Local application of a new referential concerning the multi-functionality of agriculture: the case of Charente-Maritime and Vendée

Abstract

The French Agriculture Act of July 1999 established the land management contract as a new tool of French agricultural policy. It aimed to promote the multi-functional aspect of farming and to give new meaning to public financing. The contract was developed through numerous consultations between administrations, professionals as well as scientific and technical experts, with its implementation leaving many possibilities for proposals and measures to be developed at a local level. As a result, the new referential concerning the multi-functionality of agriculture is undergoing numerous adjustments and adaptations as it is applied within the departments. The aim of this article is to analyse how the referential is evolving under the influence of local and national forces then to show how uncertainties within the contract create distortions. It is these distortions which are disturbing the dynamic of implementation and which reveal the strategies of the various players involved in the process. The analysis is partly based on the various documents drawn up at a national level to plan the CTE (land management contract) decree of implementation. It is also based on the compared results of monitoring carried out in the western departments (Charente-Maritime, Vendée) concerning the phases of pre-figuration, of the first decree's implementation and the phase during which measures are harmonised at a regional level.