• Energy Research

Current changes in the field of agriculture (e.g., food shortages, market globalization, and environmental concerns) are encouraging stakeholders to consider new and more sustainable production methods. To this end, tools are needed to assess the newly designed solutions, before taking them to the field (ex ante assessment), or after being implemented by farmers or by researchers on experimental sites (ex post assessment). MASC is a multi-criteria assessment tool designed to assess the performance of cropping systems in terms of their sustainability. It is based on a decision support system (DEXi) and aggregates 39 qualitative evaluation criteria arranged in a tree-like structure. In this paper, we present a case study involving farmers from Normandy (north-western France). MASC was used in a participatory approach with thesefarmers who were already working on reducing pesticide use. The overall performance of the different farmer’s cropping systems was evaluated. In comparison to similar models, MASC allowed the farmers to become involved in determining the weights allocated to different criteria, thereby enabling them to introduce their personal vision of sustainability into parameter settings. Moreover, rather than assessing at the farm or landscape scale, MASC made it possible to exchange and collectively work on the concept of sustainability at the field scale. In addition, the results provided by the model were collectively examined in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses as well as propose improvements on the assessed cropping systems.

Current changes in the field of agriculture (e.g., food shortages, market globalization, and environmental concerns) are encouraging stakeholders to consider new and more sustainable production methods. To this end, tools are needed to assess the newly designed solutions, before taking them to the field (ex ante assessment), or after being implemented by farmers or by researchers on experimental sites (ex post assessment). MASC is a multi-criteria assessment tool designed to assess the performance of cropping systems in terms of their sustainability. It is based on a decision support system (DEXi) and aggregates 39 qualitative evaluation criteria arranged in a tree-like structure. In this paper, we present a case study involving farmers from Normandy (north-western France). MASC was used in a participatory approach with thesefarmers who were already working on reducing pesticide use. The overall performance of the different farmer’s cropping systems was evaluated. In comparison to similar models, MASC allowed the farmers to become involved in determining the weights allocated to different criteria, thereby enabling them to introduce their personal vision of sustainability into parameter settings. Moreover, rather than assessing at the farm or landscape scale, MASC made it possible to exchange and collectively work on the concept of sustainability at the field scale. In addition, the results provided by the model were collectively examined in order to identify the strengths and weaknesses as well as propose improvements on the assessed cropping systems.

Le projet CoSAC regroupe des partenaires de la recherche et du développement afin de (1) quantifier et comprendre, à l'aide d'expérimentations, les effets de pratiques agricoles innovantes sur les adventices et le fonctionnement de l'agroécosystème, (2) développer des outils prédisant les effets des pratiques agricoles et du pédoclimat sur la flore adventice, (3) utiliser ces outils pour concevoir des stratégies de gestion durable des adventices et d'évaluer leurs performances dans différents contextes de changements (pratiques agricoles, climat, biodiversité), (4) permettre l'adoption de ces stratégies innovantes par les agriculteurs. Il est présenté les premiers résultats du projet, notamment l'effet des cultures de couverture, en interculture ou en association avec une culture « de rente », sur les adventices, ainsi que l'évaluation ex ante de changements de pratiques agricoles en termes d'impact de la flore adventice sur la production agricole et la biodiversité, ou la conception de systèmes agricoles multiperformants à l'aide du modèle FLORSYS. The CoSAC project associates partners from research and development in order to (1) quantify and understand, with experiments, the effects of novel agricultural practices on weeds and the functioning of the agroecosystem, (2) design tools that predict the effect of agricultural techniques et pedoclimate on weed flora, (3) use these tools to design sustainable weed management strategies and to evaluate their performances in contexts of changing agricultural practices, climate, biodiversity, (4) facilitate the adoption of these novel strategies by farmers. We will present the first results of the project, e.g. the effect on weeds of cover crops during fallow or associated to a cash crop, the ex ante evaluation of changes in agricultural practices in terms of weed impact on crop production and biodiversity, or the design of multiperformant agricultural systems with the FLORSYS model.

Le projet CoSAC regroupe des partenaires de la recherche et du développement afin de (1) quantifier et comprendre, à l'aide d'expérimentations, les effets de pratiques agricoles innovantes sur les adventices et le fonctionnement de l'agroécosystème, (2) développer des outils prédisant les effets des pratiques agricoles et du pédoclimat sur la flore adventice, (3) utiliser ces outils pour concevoir des stratégies de gestion durable des adventices et d'évaluer leurs performances dans différents contextes de changements (pratiques agricoles, climat, biodiversité), (4) permettre l'adoption de ces stratégies innovantes par les agriculteurs. Il est présenté les premiers résultats du projet, notamment l'effet des cultures de couverture, en interculture ou en association avec une culture « de rente », sur les adventices, ainsi que l'évaluation ex ante de changements de pratiques agricoles en termes d'impact de la flore adventice sur la production agricole et la biodiversité, ou la conception de systèmes agricoles multiperformants à l'aide du modèle FLORSYS. The CoSAC project associates partners from research and development in order to (1) quantify and understand, with experiments, the effects of novel agricultural practices on weeds and the functioning of the agroecosystem, (2) design tools that predict the effect of agricultural techniques et pedoclimate on weed flora, (3) use these tools to design sustainable weed management strategies and to evaluate their performances in contexts of changing agricultural practices, climate, biodiversity, (4) facilitate the adoption of these novel strategies by farmers. We will present the first results of the project, e.g. the effect on weeds of cover crops during fallow or associated to a cash crop, the ex ante evaluation of changes in agricultural practices in terms of weed impact on crop production and biodiversity, or the design of multiperformant agricultural systems with the FLORSYS model.

