Agriculture and agri-food industries face new challenges questioning their sectoral and innovation dynamics. Worldwide, the main food crops yields have been stagnating since the 1990s, while food requirements are still increasing. This trend could suggest a decreasing technical progress. While inequalities in access to food is constant, including in Europe, and even increased in 2007-2008 following the international crisis. Far from disappearing, health issues related to food, come at the forefront with the development of diseases such as obesity and diabetes, and the pesticides effects. Therefore, agriculture and food have been accused for their impacts on the environment, in particular air or water pollution, deforestation, biodiversity erosion and emissions of greenhouse gases. Economic and social consequences have been raised during several sectors crises (milk, pork …) leading to a more rapid decrease of farms while poverty in rural areas has continued. Eventually, new ethical issues are highlighted, combining the organization of food value chains while taking into account new social solidarity (fair trade) and animal welfare.

These new challenges combining food security and sustainability of agricultural activities, bring into debate and competition different ways of producing, exchanging and consuming food. While the industrialization of agriculture and food is largely critized, technological and organizational innovations, including the integration of new technologies, propose a greening of this model. In response, many alternative agricultural and food systems encompassing technical and social innovations drafting a more radical transition to agro-ecology, including in urban areas.

The round-table “Innovation for sustainable food” aims to present the ongoing processes involved in the emergence of more sustainable agricultural and agri-food systems, whether they come from the agroindustrial system or from alternative models. (1) the concept of agro-ecology will be scrutinized. The different innovations models in agricultural practices, including the « Law of the Future for agriculture » (« Loi d’avenir pour l’agriculture ») in 2014 in France; 2) the theme of sustainable food will be studied through the various innovations (product, process, organizational, social …) that are initiated in the agri-food sector. Successful experiences will be discussed by the participants, as well as locking factors to transition to sustainable food.

Program

General Introduction by Jean Marc Touzard (INRA Montpellier, UMR Innovation) et Corinne Tanguy (AgroSup Dijon, UMR CESAER): Innovating for more sustainable food systems

Claude Compagnone (AgroSup Dijon): Innovation in the agro-ecological transition

Pascale Scheromm and Christophe Soulard (AgriCités, UMR Innovation): The renewal of urban agriculture and its contributions to sustainable development

Danielle Galliano (Inra Toulouse) and Simon Nadel (Clersé, Lille): Eco-nnovations in the agri-food industry

Leila Temri (Montpellier SupAgro, UMR MOISA): CSR: green wahsing or managerial innovation for the sustainability of agri-food chains

Yuna Chiffoleau and Dominique Paturel (Inra, UMR Innovation): Agro-food systems as social innovation initiator: the example of short circuits

Conclusion: Fabrice Dreyfus (CGAAER)