The French agroecology project reflects the concerns found elsewhere in the world:
The challenge of food and nutritional security — providing high-quality, safe and healthy products to over nine billion people by 2050. The social challenge of combating both poverty in the agricultural world and the rural exodus, and increasing the resilience of production systems to unforeseen events.
The environmental challenge of conserving resources and responding to the issues of climate change.
Agriculture is obliged to change and adapt in response to them. Going forward, agriculture must move beyond conflicting views on growth models and ensure changes in agriculture and the agricultural and food-processing industries are part of a forward- looking approach.
France launched its agroecology project in response to these issues in 2012. This is an ambitious, inspirational project that aims to shift agriculture towards the objective of combining economic, environmental and social performance. It has given rise to a wide-ranging action plan, broken down into a variety of projects covering all areas (teaching, support for farmers, reorientation of public support, public and private research, etc.). The project is a joint development between the French Ministry of Agriculture and all key players in the sector.
