Claire Lamine – Research Director, Sociologist, INRAE(testimonial from the dossier “Food and territories: INRAE scientists in support of territorial food projects” – 2023)
“I study the greening trajectories of farmers, public policies and local ‘agri-food’ systems. In 2015, I brought together a group of stakeholders in the Sud Ardèche to design a research-action project on ecological transitions and the reconnection between agriculture and food. The “Plate and Territory” project was launched in 2019, supported by INRAE, 2 local authorities and 2 association networks. Its analyses have supported several TAP applications. Our current research, which is part of an international network (European ATTER project), shows that TAPs, as a form of public action, call for the integration of a diversity of local stakeholders involved in defining desirable transition paths. However, the issue of greening is not always at the forefront, and inclusion and participation remain major challenges. In continuing our work in the Ardèche, we are adopting a dual approach, analysing the dynamics underway in the TAPs and conducting action research, for example by running a local food council, an arena for exchange linked to an annual citizens’ forum. This makes it possible to develop new research questions with local players”.
Testimonial from our thematic dossier
Thematic dossier
Food and local areas: INRAE scientists support local food projects
Over the last 60 years, the places where food is produced, processed and consumed have gradually moved further apart: from farm to fork, the distances have increased. Faced with this phenomenon, local authorities have gradually demanded that they ‘reclaim’ their agri-food systems. INRAE scientists are working closely with local players on these issues, in particular the ACT department, which has been conducting research into territorial dynamics for almost 40 years. In 2014, the deployment of ‘territorial food projects’, a new tool for local food policy, called on a wide range of scientific knowledge and methods, now involving several INRAE departments. This dossier is an initial look at the involvement of INRAE scientists in the implementation of local food projects.
