Universal impacts

Using a posteriori case analysis, INRAE research engineer Marie-Benoit Magrini, an economics expert, has come up with guidance for restructuring industries to incorporate sustainability targets, as in the case of the legume industry.
There are 9 key tools that can be employed to promote industry responsibility and innovation: 

Social innovation could be key in unlocking and successfully transforming agriculture as we know it. Such work includes adopting a new set of values and coordination mechanisms.

Better coordination of stakeholders in the field

of stakeholders in the field
Several studies have indicated that environmental innovations require greater collaboration among stakeholders. A researcher in management science at INRAE AgroParisTech, Mourad Hannachi, has demonstrated the efficacy of coordinated efforts, using the example of a regional campaign to deploy rapeseed varieties carrying two resistance genes that protect against Phoma black stem, a fungal pathogen. For this control strategy to remain effective, all the stakeholders involved—plant breeders, variety suppliers, farming cooperatives, and technical institutes—must ensure that use of these varieties is spatially staggered. Otherwise, the pathogen can quickly circumvent plant resistance. “This collective approach did not arise naturally”, comments Hannachi, “because there were no clear-cut short-term benefits”. Instead, the idea is to manage a shared resource to access long-term benefits. In 2016, a workshop was organised that focused on research-based action and that raised awareness around these important issues. From that point on, stakeholders agreed to share information about their deployment of resistant varieties, and they made use of research-based tools to monitor pathogen dynamics. Hannachi concludes, “Between us, we possess all the pieces of the puzzle that is sustainably managing plant health without using synthetic pesticides.”
Armed with these results, researchers developed a serious role-playing game to apply the above approach in the Hauts-de-France region. It was chosen as a test area because of its high levels of pesticide use. The game was designed using input from the full range of stakeholders, including agrifood manufacturers. It simulates the consequences of using resistant varieties, pesticides, and biocontrol products in various scenarios. Depending on stakeholder behaviour, situations may arise in which resistance is circumvented or pesticides decline in efficacy. After running simulations across several crop years, stakeholders begin to understand how plant health can reach an impasse, and the value of collaboration becomes evident. This response contrasts with the stakeholders' most common initial reaction—to reject cooperation in favour of their own short-term interests. “Educational scenarios help foster dialogue and create shared visions that encourage individuals to think beyond their own self-interests”, underscores Hannachi. 

Upstream and downstream innovation

A key agroecological strategy is plant diversification, which involves growing mixtures of varieties and species, using intermediate crops, and introducing new crops, thereby developing new industries. Unfortunately, innovation often faces hurdles upstream and downstream. For example, although farmers need pesticides less when they grow mixed wheat varieties, the paucity of available mixtures stymies innovation upstream. Additionally, downstream, French milling standards present a challenge as they often favour a small subset of pure varieties, with the exception of Soufflet milling mixtures, which combine 5 wheat varieties. To encourage breakthrough innovations, we must tackle both upstream and downstream obstacles. 
One target could be industries focused on legume-based foods. From a crop-diversification perspective, legumes present certain advantages: they can fix atmospheric nitrogen, thus reducing the need for nitrogen fertilisers. At INRAE, several research teams with complementary expertise have developed upstream innovations, such as grain-legume mixtures, as well as downstream innovations, including novel products of high nutritional value, such as precooked legume pasta and cereal-legume sponge cakes.

Helping new industries emerge

Industries arise when stakeholders work together to construct a value chain, from upstream to down, that focuses on a specific product. In several regions of France, pulse industries are beginning to emerge. They still have a long way to go—at present, pulses only account for 3% of agricultural surfaces—and 70% of the pulses consumed in France are imported. To encourage more French farmers to grow pulses, it could be effective to use tools like production contracts. In this approach, manufacturers commit to buying a certain production quantity from cooperatives, who can then provide help to farmers as well as invest in sorting and storage infrastructures. “Thanks to these long-term contracts, manufacturers save money on transaction costs, including those related to negotiation and transport, while also limiting market-related risks. Overall, they are making a safer investment”, explains Marie-Benoit Magrini, economist at the INRAE Centre of Toulouse. 
However, how do stakeholders come together to get this work started? “Basically, industries are born from often-informal, trust-based relationships among stakeholders”, comments Magrini. Stakeholders meet at sustainability conferences, such as INRAE’s French-language meetings to discuss legumes, which have been taking place since 2016. Next, they gradually develop a shared vision and common courses of action. In tandem, related innovations and processes are refined, initially at small scales. Michelin-Star chefs create imaginative recipes, artisan bakers test different types of milled pulse flours... Once the potential for consumer products is clear, it is possible to generate a list of specifications and move on to establishing the contracts. Industry creation takes time. In 2017, efforts were made to develop a regional legume industry in Occitanie. The result was the 2022 creation of a non-profit organisation called FILEG, which promotes industry advances using several mechanisms: a crop observatory, a handbook of contract guidelines, and a market monitoring tool. At present, FILEG has more than 80 members from the agrifood sector.

