Context

Agri-rurality is defined as the combination of agricultural production with other activities, either directly related to agriculture (such as processing and direct sales) or not (such as artisanal or commercial). The various activities may have different social, legal and fiscal statuses, and require the project leaders to master different skills.

Agri-rural project leaders encounter many obstacles in their journey to establish themselves, both because of the diversity of activities they engage in and because they often do not have an agricultural background. As their projects do not fit into the traditional schemes of agricultural installations, it is difficult to find the appropriate support for their setup and sustainability. Thus, there was a need for a specific support framework.

Key obstacles included the lack of knowledge of the different actors in the fields of agricultural and economic entrepreneurship, and of the resources available in the territory.

Agri-rural profiles are not on the radar of institutions in France, where statistics are collected only on the facilities that receive public funding. They are little known and have few references, hence the need for an agri-rural observatory.

Objectives

The specific aim of the project was to promote the creation and maintenance of agri-rural activities in Bourgogne Franche-Comté and beyond, generating and consolidating jobs in rural areas by promoting local resources and creating social ties. At the same time, the project aimed to offer comprehensive and effective multi-stakeholder support to agri-rural project leaders in the region.

Other goals included addressing the challenge of renewing agricultural assets, involving local communities, and creating a favourable local dynamic for agri-rural projects. In addition,  the initiative aimed to better understand agri-rurality and the profiles of agri-rural people, and to have agri-rurality recognised in the design of public policies. All of this would help promote the diversity of agricultural and rural production, with a view to social and economic sustainability, and the preservation of biodiversity.

Activities

The main task was to create a new cooperation network based on a common understanding among different actors. The agri-rural project leaders involved worked together to draft a shared charter defining common and shared support and beliefs, establishing rules based on the values of respect, active listening, benevolence and non-judgmental behaviour. In addition, an analysis of professional practice was carried out and facilitated by a sociologist, to help consolidate this work.

An agri-rural observatory was created, contributing to establishing agri-rurality as a new field of research. This crucial action, which was conceived at the start of the project, made it possible to produce knowledge on agri-rurality, to invest in this field of research, and to respond to the need to have references to help support structures improve their practices. The observatory is now supported by Institut AgroDijon and co-led by the RARES network.

Based on the complementarities of the support structures involved in the Operational Group, the latter developed some tools adapted to the specific needs of different agri-rural project leaders (available for free). These included:

Main Results

Many climate and environmental benefits were generated by the project. Agri-rural structures are committed to sustainable practices, with 77% certified organic compared with 15% of conventional farms. All of the structures surveyed have a fairly low or even negative net carbon balance, due to low emissions and/or significant carbon storage from agricultural practices (such as the use of hedgerows). Each structure runs, on average, 2.6 different agricultural activities (and 2.5 non-agricultural activities, such as tourism, education and direct sales). This, and the great diversity of activities in agri-rural structures in territories dominated by mixed cropping and livestock farming, has led to the de-specialisation of these territories, which is another environmental benefit.

Financially, agri-rural structures with a small land area create twice as many jobs per structure as traditional farms. The 22 agri-rural structures surveyed generate 84 jobs that are difficult to relocate because of their link to the territory. The project has also contributed to generational renewal in agriculture, with 100 project leaders welcomed every year and 150 project leaders participating in RARES support. It also drives economic development in the territories, with the creation of local markets and 50% of the farms surveyed having a farm store.

Societally, 80% of the farmers surveyed sell their production in short circuits.

Key lessons

Bringing together a wide variety of stakeholders was crucial to the success of the project. The RARES network is key to generational renewal in agriculture by promoting the creation of agri-rural activities. The network supports project leaders who find themselves in a blind spot of current systems and require many skills to cover all facets of their project.

Very diverse structures, without any prior habit of cooperation, have succeeded in building a common base, freeing themselves from the institutional frameworks of support for installation and imagining non-existent systems, in an inventive and creative approach. Much of this was due to the inclusion of stakeholders from every aspect of agriculture and beyond. These included agricultural support bodies (many of them consular chambers of agriculture); organisations from the economic, social and solidarity sector; study and research centres; and agricultural education and agri-rural institutions.