Relational drivers of the agroecological transition: An analysis of farmer trajectories in the Limagne plain, France

The social network analysis of farmers who have adopted agroecological practices give the possibility to identify which actors are involved in the agroecological transition and are influencing the resilience at territorial level. To understand the dynamics of these interactions, we built and tested an analytical framework inspired by quantified narratives approach adapted to agricultural context. We combined social sequences analysis (identification of common phases within individual trajectories and typology of sequences) and relational chains analysis that is a specific approach within social networks analysis focusing on the mode of access to resources. We applied our analytical framework to study the modes of access to resources mobilized by farmers to adopt agroecological practices in the Limagne plain of the Puy-de-Dôme county in France . We conducted 31 face-to-face interviews with 22 farmers in organic agriculture and 9 farmers in conservation agriculture. The results show that our approach gives the possibility to identify a large range of actors beyond the commonly pre-identified actors and to analyse their specific roles depending on the phase of the transition. The farmers in conservation agriculture mobilize mainly interpersonal relationships prior to the adoption of practices and have little support at the time of the implementation of conservation agriculture practices while the organic farmers rely more on farmers’' groups and on formalized arrangements with support organizations and downstream actors. The framework should be a useful way to identify in all agricultural systems the actors effectively implicated in the agroecological transition, their differentiated roles, and the support needed to improve the transition