Environmental and social emergency in the territories: meet us on 12 and 13/09 at the Assises de Nantes

At a time when climate and social signals are increasingly alarming, territories are melting pots of solutions to meet the complex and interconnected challenges of the agroecological and food transition. From the producer to the consumer, from the elected official to the researcher to the citizen, this challenge concerns us all. It is at the heart of our TETRAA programme, which supports 9 pilot territories throughout France. On the occasion of the 2nd Territorial Conference on Agroecological Transition and Sustainable Food, our team will present the fruit of this experiment that has been underway since 2020. See you on September 12 and 13, 2022 in Nantes!

An inspiring event to accelerate the food transition of the territories

Climate change, resource depletion, collapse of biodiversity, Covid-19 epidemic, war in Ukraine… Whether it is a question of fundamental degradations or unexpected disruptions, the various contemporary crises are undermining food security. Convinced that a fair and ecological transformation is necessary for our society, we have been supporting and accompanying actors committed to the food and agroecological transition for 12 years. With many of them, we will be present this year in Nantes, at the 2nd edition of the Territorial Conference, which invites participants to accelerate the food transition of territories by taking into account the challenges of climate change and the territorial anchoring of agricultural sectors in order to ensure access to essential resources for all. This event, free of charge upon registration, is aimed at local authority agents, associations, institutional partners and research teams. It is co-organized by one of our partners, the UNESCO Chair in World Food, as well as by Nantes Métropole, ADEME, CNFPT, Terres en villes, Montpellier Métropole and the Regional Directorate for Food, Agriculture and Forestry.

Come and meet the team of our TETRAA action, exchange and research programme

Since 2020, we have been supporting 9 territories in France with the aim of making them demonstrators of the feasibility and interest of a transition to more ecological, solidarity-based and democratic agricultural and food systems. Co-led by AgroParisTech with the support of the Porticus Foundation, the TETRAA program, “Territories in Agroecological and Food Transition”, aims to sustain and broaden the dynamics to allow a change in scale of the initiatives underway. €5.69 million is devoted to supporting projects aimed at changing the paradigm in the ways we produce and consume, make society and think about our relationship with the living. The pilot territories are collectives of actors, most often composed of local authorities, professional organizations, associations and various institutions (medico-social structures, research and training establishments, etc.).

To discuss this ambitious programme, the effects of which we have observed at the halfway point, two representatives of the programme will be present at the Conference.

Food resilience in territories: an overview of the dynamics at work 12 September / 11am-12.30pm / Cité des Congrès Auditorium 800

A round table to provide an overview of territorial approaches to the agroecological and food transition, necessary in the face of the climate and social emergency, with Margaux Denis, Head of the Sustainable Food Programme, Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation

Info and registration: https://assises-agroecologie-alimentation.fr/event/table-ronde/

Promoting the scaling up of transition initiatives: support for 9 territories led by the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation and AgroParisTech 13 September / 9:00 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. / Nantes Métropole Exhibition Center

Participatory workshop led by Delphine Ducoeurjoly, TETRAA Program Coordinator, AgroParisTech

Info and registration: https://assises-agroecologie-alimentation.fr/event/f26-favoriser-le-changement-dechelle-des-initiatives-de-transition/

The first lessons of the programme

Halfway through this program, scheduled to run until 2024, we have carried out an initial assessment and interviewed stakeholders. ” This first phase has been very positively received. Our support meets the needs of local players, as we provide them with flexible assistance over several years. In addition to funding, we provide external expertise and methodological tools, as well as forums for exchange and debate. “explains Margaux Denis, Sustainable Food Program Manager at the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation. “The next two years will be decisive in analysing the transition paths, assessing the impact of the approaches and passing on this experience to other territories that wish to get moving. There is indeed an urgent need to build solutions together to meet the challenges of food sovereignty and climate change. »

At the heart of this program, the Exchange, Collaboration and Capitalization Groups (GECC) are currently exploring 4 themes chosen by decision-makers and actors in the territories:

• Food democracy, governance of transition projects and mobilization of actors
• Economic operators and development of local food circuits
• Cohesion and social justice
• Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation

About twenty workshops, field visits, feedback, testimonies from inspiring personalities and survey work have been carried out in these groups, which include more than 70 people.

The “Food and Social Justice” survey in the Drôme

Invited by the Community of Municipalities of the Val de Drôme, one of the 9 pilot territories, the participants of a workshop (GECC) met in December 2021 to question sustainable food through the prism of cohesion and social justice. Thanks to field surveys, the group has been able to get a first-hand look at the daily lives of people in precarious situations and better understand their relationship with food, their consumption patterns (places of purchase, choice of products, culinary practices, etc.) and the difficulties they encounter in accessing quality products. Their life stories often reveal uneven paths (separation, illness, disability, isolation, etc.) which, just as much as the financial issue, explain or exacerbate their vulnerability. These three days, led by Aequitaz, were extremely appreciated by the fifteen or so participants who enthusiastically lent themselves to the various “sensitive” survey methods offered: mapping of the food landscape, interviews with people in precarious situations, participation in a food distribution, shopping list from local shops for a healthy and balanced meal on a very tight budget, exchanges with committed associations (Territoire Zéro Chômeurs, Du beurre dans les épiachs…), aperitif-debate with the inhabitants, forum theatre. These three days also allowed the TETRAA territories to get to know each other better and to share the progress of their work on this theme, and the difficulties encountered. They left with many methodological tools to test directly at home.

“The 9 pilot territories are also invited to key events that aim to explore central themes such as cooperation and new alliances between actors, the role and posture of elected officials, the drivers of the change of scale of transition initiatives, and the issue of skills and professions,” explains Delphine Ducoeurjoly, Program Coordinator for AgroParistech. “In all the events we organise, we make sure to combine time for exchanges between peers, testimonies from emblematic personalities (elected officials, business leaders, etc.), field visits and moments of conviviality. The latter are essential to maintain the cohesion of the group and encourage all forms of solidarity between territories. We are convinced that the motivation of the actors to act is much greater in a pleasant and serene working environment that knows how to take into account the human factor. »

Seminars, training courses and webinars are offered throughout the year to feed the reflection on the drivers of the transition. The next days will focus on land management, the relocation of agricultural and food systems, legal issues around public policies, and the financial engineering of transition projects. Some are open to all actors of change, so that the work, reflections, and lessons learned from the program can be shared with as many people as possible, with a view to spreading and amplifying good practices.

We also support the territories in assessing the impact of the actions they carry out. The goal? Provide tools to manage their agroecological and food transition strategy. In particular, we provide them with interns who carry out agrarian diagnoses and studies in political science to improve their understanding of the mechanisms of transition in the territories. ” The analysis of the transition paths taken by the territories will make it possible to understand the stages, obstacles and levers that any territory that embarks on this path may face. The support of higher education and research, in particular with the community of AgroParisTech teacher-researchers, provides the program with valuable scientific support,” says Margaux Denis, Head of the Sustainable Food Program at the Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation.