce cattle feed. 6 sq m of agricultural land is needed to produce 1 kg of
vegetable, 30 sq m to produce 1 kg of meat. o Production re-localization. How can we help farmers to stay close to the cities? Which policy tools should we define? When thinking about land profitability, we need to consider the following: o We cannot oppose productive and profitable agriculture on the one hand, and environmentally friendly agriculture on the other. o The European Common Agricultural Policy plays a vital role for many farmers. o We need to consider all parts and all actors of the supply chain: we cannot leave farmers on their own; the whole chain needs to be taken into consideration when developing solutions.
What is a profitable use of land in a context of tension? GROUP 1 SOLUTIONS There are 2 ways of considering the question, depending on the way we look at profitability: Profitability for the producer? Profitability for society in general? This allows to take into consideration societal externalities (biodiversity, carbon capture, social fabric, participation) BLOCKING FACTORS - The current political and economic system that locks us into a single model (big farms producing cereals, exports ) - The European Common Agricultural Policy only considers economic profitability, it does not take into consideration societal challenges. - National and European policies are long to change. MOST IMPORTANT NEXT STEPS - Change would come from a citizen mobilization that needs organizing. It would rather be bottom-up. We can help organize this mobilization through emerging networks: CSA, community gardens
What is a profitable use of land in a context of tension? GROUP 2 Que devient le métier de l agriculteur SOLUTIONS - Enlarge the definition of profitability to include externalities. - Develop a territorial approach - Define a way to manage land that would guarantee its optimal use - Favor agro-ecology principles (as well as permaculture ones) to develop a long-term vision BLOCKING FACTORS - The transition we want needs indicators, we need resources to develop them - A diagnosis on existing use is missing - We need to develop new know-how - We need new organizations for the agricultural sector