Environmental assessment methods are needed by agronomists working on the enhancement of cropping systems to meet the demand for more sustainable farming practices. A growing number of operational methods based on a set of indicators have been designed, more for arable crops and livestock than for perennial crops like viticulture. Among them, the INDIGO(R) method, originally developed for arable crops, offers a compromise between feasibility and predictive quality. Here we present a modified and expanded version of INDIGO(R) for viticulture. The development of new indicators specific to viticulture and the adaptation of existing ones followed a five step approach: (i) preliminary definition of the objectives and identification of the end-users, (ii) construction of the indicator, (iii) selection of a reference value, (iv) sensitivity analysis and (v) validation. Stakeholders from professional institutions and winegrower organizations were closely associated with step (i) to define the framework and step (ii) to supply technical databases. We designed INDIGO(R) indicators with all available scientific and expert knowledge which was aggregated into expert systems associating fuzzy subsets or, when possible, quantitative equations. Four indicators; pesticides, nitrogen, energy and soil organic matter, were directly adapted from the initial INDIGO(R) method, whereas soil cover and frost protection management were new indicators. Potentialities of their use are highlighted by examples of implementation on different scales and for various purposes.

Environmental assessment methods are needed by agronomists working on the enhancement of cropping systems to meet the demand for more sustainable farming practices. A growing number of operational methods based on a set of indicators have been designed, more for arable crops and livestock than for perennial crops like viticulture. Among them, the INDIGO(R) method, originally developed for arable crops, offers a compromise between feasibility and predictive quality. Here we present a modified and expanded version of INDIGO(R) for viticulture. The development of new indicators specific to viticulture and the adaptation of existing ones followed a five step approach: (i) preliminary definition of the objectives and identification of the end-users, (ii) construction of the indicator, (iii) selection of a reference value, (iv) sensitivity analysis and (v) validation. Stakeholders from professional institutions and winegrower organizations were closely associated with step (i) to define the framework and step (ii) to supply technical databases. We designed INDIGO(R) indicators with all available scientific and expert knowledge which was aggregated into expert systems associating fuzzy subsets or, when possible, quantitative equations. Four indicators; pesticides, nitrogen, energy and soil organic matter, were directly adapted from the initial INDIGO(R) method, whereas soil cover and frost protection management were new indicators. Potentialities of their use are highlighted by examples of implementation on different scales and for various purposes.

Combining drastic reduction of inputs and high sensitivity of vine to pathogens implies re-designing viticulture production systems. The newly designed systems then need to be assessed to be sure that they are sustainable and can be implemented by wine growers.A experimental network with 26 vine sites located in Atlantic coast, Mediterranean and in North-East of France, has been set up since 2012. Tested viticulture systems of vine grape production are « Integrated Production », « Organic farming », « Zero fungicide » and « Zero pesticide ». Planting new vine varieties that are resistant to pathogens is under process in Alsace, Bordeaux and Loire vineyards. The methodology framework used to design and to assess the new systems is based on published work. Systems assessment deals with the three dimensions of sustainability: environmental, social and economic and also quality of vine and wine. A set of high set of constraints of the designed viticulture systems is: economical sustainability combining to hard reduction of inputs and high quality of grapes and vines, according to Protected Designation of Origin.Quality and quantity vine plots assessment (i.e. yield, berries quality), diseases assessment (i.e. mildiew, oïdium, grey rot), economic assessment (i.e. gross margin) and environmental assessment (i.e. IFT and INDIGO® indicators) on different combinations of soil and climate, allow assessing and ranking the designed viticulture systems. For instance, one organic system is efficient and reliable for quality and quantity of vine, economic and environmental indicators. The only margin for improvement deals with reducing even more cupper used for fungi management.To conclude, the tested designed systems are well assessed under a set of high set of constraints of French vineyards. Drastically monitoring reduction of inputs (i.e. pesticides and energy) is possible for several new designed viticulture systems. In the next years, the extension of the network to more soil and climate combinations, will allow us to propose innovative robust viticulture systems to winegrowers. Des systèmes de production viticole ont été évalués quant à leur durabilité. A cet effet, un réseau expérimental avec 26 stes de vignobles situés dans la côte Atlantique, la Méditerranée et dans le Nord-Est de la France, a été installé depuis 2012. Les systèmes de production viticole sont « la Production Intégrée », « l’Agriculture biologique », « le Fongicide Zéro » et « le Pesticide Zéro ». La plantation des nouvelles variété de vigne qui sont résistantes aux pathogènes est en développement en Alsace, Bordelais et Val de Loire.Ont été notés ; La quantité et la qualité des raisins, l’évaluation des maladies (Mildiou, Oïdium, Pourriture grise), l’évaluation économique (la marge brute) et l’évaluation environnementale (IFT – Indice de Fréquence des Traitements et les indicateurs INDIGO ®).Pour conclure, les systèmes testés sont bien évalués sous un ensemble de haute contrainte. La réduction d’apports (pesticides et énergie) est possible pour plusieurs nouveaux systèmes de viticulture. Dans les prochaines années, l’extension du réseau à davantage de conditions de sol et de climat, nous permettra de proposer des systèmes de viticulture robustes novateurs aux vignerons.