How can alternative farmland management styles favour local food supply? A case study in the Larzac (France). (June 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Baysse-Lainé, Adrien; Perrin, Coline
• Is Part Of: Land use policy. Volume 75(2018)
• Page Start: 746
• Page End: 756
• Publication Date: 2018-06
• Subjects: Access to the land -- Commons -- Land tenure -- Mediterranean highland -- Relocalized agro-food system; Land use -- Periodicals; Land use -- Government policy -- Periodicals; Sol, Utilisation du -- Périodiques; Sol, Utilisation du -- Politique gouvernementale -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 333.7305
• DOI: 10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.03.012
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0264-8377

Abstract

Highlights: A wide variety of very local farmland management styles coexist in the Larzac. Both collective and public, they have consolidated since the 19th century. Each management style includes a specific means of land access. Land management styles are tools which can serve land use and food supply policies. Local food provisioning can also be addressed by "non space-sharing" strategies. Abstract: This article seeks to bridge the research gap between farmland tenure management and food provisioning issues in developed countries, by focusing on concentration of agricultural production, access to land and local food supply. We conducted a qualitative study on farmland management in the northern Larzac (France), based on twenty in-depth interviews and document analysis. We distinguish six farmland management styles, i.e. local institutional arrangements encompassing organization of access to the land for farmers and relationships between land rights holders. They emerged or consolidated at three periods: a traditional commons style during the 19th century, three collective styles implemented by farmers' organizations in the early 1980s, and two public styles on the estate of a local authority since 2010. The objective is to show that farmland management styles can serve as tools to foster local food supply, within "space-sharing strategies" based on the creation of farmland estates. In conclusion, we propose three guidelines for public decision-makers seeking, through land policies, to endorse local food provisioning: (i) include civil society organizations dealing with food issues in farmland management committees, (ii) return control of the commons to village councils, (iii) subsidize public acquisitions of land to support local food provisioning projects.