Increasing searches for autonomy among French farmers: a starting point for agroecology?

In Western European agriculture, an increasing number of conventional farmers are actively augmenting the autonomy of their farm enterprises. They do so, amongst others, through decreasing the external inputs, whilst simultaneously improving the use of internal resources. Thus, low external input farming systems emerge that increasingly enhance ecological processes. Simultaneously, the farmers involved may maintain key features of their entrepreneurial mode of farming. In this context, the network of French farm machinery cooperatives witnesses a movement of collective innovation experienced by farmer members to become more autonomous. The present paper aims at better understanding this phenomenon visible within some French farm machinery co-ops. Our methodology is based on an exploratory survey of 15 machinery co-ops and a range of six in-depth case studies among them. Our work combines a farming system and a sociological approach. Most of the studied farmers mainly seek to become more autonomous from markets, notably from input markets. A part of them also claim to gain autonomy from advisory services and regulatory institutions. The current price volatility context appears as one of several decisive factors, of many of the farmers interviewed to seek the means to become more autonomous. The collective organisation provided by the socio-technical network of farmers’ arrangements associated with their machinery co-op, has allowed them to benefit from favourable conditions under which to undertake the new practices. We conclude by suggesting some lessons from these experiences to strengthen local networks of farmers’ sharing arrangements as a conducive arena for agroecological transition