Fueling industry growth

Sometimes, a niche industry expands, stoking the fires of the agroecological transition. For example, created in 2000, the non-profit organisation Bleu-Blanc-Cœur (BBC) now boasts contributors from over 7,000 farms. BBC encourages crop diversification as a means of reducing pesticide usage. For example, diversification efforts often employ flaxseed, which can be added to animal feed. It is a valuable crop because of its high levels of omega-3 fatty acids, which have health benefits. BBC initially expanded thanks to its contracts with breeders and is now joining forces with two non-profit organisations focused on sustainable development: Pour une agriculture du vivant and Demain la Terre. The result is a new collective called Troisième voie des filières agricoles responsables. Jean-Marc Meynard is an agricultural scientist at the INRAE Centre of Versailles. He confirms, “Establishing niche industries is an essential step in unlocking the prevailing, conventional system. An example of a successful niche industry is organic farming, which is currently used on 9% of agricultural surfaces in France. This figure was 3% just 10 years ago”.
Certain stakeholders may primarily drive the creation of innovative industries. This part was played by the company Valorex in the case of the BBC. There is also the cooperative Qualisol, which adds value to a whole range of pulses via its brand. Interprofessional organisations also have a key support role to play. Among them is Terres Univia, which is currently leading a national campaign to aid regional legume industries, including the one associated with FILEG.

Downstream: the role of consumers

We need to understand that a distinction exists between societal demand for low-pesticide products and actual purchases, given that consumer choices are governed by complex mechanisms. “Products are chosen based on trade-offs among different criteria”, explains Yann Raineau, an economist at the INRAE Centre of Bordeaux. He elaborates, “Our research on wine selection shows that consumers do consider environmental impacts but may instead prioritise other criteria such as price, taste, and, most of all, health benefits”. For example, wines can sport a “sulphite-free” label as well as an “organic” label. The former conveys a sense of naturalness and is thus seen as similar to the latter. However, the two labels are referencing entirely different aspects of wine production. In all cases, public policies should promote the dissemination of clear product information, including details about health and safety as well as environmental impacts, allowing consumers to make informed choices. 
At present, this information tends to be both overwhelming (e.g., given the multitude of labels and certification schemes) as well as difficult to evaluate. A number of initiatives are attempting to generate transparent labels that synthesise diverse types of information. One is the Planet-score^®. Printed on product packaging, the Planet-score® ranks foods on a scale from A (green) to E (red) based on 3 criteria: pesticide usage, biodiversity impacts, and climate effects. Animal products receive an additional rating based on rearing practices. 
For consumers, the extra money spent on organic or agroecological food could be partly offset by buying smaller amounts of food, including less meat, as well as wasting less food. 
France’s EGalim legislation is fostering change in the food services industry. It requires that at least 50% of the products served come from sustainable and high-quality sources. Furthermore, 20% must be organic, and, as of November 2019, at least one meal per week must be vegetarian. As part of the Dijon, alimentation durable 2030 Innovation Regions research project, an expert in consumer behaviour at the INRAE Centre of Dijon, Sophie Nicklaus, is exploring acceptance of vegetarian, legume-based meals. She has been analysing data collected at terminals installed in lunchrooms and has found that children, on average, score vegetarian dishes as equal to or better than meat-based dishes, when there is an effort to educate consumers and engage all five senses. In 2023, the requirement for a second vegetarian meal will kick in.

Upstream: research and consulting

Marie-Hélène Jeuffroy is an agricultural scientist at the INRAE Centre of Versailles. She believes that farming advisory services need to implement two major changes. First, agricultural advisors should help farmers design their own paths rather than simply dispensing standardised recommendations. Second, their work must go beyond mere description. They can improve the general applicability of their counsel by analysing the mechanisms at work in cropping systems. This task is also incumbent on researchers. Jeuffroy states, “This is what we have been doing. For example, we studied grain-legume associations as part of ReMIX, the European research programme that ran from 2017 to 2021”. Drawing upon the experiences of farmers in several countries, the programme developed 52 informational sheets that provide precise recommendations for growing different crop associations. “We deepen our pool of knowledge by seeking out innovative farmers, by interacting with advisor networks, listening to word of mouth, and monitoring new innovative commercial products. We call this process innovation tracking.”  

Thus, transitioning to lower pesticide usage requires organisational innovations in addition to technical and technological tools. In a society that tends towards individualism, we need to foster dialogue and weave a new social fabric that incorporates farmers. The key to escaping the current state of sociotechnical lock-in may be private initiatives, such as structuring new industries to incorporate all the links in the value chain. To support these initiations, it will be essential to put in place regulations and specific public funding.